So Far I'm Loving This Flipped Classroom

I have this class.  You know, it's full of freshmen boys.  I need to be on my toes and there can not be one moment of free time or all hell breaks loose.  I decided to try my modified 'flip' with this class today and it. was. awesome.

Here's What I Did:

I call this a modified flip because I don't assign the videos for homework.  I know the most of the students won't do the work at home.  Since I'm new at this, I'm not ready to tackle what to do when the lack of homework completion places a huge gap in my students' learning.  

I had to leave work early yesterday, so Ms. H from across the hall covered my class.  Since she was forfeiting her one and only prep period of the day, I wanted to make it as easy as possible for her.  I assigned a test for the students and then a video based on the next outcome for the those who finished before the end of the period.

When I came back today, Ms. H told me that some of the students weren't able to watch the video yet.  So today I wrote three things on the board that I wanted students to accomplish in class.  Two were videos (1 from yesterday) and one was a little quiz.  The atmosphere in class was peaceful.  There was no tension, no stress.  Everyone was working at their own pace.  Yes, they were working.  They were 95% on task (they are Freshmen after all).  

Why It Worked:

Normally when I attempt to deliver a new lesson, students are on all different levels. I will usually have a student ask me to wait while they finish writing something down.  Oh no, now there's down time.  And everyone else who is finished writing sees this as an opportunity to talk.  Now I have to get every one's attention again to continue with the lesson. 

But today we didn't have this.  If a student needed to pause the video, it didn't effect anyone else.  

Students didn't feel like they were interrupting me to ask questions.  I was circulating around the room answering questions the whole period.  I was able to make sure every student was on task and that's hard to do when you're standing in the front of the room all period.  

I did have one student who was absent today.  Guess what he'll be doing tomorrow.

Downsides:

Of course some students finished while the other didn't.   My plan is to have a Flashback day tomorrow (a day where students can reassess on previous outcomes).  Anyone who didn't finish today's work can do that tomorrow.  Or they can come to my room during homeroom.  

I have to make videos for every lesson that I do. Although this seems daunting, I feel that it might be doable.  The lessons that I made were only 5-10 minutes in length.  It takes so much longer during class because of all the interruptions.  

What the Students Thought:

At the end of the class I asked the students for some feedback.  They say they loved it.  A handful of students said they want every single lesson done this way. 

What a great way to end my work day.  I hope yours went well too.