We are finishing up the second unit in which we have fully
adopted the flipped-mastery model in our World History course. Students from the three classes were polled
following the first two weeks (Google Forms embedded into Edmodo), and this
week several conducted “exit interviews.”
These discussions were held with students
who have demonstrated mastery in all of the unit’s standards ahead of most classmates
(more on this pacing issue in a later post).
Here is some of their feedback from the Google Forms survey
and “Exit Interview:”
What do you think are the advantages of the Flipped-Mastery
approach?
“I can work at my own pace, even work on this at home if I
am sick or on vacation. Less stress.”
“We really like the self-pacing, I can move on instead of
waiting for everyone else.”
“I like how you put
maps and videos on the screencast with your lecture.”
“I actually get my work done.”
“I like that we get to use technology and laptops more.”
“With assignments in
Edmodo, you can keep working on the unit at home even if you are absent.”
“It was cool because it was something different.”
“I liked being able to choose which assignments to do for
each standard.”
“I like how each
topic is condensed into three basic standards.
We have a better idea of what we are doing for the next two weeks.”
“The video lecture
are better because we can rewind. Also,
there are less distractions than a lecture in class.”
How can our class be improved?
“The Edmodo posts were confusing. Clearly label each assignment and standard.”
“Have more detail into what exactly you are looking for and
what the answer should look like. Also, have specific deadlines.”
“Give us at least one
day in class to watch the screencast and do the Edmodo quiz.”
“Not everyone has computers at home. I don’t feel like going
to the library to do all this."
“I have computer access issues at home and can’t always get
to the library.”
“The school’s
computers do not work right.”
“The screencast lectures go too fast.”
“Offer extra credit if we are done early.”
“If we finish early, we should be able to move on to the
next unit instead of extra credit.”
“We should have time
in class to discuss things from the video."
First, the overall “buy-in” from students is excellent. Almost every student I talked with said that
this approach helps them learn much better.
It is still too early to see whether this will significantly improve
their summative assessments, but their formative assessments and overall
assignment completion rates are way up.
This is very promising!
As for their feedback, I have considered making a few changes. Here are my ideas for the next unit:
- Create “coversheets” for each standard. This will include a checklist of assignments
that they have completed along with the date of completion. Once they have demonstrated mastery of the
standards, they turn in the coversheet along with any hardcopy assignments
before moving on. This will hopefully
clarify expectations and help with their organization.
- As for the computer issues, I am going to change
the homework policy. Originally, the
screencast, video questions, and Edmodo quiz were to be done at home only. If it was not completed on time, they had to
stay after school to complete it. For
the next unit, I will be deducting points if not done on time, but will allow
them to make it up in class.
- As for pacing, I will start offing extra credit
assignment for those who finish the unit early. I understand that some want to move on to
the next unit. This will be considered
in the future, but since I am basically writing the curriculum on the fly (this
is my first year in this district and there was no existing curriculum), it is
impossible for this to be done at this point.
- I will also incorporate more time for class
discussion and debriefing at the end of each unit. I may also incorporate an online discussion
forum that will run for the duration of the unit.
As for my own reactions, I am “all-in” with this
approach. I have already seen the class
atmosphere improve as well as my relationship with the students. I have had a chance to talk and work 1-in-1
with students more in the past month than in the entire first semester.
I was recently taken aback by an experience a colleague discussed
with me regarding a conversation they had with staffers at the US Department of
Education. While in DC, they mentioned the
flipped class model and asked for the Department's viewpoints. Apparently, staffers responded with skepticism,
actually referring to the practice as “nexting.” What the heck is "nexting?"
