*** This article was originally posted on the CUE Blog as part of a 6-part series on Flipped Learning.
Although Flipped Learning is most prevalent in math and science courses, adoption by educators teaching the arts and humanities is on the rise. In the three years that I have been immersed in the incredible Flipped Learning community, I have gone from one of the few social studies teachers to one of thousands. Described below is a snapshot of my evolving approach, yet it is just one particular variation of Flipped Learning. I therefore urge you to connect with the incredible educators mentioned below to learn about innovative ways that social studies teachers are experimenting with this concept.
WHAT DO OUR LEARNING SPACES LOOK LIKE?
Why not just say, “What does my class look like?” First,
I stress “our” to illustrate the concept of community and each student’s value
within it. Second, we do not just learn in a “classroom.” This antiquated term
does not accurately reflect our blended learning environment. Stages of
the learning cycle happen in various learning
spaces, such as the physical classroom space, virtually in the LMS, and
virtually while in the same physical space.
The physical spaces are set up based upon the type of learning that
occurs in each. For example, there are designated spaces for group direct
instruction, collaboration, and individual work. Our online space is the Flipped
Social Studies website, which is built upon the EDUonGO LMS
platform. I chose this emerging LMS since it is based upon the concept of
ongoing communication and collaboration. For example, the video notation
features allow viewers to ask questions and engage in a threaded discussion at
different points of each embedded instructional video.
STRUCTURE:
I structure my course based upon a flipped-mastery system. In
general, students must demonstrate mastery of a series of objectives for each unit.
Several learning tasks are provided for each objective, of which students
typically have a degree of choice. Many objectives also grant students the
option to develop their own learning task, as long as it clearly demonstrates
mastery of the objective.
Except for the circumstances that justify large group direct
instruction, students work through each unit’s objectives at their own
pace. Throughout the process, I provide instruction and guidance both face to
face and via instructional videos. I have created videos to serve many purposes, such as
content-based lectures, modeling social studies skills, and tech tutorials.
In a typical day, we begin in a large group setting.
Students engage in a warm-up activity, followed by a brief lecture, tutorial, or
guided discussion. Students then shift to their collaboration or
individual work areas to engage in their learning tasks. We conclude each day
with a “reflection” period during which students briefly describe their
accomplishments and gauge their effort and efficiency. Click here to
view a brief video capturing a typical day (recorded w/ iPhones…)
Teachers often ask me what students do if they finish a
unit far ahead of their peers. To address this, I reward them with extra time
to develop their interest-based “20 Time Projects.” (Click here to view the 20-Time Intro presentation
featuring a student voice-over.) I recently collaborated
with Kate
Petty to co-author a contributing chapter for Practical
Applications in Blended Learning Environments called “Student-Driven Education
With Flipped Learning and 20 Time.” Expected publication by IGI Global is
December 2013, contact either Kate or I for more details if interested.
A FOCUS ON SKILLS:
When developing each unit, only a few of the objectives included
are content-based. They instead focus upon skill development. The skills
selected were those from the CCSSLiteracy and Writing standards as well as the Connecticut Social Studies Curriculum Framework (my
state’s adoption). Content that is necessary to provide historical context is
then woven into students’ various learning tasks.
When transitioning towards a student-centered learning
environment, I quickly realized how important it was
to help students build their metacognitive skills and become self-regulated
learners. Since most students have never been granted this degree of
autonomy in school, it was no surprise that they lacked many of the skills
necessary to thrive in this environment. I therefore began actively teaching
metacognition through an ongoing process of goal setting, progress monitoring,
and reflection. I created a form called a “Daily Learning Journal” to help them
practice these skills each day. Click here for student perspectives of this
process.
RESULTS
As I discuss in a chapter in Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams’ upcoming
book, Flipped Learning has “democratized” my classroom in many ways. Through a study that I completed through an MA program at
Columbia University, I realized that these results are replicated in
social studies courses in other parts of the country as well. For a more
complete discussion on this topic, keep an eye out for Aaron and Jon’s new book
to be published by ISTE in Spring 2014.
THE FUTURE
Although our course is still rooted in flipped-mastery, I
have decided to venture into the world of gamification. I am not using games to
teach, but am instead designing the entire course as a live, multiplayer game.
The instructional design will include elements such as leveling, points through
attrition, guilds, and an overarching story that weaves together the action. I
credit Professor Lee Shlelon and Michael Matera for
getting us started down this exciting new path.
CONNECT:
Much of what I have learned has been through a reflective
process with help from an incredible PLN. The awesome social studies teachers that
I collaborate online with most are Karl Lindgren-Streicher, David Fouch, Jason
Bretzmann, and Frank Franz. Karl and Jason authored chapters
on social studies flipping in the recently published Flipping 2.0,while I and
PHS colleague Brian Germain authored a chapter on
student use of technology. There is also a free, archived eSeminar and Course for
social studies teacher who are, or at least considering, flipping their
classes.
Finally, view and contribute your information to this Flipped
Social Studies Community document. It
includes teachers from around the world with their contact info, websites,
video libraries, and more. Use this resource to connect and grow your PLN.
