Flipping Out in the Elementary Classroom

Image courtesy of James Barker / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

I've been hearing and reading quite a bit about flipped classrooms lately. It's the latest trend in education. Traditionally, the movement has been reserved for lecture-heavy high school and college courses. But it is starting to trickle down to the elementary level where it would serve more to build background knowledge ahead of classroom instruction. 

Here's how it works: Flipped classrooms put the lecture part of instruction at home and the homework part of instruction at school. In other words, instead of the teacher introducing a topic and assigning homework, instruction is provided via technology (videos, DVDs, thumb drives). Students watch the content at home in preparation for class the next day. Class time is used to discuss the information, participate in a project or complete assignments that would have been given as homework under the traditional teaching method. The goal of flipped classrooms is to make learning more engaging and interactive for students as well as to give teachers more opportunities to provide individual or small group instruction.

Obviously, there are pros and cons. The biggest obstacle is access to technology. You can call this the Digital Age as much as you want, but there are still many, many families in this country who do not have computers at home. Additionally, there will always be a population of students who do not complete their homework for reasons that stretch way beyond laziness. We have kiddos amongst us who face unfathomable obstacles every day that prevent them from doing school work.

On the Pro side, a flipped classroom could be just what students who struggle with processing issues need to be successful. Watching content in the comfort of their own home, where they can pause, rewind, and review the information as many times an necessary can help them keep pace with their peers. They could jot down questions and topics for discussion ahead of time, which would allow them to collect their thoughts and participate in class in a way they might not have been able to before.

I'm taking more of an interest in this new trend because the school district in which I live is currently rolling out its Future Learner Project (FLiP). It's a multi-year implementation that started with a small pilot group of its 5th grade classes this year. To solve the technology problem, the district plans to put a take-home laptop into the hands of every student. But beyond just handing kids the devices, teachers will engage in extensive professional development to ensure they are comfortable using the technology within a curriculum that correlates with a flipped classroom as well as the Common Core Standards.

I'm hoping this flip won't be a flop because I really can see how this could help students at all learning levels. It won't be easy, but it's achievable. How about you? Is your district looking into flipped classrooms? Thoughts?

Thanks for reading ... It Keeps Your Mind Full of Literacy!