Don’t be misled – the frustration was intentional.

Just to update you, I spent this week showing my flipped videos in class and watching the students take notes, just to make sure they knew how to “watch a video.” The note taking went well, since the videos followed the notes exactly. The video watching, on the other hand, was quite frustrating for them. They asked me to pause, rewind, and explain quite frequently. I expected this because, unlike a lecture, the video explains things once, so if a student’s mind drifted, or they were otherwise distracted, that student missed important information. Whenever I was asked to explain in person, I used the same wording that I used in the video.

Were there complaints? Oh, yes! One student took a survey of the entire class, and asked, “Now who understood all of that?” He was surprised when a neighbor sitting right behind him said, “Actually, all of us at this table are working ahead on the assignment now.” And it was true. About a third of the students understood most of what was in the video, enough to tackle the assignment that was handed out beforehand.

Two other students were just mad, admittedly. They stayed after class to tell me how angry they were. They had previously told me that they had been lost in math class before, and before I had decided to flip, they were actually learning. They were worried that they would be lost again because they thought I would be relying solely on the videos to teach them, and I would not be giving them any personal attention at all. I explained to them that all they had to do was watch the video in the evening and take good notes. I was not expecting them to understand everything I said in the videos, just to hear it at least once before they showed up to class. I told them that, from now on, I would be working with a small group that watched the video the night before but still needed some help understanding, and if they wanted to be a part of that group each day, they were more than welcome. They were somewhat happy about that, but were still skeptical.

At the end of the week, I gave all students their assignment for Monday. It was the usual set of notes, with a link to the video at the top. (Everything they need for this and all future lessons is cross-posted to every possible place they would need to find it, just to avoid excuses.) I also announced that on any given day, there would likely be at least three groups: (1) the ones who didn’t watch the video, who would have to spend the beginning of class watching the video before beginning the day’s assignment; (2) the ones who watched the video and do not need any further explanation, who would begin the assignment as soon as they got to class; and (3) the ones who watched the video but needed more explanation or help understanding, who would be in a small group with me going over any questions they had about the lesson and notes before beginning the assignment. It was up to them which group they wanted to be in. I explained that the size of each group would vary from day to day, but we would work through it together.

The response was mixed. Most of them were very unsure. But some were excited at the idea of being able to work ahead. One student asked if he could work days ahead, and I said yes, but since I didn’t have all of the videos done for the year yet, he would only be able to get so far.

So, all in all, I would consider this week a success, even though anyone who would have visited my Algebra 2 classes this week might understandably disagree. I am really looking forward to next week. To be clear, I don’t think it will go perfectly, but I do welcome the challenges that will make me rethink my process and make it better, for me and for the students.

They said it couldn’t be done. In fact I was told by some of my closest (non-flipping) colleagues, “Flipped classroom doesn’t work with on-level students.” Period. Maybe I’m stubborn, but I took that more as a dare than a warning.

So yes, I plan to start using the flipped approach with my on-level Algebra 2 students. While they are just as capable as my IB Math students, I realize that their attitude towards learning math independently may vary slightly. So I have to approach this differently. First, I have to give them the motivation to watch the videos at home. And second, I have to give them some accountability that lets me know that they are actually doing what I asked them to do at home. I have to admit I’ve been listening to Jon Bergmann’s podcast for inspiration, and it has been extremely helpful.

The motivation is simple: most of these kids are naturally social. So the classroom activities that follow the basic lessons must be of a very social nature. That way, if students don’t watch the videos at home, they must watch them during class, delaying their ability to be social during the activity.

The accountability is equally simple: a set of fill-in-the-blank notes that matches the content of the video exactly. I give this to the students as they leave class, and they bring it back the next day. For absent (or absent-minded) students, an online copy of the same blank notes is available.

Here’s how I plan to unroll the new approach:

Step 1: Teach the lesson using a pre-made Powerpoint – the kind I use in my videos – while students take notes. This gets students familiar with how the lessons will look once they are watching them at home – the animations, the transitions, the fonts, the explanations. I will do this for a week so that the pattern is set.

Step 2: Watch the videos during class, while students fill in their notes. Students realize that watching these videos is not like watching a movie. They have to pay attention and follow the examples. They have to write things down, and they have to understand what they are writing. While they watch the video, I walk around and encourage them as they take notes.

During this same time frame, we start some of the more social learning activities for each lesson, at different levels depending on how comfortable they are with the content. I also hold small group tutoring sessions for those that need further assistance in understanding. But we soon realize that we don’t have enough time to do it all.

After about a week, we have a discussion about whether they prefer to sit and take notes during class, or whether they prefer we spend the time doing activities that could actually be completed during class. (Which do you think they will choose?) At this point, I ask them if they would be willing to fill in the notes at home so that we could have more time in class. This would require a majority of participation in order to work, but that’s where peer pressure – the good kind – would be a motivating factor. Since they may not remember where to find the videos at first, I put a QR code and a tinyurl address at the top of the notes page. I tell them that they must watch the video and fill in their notes during the evening in order to participate, and I stick to it. Classroom laptops would be available for those who forget or choose not to watch. Those who did watch the video can then participate in the activities. They can pick their comfort level, they can work with each other, or they can get more guidance from me.

So that’s the plan. It may work, or I may get egg on my face. Either way, I’m trying. And if I do fail, that just means that this plan didn’t work, but I won’t give up. I believe in this so much, and how it builds student-teacher relationships, and how it allows me to scaffold instruction to meet individual needs. I really hope this works, and if it doesn’t, I’ll just reflect on it, fix what I can, and try again.