Summer is always a really good time to evaluate your goals and see in which areas you want to improve. A lot of the teachers are talking about flipping their classrooms. A flipped classroom is typically a type of blended learning where students are introduced to information at home and practice working through it at school. The intention of a flipped classroom is to increase student engagement and learning in the classroom.
Throughout the pandemic, we have become skilled at teaching online and the students have learned and adjusted to that kind of learning. While this transition has been a hot mess throughout the past few years with adjusting to different changes, our skills of learning how to teach online and students’ ability to learn online can easily be transferable to creating a flipped classroom with ease.
If you are interested in starting a flipped classroom, these are the steps that I followed and once I started this, I never looked back!
Determine Your Model
The first thing that you need to do before flipping your classroom, is to determine which clipped model works best for your classroom, your teaching, and your students. The Rotation Model is one of the most popular and easiest ways to start a flipped classroom. In the Rotation Model, students rotate between online learning in one rotation, collaborating with their classmates in another rotation, and getting individualized group instruction in a third rotation. Another model is the Flex Model which requires buy-in from the entire school. In this model, students go to designated quiet areas, like a study hall or cubical, to independently have their learning online and then rotate between classroom time. Classroom time is used for tutoring or activities but all the learning is done mainly online. There are numerous flipped classroom models for you to choose from. Be sure to research each one and see which model works best for you, your teaching, your students, and your classroom.
Once you identify which model works best for you and your students, the next thing to do is to teach students how to use technology tools and be independent with them. Students need to know what is expected of them when using tech tools and have the independence to conquer their learning on their own. A big part of a flipped classroom is the buy-in and making sure the students hold themselves accountable for their learning. If students do not do the online learning section of the flipped classroom, then they will not be successful. Look at your learning system and see if they have tools that could help not only start a flipped classroom, but can be used long-term within your learning system.
After you have picked your model, set up the expectations, and taught the tools, the next step is to create your content! When I had a flipped classroom, I would record videos during my planning time for the next week or two depending on how motivated I was that week. I tried to record ahead of time so I could start to dive down deep into the individualized group instruction. You do not always have to record videos of yourself but could have an alternative way to teach. A flipped classroom allows you to be flexible and creative with how you teach your students. One thing I loved was recording myself saying the lesson, modeling the lesson, and then pulling the transcript of the lesson so the students would have a variety of different formats to learn from that would best suit them. This kind of learning and teaching is hard in a traditional format but with a flipped classroom, it is easy.
Once all of the other students are set up, the next thing you do is practice! You have to hold students accountable for their learning and set up those routines so that the flipped classroom could be successful. By giving students more time to practice using their flipped classroom tools, you’ll naturally build this accountability.
Once you have everything moving smoothly, the next step is to extend learning! With all the learning gaps that COVID created over the past few years, a flipped classroom is the perfect way to get individualized instruction to students who need extra support or to push students further with extra reading or work. While it may take some work at the start, once you have a flipped classroom set up, your teaching life will never be the same!