CEDO 599 Entry One

My project will be implementing the flipped classroom. The plan is to complete a unit or lesson with my direct instruction done via an online video clip that I will create. Students will be assigned to watching the lessons outside of the classroom and in-class activities will be much more based on discussion, group work, and authentic activities such as primary source documents or problem based projects.

Advantage my project could bring is that my teaching could be dramatically changed. Although I am skeptical about using the flipped classroom for all my direct instruction it could be a way to help it. One of the struggles I face as a social studies teacher is the daunting amount of content that I am required to teach. There is not nearly enough time for discussions, group work, and authentic activities. Providing the lectures to students out of class may allow me more time to complete those more in-depth and meaningful activities. Having accessible online lectures may also be beneficial as a supplement to struggling students who need additional instruction. It may also appeal to students who want to pause and rewind certain portions of the lecture.

I do expect some potential problems. My biggest concern is that students will simply not watch the lessons. It would be great if there was a program that monitored who and how long each lesson was watched but I have not found one to date. If students do not watch the lessons then it will likely not be a very effective idea. I also am concerned about the time it takes to create flipped lessons. Creating a few lessons for the project will reasonable but finding time to do it frequently could be problematic.

Despite my concerns I am truly excited to try the flipped classroom. It is my hope that students benefit from the lessons and it becomes something I can share with other teachers.