Flipped Classrooms

When looking at the flipped classroom from the perspective of a teacher, my first thought was it seems like a lot of work. The "Algebros" mentioned in one of Rosenberg's articles said it took them 40 to 60 hours to complete only one unit. You have to record all your lessons. You need to make individual assessments when taking the mastery approach. It can become very time consuming; however, it does have its positives. There would be less papers to grade at home because you are going over the work with your students in class. Once you record those lessons, you can use them over and over again for all different students. From a teacher's perspective, I feel as though it may be a lot of work and overwhelming in the beginning. But, I think it is worth it in the long run. Rosenberg mentions a teacher who taught the same material to two of his classes; however, he taught one how he normally would and he taught the other one flipped. She writes, "No student in the flipped class received a grade lower than a C+. The previous semester 13 percent had failed. This semester, none did. In the traditional classroom, there was no change in achievement." What educator wouldn't want to see all their student's excel?

When looking at the flipped classroom from the parent's perspective, the first thought might be confusion. Parents might feel like sending the student's home to learn a lesson leaves the "teaching" to them. When will my kid find time to do all that? What if we don't have the technology at home? As Rosenberg mentions in her articles, students can have access to computers at school during lunch, after school etc. They are even able to access the videos from their smartphones. Students will not be doing the traditional homework at home. The video lessons will take their place. When a student does not understand a lesson at home, they can come in with questions for the teacher and get individual help. The students would not move on until they understand each lesson. For a parent, this can seem like a big change at first. However, once again in the long run I think it is beneficial. It would prevent our children from falling behind and ultimately setting them up for failure down the road.

When looking at the flipped classroom from the student's perspective, they will most likely think it is too much work. Students have to realize how much better it will be to watch the lesson at home and do the application in class. This allows for more fun and interactive class time. Students are able to work in groups to complete work and help one another. When they are having trouble, they can receive individual help from the teacher.