This is our staff blog where our departments will collaborate around ideas and thoughts that will improve teaching and learning and increase teacher capacity to lead in our school.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Reject the Flipped Classroom
Some interesting thoughts about rejecting this classroom model. What are your thoughts?
I still am confused over which version is the flipped classroom. The one where all work is done at home or the one where all work is done at school. Irregardless I agree with the author that while in an ideal situation all students would have access to all needed levels of technology and quiet study time, reality shows us that this is not true. While I believe that homework has a valuable place, I personally have been phasing a lot of my homework out over the last 8-10 years to deal with this situation. If I send a lot of work home the likelihood of all of my students being able to complete is zero. Some are "lazy", some are "forgetful", but most work that is not turned in is due to a lack of time or a lack of resources to complete the homework. I dream of a day when the only reason my students do not turn in homework is laziness. Until that time my colleagues and I will continue to educate to the best of our abilities with the resources provided for us and our students.
I agree that many students do not have the same support at home when it comes to school. One of my frustrations as a teacher has been related to that fact. When I try to contact parents of my students, I often have wrong numbers, no answer, no machine to leave a message...In a few cases I do actually get a live person. When I explain the reason for my call, the person on the other end is concerned 80-90% of the time. I can only imagine that the same exists when it comes to grades and homework. Many parents are unaware when students have homework or that report cards/grades have been given to students. Parents are busy working to make ends meet and provide for the basic needs of the family. They are depending on the schools more than ever to provide whatever the student may need. Technology is quickly becoming part of that expectation. The article referred to the "haves and have nots" and the fact that those students who do not have resources outside the school are at a disadvantage right off the bat. This is very true in our community. I am happy that our school system has made it a priority to address the technology gap. Having the time outside of school to work on assignments will always be a challenge for our students, but hopefully technology will breakdown some of the walls/barriers. I think that having assignments to complete outside of the regular school days does have its place as long as it is not "busy work". Students learn time management skills and how the be dependable and organized. How often do employees in the working world take home things to do for their jobs? Having some outside assignments to do for school prepares our students for the world of work
I still am confused over which version is the flipped classroom. The one where all work is done at home or the one where all work is done at school. Irregardless I agree with the author that while in an ideal situation all students would have access to all needed levels of technology and quiet study time, reality shows us that this is not true. While I believe that homework has a valuable place, I personally have been phasing a lot of my homework out over the last 8-10 years to deal with this situation. If I send a lot of work home the likelihood of all of my students being able to complete is zero. Some are "lazy", some are "forgetful", but most work that is not turned in is due to a lack of time or a lack of resources to complete the homework. I dream of a day when the only reason my students do not turn in homework is laziness. Until that time my colleagues and I will continue to educate to the best of our abilities with the resources provided for us and our students.
ReplyDeleteMark Wheatley
I agree that many students do not have the same support at home when it comes to school. One of my frustrations as a teacher has been related to that fact. When I try to contact parents of my students, I often have wrong numbers, no answer, no machine to leave a message...In a few cases I do actually get a live person. When I explain the reason for my call, the person on the other end is concerned 80-90% of the time. I can only imagine that the same exists when it comes to grades and homework. Many parents are unaware when students have homework or that report cards/grades have been given to students. Parents are busy working to make ends meet and provide for the basic needs of the family. They are depending on the schools more than ever to provide whatever the student may need. Technology is quickly becoming part of that expectation. The article referred to the "haves and have nots" and the fact that those students who do not have resources outside the school are at a disadvantage right off the bat. This is very true in our community. I am happy that our school system has made it a priority to address the technology gap. Having the time outside of school to work on assignments will always be a challenge for our students, but hopefully technology will breakdown some of the walls/barriers. I think that having assignments to complete outside of the regular school days does have its place as long as it is not "busy work". Students learn time management skills and how the be dependable and organized. How often do employees in the working world take home things to do for their jobs? Having some outside assignments to do for school prepares our students for the world of work
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