Exit Slip (Sept 21) - Flipped Classroom

I feel like the flipped classroom is an extremely valuable tool for teachers to enhance student learning and make more productive use of classroom time. I have seen this method of teaching done in the classroom and I feel like this method really worked because it gave students the chance to learn at their own pace. I remember as a student I often got lost in lectures because the teacher went to fast or perhaps I missed one point. Once I missed something, that hole would continue to haunt me throughout the entire class and it would make it difficult for me to move forward in the lecture, so I would often continue to miss more and more information ultimately leaving me with a poor understanding and learning experience. I think the fact that students have the power to pause and rewind lectures is super convenient. For example in a math class it gives students the opportunity to pause the lecture and try a problem themselves to make sure they understand the concept. I think this also makes class time very productive because the teacher can focus more on filling in the gaps than covering content. The overnight period also gives students time to think about the material and come up with questions they might not have had time to ask during an in class lecture. I feel like keeping up with lecture notes and content is enough of a challenge that I was never able to realize my questions during lectures. With the flipped classroom students have the ability to ask questions during work time and get one-on-one assistance which might not otherwise be possible in a traditional classroom setting.

Although I feel the flipped classroom is an amazing and innovative way to approach teaching, I don't feel it can completely replace lectures or in class content discussion. I do think this technique works better for classes that are more math oriented, but I think they can be adapted for other subjects by highlighting main ideas and giving a summary of content rather than painting the whole detailed picture via videos. However, I think no matter how revolutionising this method is, it could never replace good old human interaction and discussion. I feel like the flipped classroom should be more fluid. Students could watch the video at home and maybe test their understanding with a practice problem so they can identify any holes in understanding and bring their questions to class for the next day. The beginning of class would be time for the teacher to answer any questions the students might have encountered at home. If there were no questions it would be an opportunity for the teacher to do a quick review and assessment. The teacher could ask the students probing questions to test their understanding and get the students thinking and discussing about what they watched and learned the night before. This would work for math related topics or even things like biology. Then if this was a more math related concept the teacher could go through a practice problem with the class and finally the students could work on homework and interact with peers and teachers to ensure they understood the material. I feel the flipped classroom should be used in combination with in class lecture/review and discussion to give the student a more thorough and meaningful learning experience.

I feel like Khan Academy can be a useful tool even if you don't plan on using the flipped classroom. Some people could view the existence of such websites as competition or replacing the need for in class teachers, but I feel like this could be used as a supplement for students who aren't gaining enough from your own lectures. If teachers don't want to adopt the flipped classroom method, this could simply be a more engaging additional resource to help students who learn differently or are continuing to struggle. No matter how you choose to arrange your classroom, more resources are always better than less and if at least one student can benefit from this additional resource then I think teachers should definitely utilize what has been made publicly available to them.