End of semester reflection

One of the lessons we've learned that the combination of using the videos and the immediate feedback is a very powerful tool.  We really enjoyed discussing all the different ways to "do" the flipped classroom -- each of us learning something new each week that we could try in our own classrooms.

We thoroughly enjoyed working together to create a presentation over our versions of the "Flipped" classroom.  It was also fun to walk around and look at other groups' presentations.  We learned a lot about each other, which again, we can use to improve ourselves and our classes.

Showcase Supplies??

It looks like you might need a display board for the showcase....Did I read the blog correctly?
Please see Katie Brugger by Nov 30th to finalize your PLC's needs.

PowerPoint Apps

Today we discussed different apps that could be used with PowerPoint; ways to record audio and annotations so that they entire presentation can be accessed at school or at home.  I knew that PowerPoint is versatile and have recorded audio within that program, but haven't been able to record annotations along with the audio -- to be viewed at a later date.  I think this app would be most beneficial, especially as we continue to experiment with 'The Flipped Classroom.'

October 31

We discussed the presentation that we are to prepare for December. Some of the ideas we had were to set up laptops to show instructional videos, a powerpoint presentation and possibly a video of students and/or the classroom.

We also discussed a display board to make it easier to see lessons learned, etc at a glance.

As a followup to last weeks plans, after losing their privileges and assigning work on ixl.com, 22 of 28 students now have a grade of 65%  or higher.

Combining ixl.com with instructional videos has proven to be a very good combination (so far).

Concerns

How does the student who cannot take his laptop home do the "home part" of the flipped classroom?
NOT SURE HOW TO DO THIS BESIDES HAVING A FEW PRINTED COPIES

How does the student who has a computer but no internet at home do the "home part of the flipped classroom? STAY AFTER SCHOOL TO VIEW, GO TO PUBLIC PLACES WITH INTERNET FREE

Now what else?  Oh, how do I get students to do school work after hours?  That is what is probably the biggest barrier until they come to understand the dynamic of the class or come to care about their education.  If I knew how to conquer this, I could probably have student success regardless of which type of system I implement. I really worry about part every day when I see students with poor attendance, a pile of "O"s, and making no effort to do differently.

PLC Showcase

At the end of our semester of work, all PLCs will be showcasing their work at the Wyandotte High School PLC Showcase on Wednesday, December 12th in the Social Hall.  The showcase will be a public demonstration of our learning, collaboration, and results.  Each PLC will showcase work that reflects how your learning and collaboration has impacted student learning.  Each PLC is encouraged to be creative and innovative in their demonstration (student examples would be highly encouraged); however, please be sure the following are addressed through your presentation -
    PLC Focus

Collaborative Actions   

Summary of PLC Learning

Impact on Student Learning

Connections to Future Teaching and Learning

In addition, all staff will have an opportunity to visit each demonstration during the Showcase.  Many outside guests will also be in attendance.  

If your PLC requires any kind of additional resources, please submit any requests for those materials via the comment section to this blog entry by NOVEMBER 9th. You will receive these materials by or before your November 28th meeting, so you will have AT LEAST two weeks to work on organizing your demonstration.

Pacing and the use of technology

Musings: Students must be focused and in top form to be successful on tests like the ACT.

How do we step up the pacing in the classroom? I have tried to force students to work at a certain level by expecting a certain amount of work and refusing to slow down. A few students have stepped up but most are falling behind and have failing grades (especially in my 3rd block class).

The next step begins tomorrow......3rd block will no longer be allowed to eat, drink, have head phones or earbuds and they must stay in their seats. These sanctions will remain in place until a minimum of 75% of the class are passing.

Students constantly say "I have to have my music to focus". They have said this so much that I feel they have convinced themselves that this is true. IT IS NOT TRUE. It distracts them and they do not focus and work at their best.

More to follow on the results.

Flipping the flipped classroom

I've enjoyed tweaking the flipped classroom concept.  It is a stellar idea, but isn't 100% effective for all students (but what is?!)  One thing that has worked well with our AG2 class is allowing time to watch the videos in class, but then spending some one-on-one time during and/or at the end of the videos with the students who need more hands-on interaction with the concept.  Sometimes, we discuss the concept and do sample problems instead of watching the video -- it depends on the student and the concept.

As I have been listening to other teachers talk about the flipped classroom, I have tried a little class experiment which I think I like and is more successful.  I decided to make this change because when I give students class time to read an article, etc. they are not on task and waste time.  Too often worksheets are copied from one person to another and are very time consuming to grade and not necessarily indicative of learning happening.  So....

Now I have done this twice and think I will continue for the balance of this semester.  They have a powerpoint or  reading to take directed notes on.  We review the material briefly the next day and then they get a practice quiz on the material.  I use the practice quiz for their practice part of the grade instead of the worksheets.

Advantages: easier for me to grade
                     instantly know what to reteach the next day
                     forces the issue of notetaking

I am positively reinforcing notetaking by giving out tickets for a drawing at the end of the semester to students who can correctly answer questions during discussion using their notes.  They are NOT for quiz scores.

If this continues to be good, I plan to restructure my whole class to this next semester.

October 17, 2012 PLC

We spent the PLC time trying to watch the video at  http://www.screencast.com/t/xfK4sHHzv3. This is Graham Johnson's video to the parents of his students explaining what the flippped classroom is. The video kept locking up and we were unable to watch all of it; however, we went to youtube and watched some of his videos on the flipped class.

Some of the interesting points were:
In the blink of an eye, teachers moved from the sage on the stage to the observer of their students' learning.
He has an interesting video titled: "What the flipped classroom is not.."
He reiterates what we have heard others say - that classroom teachers should make their own videos so that it is an extension of the teacher and their teaching.
He also has some technical advice on making flipped classroom videos.

After one of our PLC meetings, I began giving the students "half-sheets" to complete as they watch the videos. These just have a couple of questions and a spot to record a question and something you learned. As I have time, I plan to develop more of a study guide to go with the video to help the students get more out of the videos; much like what one might do to help guide  students when they are reading a textbook.

September 26, 2012

We discussed the use of Edmodo to store videos. Students can download videos and assignments, parents can have accounts and Edmodo gives lots of feedback on what the students are doing. Sarah said she will show us/refresh us on how to use Edmdo next week.

In the last few weeks, I have continued to use the half sheets to help direct students' as they watch the videos. They seem to be helping. Some of the students have had really good insights and comments on the video.  Also, I have continued to move at about the pace recommended by the Pearson text in-spite of the students' complaints. We continue to talk about how much time they are on task during their 90 minute class and how that impacts the amount of work they can accomplish. Also, we have discussions on how to watch and learn from the videos. Students that don't like or feel they can't learn from the videos are typically the same students that would be off task during a direct teach time. One student that    complained that she couldn't learn from the video is now doing very well since we discussed how to pause, take notes, work through the problems and actually interact with the video.

As we continue to use the videos, students are beginning to get better at watching them to make sure they understand. They are also getting better at working in class and taking responsibility for their own learning.

Plan for next week: continue the flipped class. The only change this next week will be to limit access to the laptop during class. Students with 60 + and those that are always on task in class will be allowed to have their laptops out next week. All other students will be required to keep their laptops put up.

The wonderful world of Edmodo.... and Learning about Modifications

September 26, 2012

I'm new to Edmodo and am fascinated by the possibilities this program presents.  Ms. Futrell is our group's expert and she gave us a small glimpse at all Edmodo can do.  I think we're all looking forward to next week when she will give us a more in-depth presentation.

We also talked about differentiation, specifically on how to scaffold assignments and assessments to make them more palatable to SPED and ESL students.  We were clear that we didn't want to make it "easier" or give "handouts," but it is important to reach each student at (or as close as possible to) their level.  We talked about reducing multiple choice options, providing fill in the blanks for essays, and for T/F sections - stating how many are True and how many are False.

Study Guide Success

During the past few weeks as opposed to assigning student lectures for homework, I have been assigning students a study guide to accompany their powerpoint presentations for homework. This was well-received by students, and with the added direction and focus, students appear to be getting more out of reviewing the information from the powerpoints. We'll look forward to continuing this process, and looking at our measureable goals (test scores, homework completion %, etc) to figure out how successful this process has been for students though.

Video reflections on the blag

I spent time reflecting on how I have modified my flipped classroom to meet student needs.  Many of my students do not have internet access outside fo school and as a result I have made most of the videos  be part of what we do in class.  I have also made most of the videos shorter.  The result is that there are more places where class gets broken up and student attention is generally higher.

Trying to be a "flipper"

This is what I have been attempting to do in a "flipped" way.  I post a Powerpoint in the locker and ask the students to view it overnight.  The assignment the next day is to use that PPT to complete the worksheets about that topic.  The worksheets are being well-done but I am not sure they are reading it before classtime.  I don't how to make that piece (the studying ahead) happen and suspect the issue may not be unique to me.

I asked my PLC how to differentiate my summative assessments for my SPED and ESL learners.  Sarah Fromberg had some great suggestions I plan to use on the next round.  The other ideas I have been using seemed to be consistent with how the group does this.

I wish I could have a sheltered section for ESL so I could really work just for their needs.  However, I am very thankful to have Sima to help me in 3A.

9/5/2012

I have only met with my flipped class 3 times since our last PLC meeting due to Labor Day and the even Wednesday. In that time, I have given a Chapter 7 test, made the videos shorter and used the student companion resources that William recommended. It has been a little too soon to measure the impact of these changes.

Comparing overall test grades between previous years and this year; the grades are low but still average higher than in previous years. One student that failed AG2 last year made a 72% on her test this year. As I recall, she never passed a test last semester. She really likes the flipped model and feels that it gives her the one-on-one that she needs to be successful.

As I was in the meeting this afternoon, I kept thinking about how all of the things we discussed apply to  almost any group of people. Applying this learning to the flipped classroom......I told the students at the beginning of the year why we were trying the flipped method. However, it was a new concept to them and I need to remember that the reasons behind flipping probably need to be revisited periodically.   As the year progresses, students will be in different places and saying the same thing at different times may carry a different message or have a different impact. For example, students just had their first test and might now be  more receptive to advice on how to manage their time and effectively use the videos and their schedules.

When I am feeling frustrated with the lack of student progress perhaps that is a sign that we need to revisit the goals or reasons for what we are doing.

Today's PLC Goals...2nd Try (-:

Reflect on your learnings to answer the following
1)  What are we going to do over the next week that contributes to our PLC learning topic?
Create at least one flipped instruction using Power Point.

2)  How does this contribute to student learning?
It will offer my students an additional information resource.

3)  How will the impact of this week’s work be measured?
If the students have an understanding of the unit without direct instruction.

8/29/2012

In our PLC today we discussed pros and cons we have encountered with the flipped classroom. Andrew said that he has the class come together periodically for brief instruction and checkin. It helps keep the class moving at an appropriate speed. William suggested using the student companion to help guide the students in taking notes as they  watch the video.

Andrew and I have both realized that the videos need to be shorter. When they are longer than 8-10 minutes, they start to tune out.

My goal for this next week is to make sure the videos are 10 minutes or less and to check out the student companion resource.

Overall, the flipped class has worked well. There are still a few students that continue to be off task and then complain that they are not being taught. However, the majority of the class is adjusting to the new class paradigm and doing much better at monitoring their own learning.

August 29 PLC Notes

1)  What are we going to do over the next week that contributes to our PLC learning topic?
    
I will be trying out different strategies in my flipped classroom and logging best practices to share next week. These strategies include generating a study guide that students will fill out as they review course materials

2)  How does this contribute to student learning?

Using the study guide will insure that students are getting the right information from the course materials as opposed to simply writing down everything contained in the powerpoint, video, etc.
     
3)  How will the impact of this week’s work be measured?

I will be looking at the students assignments and the percentages of students who complete their assignments.

Start of the year

1)  What are we going to do over the next week that contributes to our PLC learning topic?
Continue refining the way I teach with respect to a flipped classroom.  I want to start making shorter videos to help hold student attention.2)  How does this contribute to student learning?
Shorter videos should hopefully hold student attention better and allow problems directly after viewing  that type of problem.

3)  How will the impact of this week’s work be measured?

I will compare a homework quiz next week from a quiz I gave on monday.

New beginnings!

Our learning topic is effectively using technology to differentiate learning.

1)  What are we going to do over the next week that contributes to our PLC learning topic?
      I need to find a way to differentiate my formative assessment for my ESL learners.  I made a graphic organizer using inspiration and had them write key words in each box to help them formulate their ideas before they started writing.  I used some pictures to help show what I was looking for.  Does anyone have any other ideas?

2)  How does this contribute to student learning?
     I hope that getting them to organize their thoughts first will help them to write more fluently.
      
3)  How will the impact of this week’s work be measured?
     I have a grading rubric for this assignment.  Comparing the grades for ESL learners and non-ESL learners can help me measure if the organizers produced better results than what I have seen in this assignment in the past.

8.29.12

1)  What are we going to do over the next week that contributes to our PLC learning topic?
I will continue to learn more about the Flipped Classroom and tweak it in order to better reach our students with special needs.

2)  How does this contribute to student learning?

The flipped classroom concept is new and exciting for the kids (and us!) but the format isn't always conducive for the kids who need more 1-on-1 interactions/tutoring. I plan to continue to conference with Mr. Ford and make the changes necessary to reach the majority of the class.
3)  How will the impact of this week’s work be measured?

Mr. Ford and I will closely monitor student work and homework completion through daily checking for understanding.

1)  What are we going to do over the next week that contributes to our PLC learning topic?
Explore the use of blogging on Google.2)  How does this contribute to student learning?
Possible create an additional venue to communicate in the class.3)  How will the impact of this week’s work be measured?
My ability to post on the Blog.