Flipped Classroom Misconceptions

    I swear, if I ever hear another teacher tell me "oh, that's sounds great for an honors class, but I'd never do that in my low level class," I might have a brain aneurysm.  I won't hide the fact that AP Calculus is lightyears ahead of Algebra 2, but that would be the case if I taught any way.  In order to prevent an explosion in my brain, I wanted to take time to explain some of the common misconceptions and myths I've encountered while talking to people about the flipped classroom.  Maybe if more people were informed about its strengths, they'd be more open to explore the infinite possibilities.

FLIPPED CLASSES ONLY WORK FOR HONORS

    Like I said in the introduction, of course this method works better in honors.  They're honors students.  They thrive in school.  Give them a class where they only read math textbooks and they'll find a way to succeed.  Give them substitutes every day, and they'll find a way to get an A.  Now understand, they'll succeed at a higher level if they've got the right support system.  The flipped classroom offers the ability to guarantee that they'll only have 45 minutes of homework every two days and have the ability to learn at their own pace.  They're responsible and they want to learn - that's why it works for them.

    But I didn't flip my classes for AP Calculus.  They were, honestly, an afterthought.  I thought about my Algebra 2 students who told me that I taught too fast.  I thought about the students who refused to take notes or stared out of the window, no matter how much prompting I gave them.  I though about the sleepy student who just wasn't "all there."  I thought about all the stress that homework put on the students and how very few assignments were returned with almost all problems complete and correct.

    My low level classes haven't learned how to be responsible for their learning - I need to teach them.  I anticipate that we will have a good system by the end of the semester.  More than the honors students, they need to learn at their own pace and they need the support when doing their homework.  Also, parents can now support their students 100% at home.  Some families even sit down together after dinner to watch the videos.  I can't ever remember a story like that in my years of teaching before the flipped classroom.

THEY DON'T HAVE INTERNET

     Alright, it's true - not every student has internet at home.  Not every student has a computer.  However, the internet is more widely used than many teachers choose to accept when discussing the merits of a flipped classroom.  The Pew Institute has found that 93% of teens ages 12-17 are online.  I can vouch for this - I have seen the Facebook drama in my classroom.  Almost everyone has a profile and it's a major point of discussion among students.  And many students can access a computer or internet at a friend or family member's house.

    And it's also true - everyone in my AP class has internet and there are about 10 students in Algebra 2 without.  But of the 10, at least 3 have smartphones with internet.  For the others, I can make a DVD of the videos.  Most schools or districts have DVD writing software and many would provide the DVDs for instructional purposes like this.  Students come in during their time to pick up the DVD and can watch it on their XBox, PS3, DVD player, or at the school library.

THEY WON'T WATCH THE VIDEOS

    Huge shock - some students won't do their homework.  If the assignment was to write a sentence about how you got to school yesterday morning, some still wouldn't do it.  We teachers will always struggle to get students to complete homework assignments and complete them correctly.

    Algebra 2 boasts a 50-70% preparedness rate almost daily.  This isn't close to the 100% that we'd like, but it's much better than the homeworks I'd receive in the past.  I no longer hear the words "I didn't understand the homework" or "the homework was too hard."  Students can complete these assignments accurately and completely every night.  And if they don't?  The videos are saved for them to complete when they are able.  The flipped classroom allows lower-level students to succeed daily in a way that was nearly impossible in the traditional classroom before.

    Finally, it's popular to think that the students won't know what's going on if they don't watch the video and take their notes.  True, they'll be behind the students who did actively watch the videos; however, aren't these the same students who wouldn't pay attention during my direct instruction in class?  Aren't these the same students who could never focus in class in the first place?  They never got much out of my direct instruction before.  If they miss the video, aren't they in the same place they were before?  And aren't a lot of students better off since they learned at their own pace?  I can't see the negative here.

THIS ONLY WORKS FOR MATH

    Some of the best flipped teachers are in science and social studies / history.  MY model works great for my math classroom, but there are tons of people who flip in every subject at every level.  Through social media like Twitter, Edmodo, and Facebook, we can discuss our ideas.  In learning teams, we can talk about how we might improve our 1-on-1 interactions with students.  This is the key pillar in a flipped classroom - how can I maximize my interactions with my students?  There is no flipped classroom model that works for everyone - each is unique and tailored for the students and their learning.  Search, explore, and be creative - flipping can be a very positive force in your classroom.

YOUR CLASS IS REALLY THE SAME AS AN ONLINE CLASS

    Many people simply associate the term "flipped classroom" to mean "the teaching is on video."  They have a point - much of our direct instruction is through video and other electronic means.  The teaching, though, is not restricted to videos.  I take time in class for deeper whole-class direct instruction where I often answer questions related to their understanding of the fundamentals.  Unlike in an online class, I spend hours learning with small groups, working through individual problems and answering the specific questions they have about the math.  This really allows me to differentiate instruction for groups of students and allows me to better interact with students in a way that's almost impossible during direct instruction time.  This is blended learning - the best of the technological world coupled with the best of the classroom world.

MISCONCEPTIONS WILL EXIST REGARDLESS

    Many of the great flipped class teachers have written on these misconceptions - this is just my personal take on some of them based on my experiences of being one of the first flipped teachers in my school.  I won't be able to convince every teacher, administrator, parent, and student that this flipped classroom is the best idea to improve learning in my classroom.  I can only stay positive, work with my colleagues who support me immensely, and continue to pursue perfecting techniques that allow me to help my students learn at the highest level.  At the time, my flipped classroom has improved the student experience more than I ever could have imagined.  I could never imagine doing what I did in years past - I'll keep this classroom model for every level as long as I teach.  Until someone stumbles on a way to make this even better...!  Thank goodness that I'm on Twitter to hear about it sooner than I heard about this model.