FLIPPING AWESOME TEACHING
  • My Flipping Blog
  • My Flipping Classroom
  • Articles/Media
  • Contact Info

My first flipping steps (Round 2 #flipblogs submission)

7/28/2017

 
         Oh gosh it pains me to share my first flipped video lesson, but here at F.A.T. we are all about the transparency.  No, don't watch! Look away!!!
          How did we get here? It's all my content partner's fault.  At the end of my first year teaching social studies with her (after 8 years as the ELA teacher on her team), we felt frustrated that our year-ending Civil War simulation unit felt so clunky. There was great material in the unit, and high energy on our end, but the information delivery was ineffective. We had a similar frustration earlier in the 19th-century units, as we provided independent research opportunities that sometimes fell flat. Students need basic information before they can dive into inquiry, or else they will travel misleading paths and down dead-ends. Remember we have 85-90 students each, so we cannot directly monitor every students' progress on home-based projects. Independence was a serious goal for these 13 or 14 year-olds, but how can we help them achieve it?
          My colleague found the classic Bergmann and Sams book in May 2013. I ordered it then, but didn't get to read until the summer. I have vivid memories of reading that book on the front porch of the apartment where we lived back then, shouting out loud "YES!" and "Oh my god!" and probably other agreements that I should not publish.  We met a couple times in August to share notes about how to start the year: with video lessons instead of textbook-based assignments. She made the Powerpoint slides, and I used the free version of Screencast-o-matic to produce the first video.
          I also have vivid memories of recording that first video: inside my Ford Taurus with my school-provided Macbook, in the parking lot while my son was in fencing camp. Actually the inside of a car has great acoustics for audio recordings, as long as nobody honks a horn or slams a door right next to you....

          I generally regret the first video lesson quiz we gave, partially shown below. That was a rush job, and we made it AFTER producing the video. That's the wrong way around!! One of many lessons I had to learn the hard way, but made me a better teacher in the end....
Picture

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    Who is this flipping guy?!

       Andrew Swan is in year 20  of teaching middle school (currently grade 8 US Civics/Government in a Boston suburb). Previously he taught 6th, 7th, and 8th grade English, US History, geography, and ancient history in Massachusetts and Maine. 
      For the past 6 years, Andrew has flipped nearly all his direct instruction so we have more class time for simulations, deep discussions, analyzing primary sources, etc. ... and also to promote mastery for students at all levels.
      His wonderful wife and his 2 high school-age children indulge Andrew's blogging, tweeting, & other behaviors. These include co-moderating the #sschat Twitter sessions and Facebook page. 
      ​
    Andrew does not always refer to himself in the third-person. 

    Twitter @flipping_A_tchr
    Instagram @swanversations

    Categories

    All
    Action Civics
    Analogies
    Assessment
    Asynchronous
    Bloom's Taxonomy
    Critiques
    Curriculum Planning
    DBQ
    Definitions Of Flipped
    First Days Of School
    #flipblogs
    Flipping Problems
    FlipTech
    For Beginners
    FTEC18
    FTNE19
    Gamified
    Grading
    Historical Thinking
    Homework
    In-class Flipping
    Local History
    Making Videos
    Mastery
    Not Flipping
    Parents
    Projects
    Reflective Blogging
    Research
    SBL
    Schoology
    Snow Days
    Special Ed
    Student Centered
    Student Survey
    #ThisisWhyIFlip
    Troubleshooting
    Writing

    Archives

    October 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly