User:Escampini

Return to: ETAP 623 Spring 2016 | Emily Scampini Mini-Course

About me

I received my undergraduate degree in chemistry and adolescence education from SUNY Geneseo. I am now in my third year of teaching chemistry at my old high school in Latham, NY. I have experience in teaching both Regents and non-Regents level chemistry as well as chemistry lab. Outside of the classroom, I advise the high school yearbook club.

In my free time, I enjoy running and spending time with my family.

My Topic/Purpose

In this course, we will be exploring flipped classroom learning. In today's current educational climate, teachers are required to meet the requirements of rigorous curricula in order to prepare students for standardized testing. As a result, a majority of classroom instruction time must be devoted to delivering content and there is very little time to actually practice concepts in class. Independent practice often becomes assigned homework. When independent practice consistently becomes out-of-class work, the teacher misses the opportunity to correct student misconceptions and observe their thought processes.

Flipped classroom learning provides a solution to this problem. By having students watch mini lectures prior to coming to class, it allows class time to become a time of interactive, collaborative learning. Teachers have the opportunity to do activities that stretch understanding and push students beyond simple drill-and-practice. Additionally, by exposing students to material before they enter the classroom, they have already had the opportunity to develop questions in their mind regarding the material.

In conclusion, the goal of this mini course is to present flipped classroom learning as a method to create a more interactive and engaging classroom environment.

Needs Assessment

1. The Instructional Problem

In today's education system, standardized testing and the rigor of subject-specific learning standards have caused a great shift in how instruction is presented. With so much content to cover in such a short period of time, teachers are left with very little time to guide students through practice problems, conduct inquiry activities, conduct applications-based problems, and promote collaborative learning. However, flipped classroom learning offers an alternative teaching approach that provides students with the opportunity to truly explore, understand, and critically analyze content. According to Aaron Sams and other board members of the Flipped Learning Network, flipped learning is “…a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter” (Flipped Learning Network, 2014). Thus, the goal of flipped learning is to transition classwork to homework and homework to classwork. In other words, students are exposed to the material prior to coming to class so that the majority of instructional time can be used to dissect the material. The goal of this “flip” is to ultimately enhance the learning experience by creating a more interactive learning environment with both the teacher and the students’ peers.

As educators, we have all said to ourselves at one time or another, "I wish I had time to do this activity in class! The kids would love it!" Imagine a style of classroom instruction where every single class period could include those interactive, hands-on activities that we all have to put aside for another year when we have time. Embracing flipped classroom learning opens up the doors to many new opportunities. As a high school chemistry teacher, I find that I constantly run out of time to do interactive demonstrations and hands-on manipulatives in class. After three years of teaching, I am ready to stop saying "..maybe I'll have time next year" and make changes today.

2. What is to be Learned

In this mini course, classmates and colleagues will learn about the four pillars of flipped classroom learning, weigh the benefits and challenges of incorporating this type of learning, and view examples of sample flipped lessons. Participants will also be provided with resources to create flipped videos.

3. The Learners

In general, this mini course is designed for teachers K-12 and other professionals in the education field who are seeking to incorporate technology into their instruction and develop ways to make learning more interactive, engaging, and collaborative. Participants will have varying degrees of technological skills.

4. Context for Instruction

All instruction will take place online for this mini course. Thus, all participants will need internet access and will be required to complete mini-assessments as they complete each section. In addition, some sections may require participants to watch videos and/or read articles.

5. Exploring the Instructional Problem and Solution

The general problem for participants to explore is how can teachers cover all required content while at the same time creating an engaging, interactive, and challenging classroom environment? Participants will continuously revisit this question as they are exposed to educational research and literature that specifically show how flipped classroom learning is improving learning across various grade levels and subject areas.

6. Goals of the mini-course

One goal of this mini-course is for teachers and other educational professionals to learn a new way for effectively incorporating technology into the classroom setting; not just for the sake of using technology, but to truly enhance learning. Another goal for this mini course is to show participants that flipped classroom learning is flexible in that it can be incorporated at varying degrees and at any age/grade level. Some teachers may flip an entire unit, while others may only flip certain lessons. Lastly, after completing this mini course, participants will have the tools and resources needed to explore flipped learning on their own in the future.

Analysis of the Learner and Context

In this mini course, learning will take place fully online. Thus, participants will have the opportunity to work at their own pace, but will be required to complete benchmark assessments as the course progresses. In order to succeed in this course, participants will need to have familiarity in using computers. Participants will be required to create flipped unit/lesson using the program "Jing". Thus, familiarity with creating and editing videos will be very useful. However, tutorials will be available for those who are using the program for the first time.

Performance Objectives

Using scholarly articles and videos, the student will be able to define flipped classroom learning.

Using scholarly articles and videos, the student will be able to list and discuss at least three benefits and three drawbacks of flipped classroom learning.

Given the program "Jing", the student will design and create a flipped unit/lesson and at least one interactive follow-up classroom activity.

After viewing peer designed flipped videos, the student will communicate with peers online to provide critical feedback regarding effectiveness and clarity of flipped videos.

Using personal experiences and ideas from peers, the student will brainstorm creative ways to motivate and hold students accountable for completing flipped homework.

Task Analysis

Unit 1: What is Flipped Classroom Learning?

The learner will brainstorm the benefits of incorporating more use of technology in the classroom setting. (prerequisite)
After viewing a TED Talks video narrated by Salman Khan, the learner will define flipped classroom learning and identify 3-5 benefits of video learning.
The learner will explain how flipped classroom learning can make instructional time more engaging and interactive.

Unit 2: How to Make a Flipped Video

The learner will choose one lesson/unit for which to create flipped videos. (prerequisite)
The learner will develop a video using a program called Jing.
The learner will develop a post-video interactive activity that will be evaluated among peers.

Unit 3: How to Effectively Incorporate Flipped Learning in the Classroom

The learner will develop techniques for properly introducing flipped videos into their own classroom.
The learner will evaluate ways to hold students accountable for viewing flipped videos.

Curriculum Map

File:Curriculum Map 2.pdf

References and Resources

Horn, Michael B. (2013). The Transformational Potential of Flipped Classrooms. EducationNext. Retrieved from http://educationnext.org/the-transformational-potential-of-flipped-classrooms/.

Khan, Salman (2011). Let's Use Video To Reinvent Education.TED.com. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education?language=en

Macdonald, Thom. Why did Katie Gimbar 'flip' the classroom?.TED.com. Retrieved from http://ed.ted.com/on/BynFDc4l

Practical Considerations (2016). FlippedInstitute. Retrieved from http://flippedinstitute.org/how-to-flip

Sowash, John. 5 Things I wish I knew about the flipped classroom. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JPdGlyt6gg

Using Class Time Differently (2016). FlippedInstitute. Retrieved from http://flippedinstitute.org/files/using-class-time-differently-k-12.pdf

What a flipped classroom looks like. PBSNewsHour. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_p63W_2F_4

Additional Resources Used:

Survey Monkey
EduBlogs
Padlet
Screencast-o-matic