- Start small - In the beginning, it feels incredibly overwhelming and I really feel like the pilot experience was the best way to begin. Through my 1 class pilot, I tried out and tested different techniques and began to establish what worked best for me.
- Seek feedback from students - During that pilot class, I frequently asked students for feedback. I probably surveyed students every 3 weeks to get feedback. This was really helpful to me to establish my flipped technique.
- Relish your uniqueness - After exploring other peoples' flipped classrooms, I realized that everyone interprets this differently. You have to do what works best for you. If you are not authentic, your students will not buy it.
- Even a short video, can "buy" a lot of face-to-face time. This was the most surprising fact to me! I was able to spend more time assisting students who needed it and give guidance to help students grow. We had more class time to review concepts with students who really needed it!
- Classic problems don't go away with the flipped classroom - Videos for homework...are still homework. And as teachers know, there is usually a percentage of students who will not do the homework, no matter what it is! However, I do feel as thought the percentage did shrink to a smaller number, but I feel as though the speed of the other students in class magnified those students who did not complete the homework. It is a classic teaching problem that teachers will always be addressing.
- Advanced notice is important! My situation was not a 1-to-1 school. So, I had to make this work with more limited resources. About 90% of students had internet at home or a study hall during school to access the internet. I still had to account for 10% of students who did not have daily access to the internet. After my 1st month, I established a rule with my classes that I would always give them 4 days of advanced notice before any video was due.
Good luck to all of you trying out the flipped classroom for the first time this year!
