Over the past few years the district that I work in has made some big steps to improve upon the implementation of technology, as well as the accessibility of technology for k-12 teachers, classrooms and students. We now have a new and improved school website where teachers can create blogs and other useful tools (i.e. drop box, grade books, etc.) to make teaching and planning more effective. There are number of teachers, primarily grades 4-12 teachers, who are experimenting with the Flipped Classroom. Basically the whole philosophy is the initial teaching is done at home, and the practicing (the most important part of learning) is done in the classroom with the teachers supervision and guidance. As part of their homework students are able to watch a brief video of their teacher to learn something new. Then the next day, students come in ready to participate in activities that reinforce concepts learned/taught in the video. Many of the teachers report great success with this.
Here are some FAQ's on flipped classrooms answered by a teacher who supports this philosophy and way of teaching.
Enjoy :)
I have never heard of Flipped Classrooms before reading your post and at first I thought it was a crazy idea but the more I read about it makes it seem very interesting. I worry that the students would not be responsible enough to thoroughly watch the videos at home to be prepared for the next day.
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