Looking to jazz up professional development at your school?

Who wouldn’t? Right!

But how, Brandi?

As I discussed in my previous article, you can choose flipped learning for your students.

And…

Learning is the same for grown-ups.

Right!

So…What does this look like with teachers in the “student” role?

In her article, Scott (2014) describes the intention for flipping teacher professional development. She explains:

the goal of this approach to professional learning is to provide teachers the time they need to understand the new content (such as a key strategy) on their own, leaving the face-to-face time to focus on collaboration, discussion, activities, and analysis of the content (p75).

Sounds great! But how?

10 Steps to Flipping Teacher PD

1. Free Up Meeting Time. Principal e-mails staff meeting business on videos or written text. This would include updates on school events unrelated to teacher PD. Teachers are expected to respond to the e-mail via several short questions.

2. Choose a topic for the group PD. This can be a survey given to the staff or based on the school growth plan. In some school districts there might be ongoing initiatives that can provide the focus. Scott (2014) suggests the topic of flipped classrooms as a logical topic for the first flipped PD.

3. Gather materials at a variety of levels. . These might be videos, slideshares, PowerPoints and articles. Look for materials that can support all the learning levels of your staff.

4. Consider materials that can be found online or created by teachers. One place to view examples of flipped classroom is this youtube channel.

5. Match materials with a guiding question. Each of the materials has a guiding question to keep teachers focused.

6. Set expectations before the group learning day. Teachers are asked to review the material posted, choose the formats that best suit their learning needs and learn the content.

7. Check in with teachers, half way to the group learning day. The principal can call a short meeting to get feedback on the learning and possible tech problems.

8. Principal creates mixed ability groups. Create the groups the teachers will be working in. Scott (2014) created the groups to include a “tech-savvy teacher, an innovative teacher, a traditionalist, and so on” (p. 75).

9. Teachers can lead the learning. Teachers can be selected to demonstrate their learning to other teachers. For example, the article mentioned that if the teachers are discussing flipped learning, other teachers can demonstrate web 2.0 tools or apps that can assist teachers with creating their own flipped lessons.

10. Check for understanding. Groups can create an artifact of their learning via a short presentation using a video medium.

So will you choose to flip your Teacher Based PD?

Remember, it’s all about adding value!

Until Next Time,
When I will be “Talkin’ About” something else…

Related Posts
Flip Your Classroom…Jeff Lewis Says Yes!

References
Scott, P. (2014). Flipping the flip. Educational Leadership, 71(8), 73

Checked out my Flipped Classroom Resource Page!

So..WhatchU Talkin’ About Today, Brandi?

Well…today I am talking about Flipped Classrooms.

At the heart, flipping your classroom is like flipping a house.

How so, Brandi?

Well..when renovating a house to flip it, your goal is to add value.

When flipping a classroom, you are looking to add value.

Oh!

Yes…so…What part of your instructional day needs more value?

Bergmann and Sams state (2014) “the basic premise behind the method is that direct instruction and lecture is not an effective teaching tool in the group learning space, but is effective when delivered to individuals” (p. 29).

So…Flipping a classroom is meant to be a way of adding value to instructional time…by moving direct instructional/lectures away from class time.

Then…students have the flexibility to view videos at home at their own pace.

They absorb background knowledge/skills before the next lesson.

This allows teachers the flexibility to facilitate and guide process work with individuals or small groups in the next lesson…voila..adding value.

So…it means taking a look at what you have now.

Yes!

As Bergmann and Sams state (2014) “The key is to rethink and reimagine what class time should look like” (p.30).

And…keep in mind…

“Flipped learning is not about how to use videos in your lessons. It’s about how to best use your in-class time with students.”(Bergmann & Sams, 2013,p.16)

Changes to the flip classroom have gone beyond using videos as introductory tools.

Quillen states (2013) “While using video to introduce new concepts is still the most common tactic… more educators are now choosing to use video to supplement already-learned content, or even to have students search online and report on how the videos they find build on their classroom learning” (pS10).

Research on Flipped Classrooms
Goodwin & Miller state (2013) “To date, there’s no scientific research base to indicate exactly how well flipped classrooms work” (p.78)

However there are benefits that have been noticed. (Goodwin & Miller, 2013, p. 78-79)
1. Improved Student-Teacher Interaction
2. Opportunities for Real-Time Feedback
3. Student Engagement
4. Self-Paced Learning
5. More Meaningful Homework

Two important links to check out: Flipped Classroom Survey and a Flipped Classroom Info-graphic.

Check back soon for more information on Flipped Classrooms.

With topics such as:

How to structure a flipped classroom?
How flipped classrooms support the inclusive model?
How to find videos for your Flipped Classroom?
How to “mini”-flip your classroom?
How to flip your literacy classroom?
How to flip in an elementary classroom?

So in the end, you must decide…will you flip?

Remember, it’s all about adding value…

Check out my Flipped Classroom Resource Page!
Until Next Time,
When I will be “Talkin’ About” something else…

References
Bergmann, J. & Sams, A. (2014). Flipped learning: Maximizing face time. T+D, 68(2), 28.
Bergmann, J. & Sams, A. (2013). Flip your students’ learning. Educational Leadership, 70(6), 16.
Goodwin, B. & Miller, K. (2013). Evidence on flipped classrooms is still coming in. Educational Leadership, 70(6), 78.
Quillen, I. (2013). Video transforms teaching tactics. Education Week, 32(32), S8-S10