Elem+-+MacCracken,+Coleen

=Coleen MacCracken - Elementary= Begin writing a plan to gain stakeholder buy-­in for flipped instruction that includes the following: 1. What is flipped instruction in your own words? 2. How does flipped instruction address your stakeholders key concerns? 3. Why is flipped instruction beneficial for 21st century learners? 4. How does it build upon our previous understanding of best practices, CCSS, IB curriculum?
 * Assignment 3**
 * Flipped instruction is taking the direct instruction part of lessons out of the school day and allowing more time for guided and independent practice with more time for teacher support. **
 * The instruction becomes more differentiated and meets the needs of each learner in your classroom. Teachers, parents, students and administrators want students to become independent learners and thinkers and flipped instruction is a great way to accomplish this. **
 * 21st century learners have grown up with the use of technology and it only make sense that education keeps up with the demands of technology in the classroom. Flipped instruction also gives every student to think and come up with questions on their own instead of having a teacher scaffold their thinking or relying on other students to ask and answer questions. **
 * I think that flipped instruction meets the higher level thinking demands of CCSS. ** 5. What aspects of your instruction will you concentrate on flipping first?
 * Science and math would be the areas to flip first because it requires the greatest amount of guided practice in the classroom. **

What are the pros and cons of flipping instruction as you see them?

Pros: There are many positive aspects of a flipped classroom. As a special education teacher I like the idea that students can pause and rewind the video as many times as they want. So many students have “re-teaching” on their IEP and the videos would allow this to happen without a teacher having to sit down and actually re-teach the lesson to each individual student. I also like the idea of being able to spend more time working with the students that may be struggling with the concept. When there is so much more time for teachers to work with students they can really provide the support that some students need.

Cons: I think the biggest challenge of a flipped classroom at the elementary level would be to get students and parents to complete the assignment at home. Younger students need a lot more help using technology at home. If the student does not have access to technology our parent support it would be hard to relay on them getting the instruction at home. I think that flipping a classroom at the elementary level would have to be modified and adjusted a bit but it can be done and it would be beneficial to students.

(How) does a FlipClass better address student needs than does a traditional class?

A traditional class spends a lot of time on teacher instruction and lecture and it does not allow for as much guided or independent practice. A flipped class allows for a lot more time with guided practice which allows students to practice what they learned at home. It also allows teachers to spend more time supporting students where the need the most help. Another difference it is easier to implement mastery instruction with a flipped classroom than a traditional classroom. Students can take there time on each unit and move on when they are ready. The ultimate goal is for the students to be apply to apply the concepts they have learned in class and master instruction is the best way to ensure that that happens.

Who are your stakeholders? What are their common concerns?

The people that are affected by the flipped classroom are the teachers in the building, administration, the students and parents. As an elementary teacher I think it would be most difficult to get the parents to buy into the flipped classroom. Young students love using technology in and out of the classroom so it would not be difficult to get the students to participate in flipped classroom activities. Children at the elementary level would not necessarily notice a shift between in the paradigm because school is new to them and they have been using technology since they have entered the school. To me, it would be hard for parents to buy into it in the elementary level because it would require so much support for students to use technology at home. For all stakeholders change is the biggest concern. It is something that is differnent from their original way of thinking and they need to be able to make the shift in the educational approach in order to keep up with changing times. =**Assignment 2**= I think this passage is important because so many of the stakeholders think that it is a huge change to implement a flipped classroom but that is not the case for students. Most of our students are so used to the technology that they do not think that the flipped classroom model is anything new. It is more of an adjustment for teachers and parents than it is for students. Since the goal of education is to do what is best for the learner then the flipped classroom model would only benefit these “digital learners”.
 * “These students understand digital learning. To them, all we are doing is speaking their language. Don’t get us wrong- we are not saying they don’t appreciate learning this way. But instruction via video is not a big deal for today’s students” pg 20**

As a special education teacher I love the idea of being able to slow down for the students that need the extra time without holding up the students that are ready to move on. So much of my time is spent re-teaching the whole group lesson that I run out of time to provide support during independent or guided practice. Students can take as much time as the need watching or re-watching the video clip and it does not take away from the time that the teacher needs to provide support.
 * “Making students all sit in tidy rows and listen to their teacher eloquently explain his or her area of expertise is not always an effective means of communicating to them. We often move too fast for some means of communicating to them. We often move too fast for some students and too slowly for others” pg 24**

So many of my students have attending issues and sometimes I feel like they have not gotten anything out of whole group lessons. I spend time re-teaching in a small group and we waste valuable time redoing something we’ve already done. A flipped model would hold the students responsible for getting the information and coming up with questions on their own. A lot of times struggling students sit there until another student come up with the answer or a question. Flipped classroom would better address the needs of struggling learners. “Flipping allows for real differentiation” Flipping makes differentiation much more manageable. Students are able to work at their own pace and ask their own questions. So often we lose students because they are confused, or they are bored. Flipping allows the individual to learn in their own way. It also makes differentiating worksheets easier. When you send a note sheet home the students do not know what the other sheets look like. You can have important notes typed out with just a few blanks or you could have students take notes independently. Flipping makes differentiating instruction more accessible for the variety of learners in the classroom. It would be a lot of work for an elementary teacher to flip their entire classroom because they are teaching 4 different subjects in a day. I think that if you start math and science and allow more time for guided practice in those subjects it would be a good starting point. It’s not realistic to think that in one year you can completely flip you classroom and instruction. When you start flipping ELA you can start as a station in centers and then gradually add more flipped components. There will always be challenges when you are making a change but there are also ways to address these challenges.
 * How does a flipped class better address their concerns than a traditional class?** “Flipping helps with struggling students”
 * What might be some challenges you will encounter? How do you plan to address them?**

__Stakeholder By In__ I would invite parents to come into my classroom after school to introduce the concept of Flipped Classroom and allow them to see what flipped instruction looks like and allow them to make their own opinions about the benefits to students. media type="file" key="character traits day 1.wmv" media type="file" key="July18 1102.wmv"
 * Assignment 4**
 * 1) I would show this video clip to introduce the need to change instruction in the classroom. [] I would explain the concept and open it up for discussion.
 * 2) I would have the parents participate in a mini flipped lesson so they can see what their students will be doing in the classroom or at home. I will have a sheet prepared for them to fill out as they go along and then explain to them that I will have more time during the school day to work with students and provide support and help where it is needed.
 * 3) I would introduce the technology that they might need to access at home, give them the necessary log ins and passwords to be successful and support their children in flipped instruction.
 * 4) I would end with any questions or concerns that parents might have about this process