A wild ride .....

I got an encouraging email from a Health Teacher in New York and while replying to her email I was motivated to write this blog.  I thought I would share some thoughts about the last year as I re-vamped my teaching style and philosophy.  Thanks Jen for the email and good luck to you as you embark on a new chapter ….   

 Why did I do this?:

Last year at this time I was burned out to say the least.  I have been teaching my butt off but it just seemed to be falling on deaf ears.  For a few years now I have been thinking … “There HAS to be a better way!?”  I saw some info on this “Flipped Classroom” idea and started to look into it.  Like most teachers starting their flip I was doing the same thing ... seeking as much info as I could about the Flipped Classroom.  I went to FlipCon12 on my own dime to gain the magic formula on this “new era in education”.  I was a sponge, taking in all I could but in the health education area I was coming up blank. I knew this was the direction I wanted to and I saw the potential but was freaked a little about what to do in class? I have lectured for 15 years .... what would I do during class?  What happens if the kids don’t do stuff?  What if it doesn’t work?  

I bought the book “Flip your Classroom” and stood in line to get Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams to sign my book, but secretly I just wanted to get some leads on health teachers that are flipping their classes so I could look them up.  I got to Jon and asked “so do you know any health ed. teachers that are flipping?”  I anxiously awaited … he said “Nope?! … I can’t see why it wouldn’t work though” … Aaron just shook his head from side to side.  In my head I screamed “CRAP!  So … I am on my own on this one” … and off I went thinking … “well, I guess I can make it whatever I want.”  And that is the cool thing about flipping your classes is that there is no set format.  It is all in how it works in YOUR class for YOUR kids.  My 2^nd semester looks different from my 1^st.  My 3^rd hour class looks a little different than my 7^th.  I have learned that Flipping your teaching is a fluid, dynamic thing that changes as you and your students do.  The great thing is that the backbone of the flipped model allows for that freedom of adaptation.  It will bend, and grow as you do.  That has been so cool.

So how did I start?:

I started looking at what I could do with the time I never had.  What things did I always wish I had time for?  I started remembering all the activities that I rushed through and never felt I gave ample time for the connections to be made.  I started isolating what I could put on video as I put my block plan together and it started to evolve. Things I rushed through or had a question mark next to based on time started to become more a focal point in the unit.  Those activities could now be the “A-Ha” moments for the kids to make the connection from head knowledge to true understanding. 

In the beginning I also had to get comfortable not being the "sage on the stage" and being the "guide on the side".  Sometimes it almost feels like I am not doing much just because I am not up front blabbing. On the other hand I am scooting from area to area checking in, answering questions, asking questions, checking answers, evaluating, restating, challenging, etc .... I feel like I am a teacher of individuals now rather than teaching a class!  It’s been a fun change to be honest. It hasn’t been a simple change, it has been work, but it’s been energizing work.

Just the other day I had my classes watching my vodcast on the Female Reproductive System in class and filling out the notes (Vodcast 5.3 – it’s a long one so i gave them in-class time to work on it) and I started feeling guilty because I was basically watching them watch me ... but then it hit me ... "I have ALL their undivided attention right now for 33 minutes!” ... every kid was engaged, watching, writing, pausing, re-watching, giggling asking each other questions, showing each other things in the vodcast, etc ... no way could I have done that in class lecturing.

It was a paradigm shift and it was cool to see.

So what about now?

I think the videos are the easy part ... getting the students to apply the content now is the work but it is cool to see the kids really understand it better. I am still having some issues with a few classes but as problems arise I find solutions or try new things and increase my knowledge and skill set. It's not like my classes run like a well-oiled machine just yet. I still have those days where it all falls apart but you just learn from it and go on just like when I lectured 100% of the time .... but now the kids don't look at me with that blank stare anymore ... ;-)

I spent many a night going to bed at 3 am because I was getting a video finally uploaded but that was only a season. I had committed to it, put my head down, pushed forward and did it. I am fortunate enough to have a semester class so I knew that once the videos were done I wouldn't have to worry about doing them for the second semester. Semester 2 has been about tweaking the classroom end and working the bugs out of my flip.

So has it solved all my problems?

I say to people all the time, "The flipped classroom has solved more problems than it has created." and it is true. There are still frustrations though. I have kids still getting 25% in class because they don't do anything ... notes/emails home, phone calls, progress reports, administration interventions, PBIS, etc .... they still just don't do anything. But.... they always have access to everything when and if they choose too, and I have put them 100% in the center of the learning environment so I am not "accused" of not doing something. It's all right there for them to take and do.

I love that part!

The kids are accountable for their learning and I am accountable for giving them an OPPROTUNITY to learn.  I am providing a differentiated, individualized environment for every student 24/7. Most take advantage of it ... some don't. That is the reality of the human condition. We all make choices and have to live with consequences good and bad. The Flipped classroom provides both of those experiences for students.  They can choose to take advantage of the learning opportunities set in front of them, or not.   The ones that take advantage of those opportunities are very successful (even the special ed, ELL and at-risk kids), and the ones that are not taking advantage of the opportunities are struggling … just like in a traditional classroom.  But my videos and quizzes are still there for them if they want … it’s up to them.

Just the other day I had a student in one of my “challenging” classes say “you know, when I watch the videos, class make so much more sense … I actually know what is going on now!”  She was one that sporadically watched the vodcasts or consistently watched them “late” so we had already moved through the application pieces in class.  When her grade was starting to deteriorate, she started following the suggested timeline for the videos and “Voilà” class made sense for a change.

In saying that … I have another student in the same class say to me “now let me get this straight, I can watch the video, take the quiz as many times as I need to and do my homework in class … you have to try really hard to fail!”  I said “Yup!”  …. He is failing ??  It can be frustrating when kids still won’t take what you have put in front of them.  Lead them to water … but they have to drink.  Most do, some don’t but ALL have the opportunity to succeed.  That is what I love about my Flip!

Students or Lab Rats??

This is week two of a grind that I usually don’t see until mid-May.  Students seem to be “quitting”??  I am dumb-founded?  I even talk to other teachers in different areas throughout my school day and ask:  “Do the kids do anything for you guys right now?  Do they care about anything?”  The answer usually comes back to me as a barrage of venting about the same struggles they are having.  “When we care more than they do .. When we are putting more work into learning than they are .. “ are comments that seem to come out way too often.  I don’t disagree at all.  These are teachers that are creative, hardworking, experienced, passionate, young and experienced.  We are all perplexed by the low motivation and lack of effort students are putting out. And it seems to be increasing.

 Even when kids are given opportunities to re-take a test, they don’t unless it is under a D.  There are a few that always do but those students are few and far between these days.  I have seen it over and over again in my classes.  I teach health education!!!  It’s not rocket science!!  Kids will still get a D on a quiz that they can take twice but say “It’s too much work, I passed”  Maybe I am only speaking about my community?   Maybe this isn’t happening all over but either way my question is why?

I have all my lessons via video (vodcasts).  None are over 20 mins and the shortest one is a little over 4 mins.  My students get virtually no homework other than the videos and a short online quiz a couple times a week.  We do a lot of group work, problem solving, activity based things in class.  They are not sitting and getting anymore.  That part of class has been great for me.  Kids say that my class goes by so fast, but most are unprepared for the activity because they don’t watch the vodcasts?  And the “catch-up” process can be laborious.  Unfortunately, I don’t have computers in class and not all kids have iPods or phones.   I keep saying this should work better than it is!!!?  I don’t get it.  I’ve been a lecture based teacher for 17 years now and I wish I would have started this process a long time ago.  The class is going much better now than in the past, but this should still be working better!!?  It is engaging; higher level thinking, activity based, why aren’t kids eating this stuff up??  Tons of questions roll through my head as to why kids are working harder to NOT do anything … anywhere??

I was venting like this to another teacher who is flipping her science classes and she said something that hit me like a dump truck.  She said “The kids are getting tested to death and they are sick of it!”  BAM!  I wonder if that was it.  Our district has us handing out CBA’s (Common Based Assessments) like they get $100 for each one we collected!  I am not in a core class so the CBA tidal wave hasn’t really hit my shore as hard as other areas.  Math, Science, English, Reading …. Tsunami!!  In talking to a veteran math teacher he expressed how he has no more autonomy in his class anymore.  Work on a problem, take a test, work on another problem take a test …. on and on it goes. 

My co-worker in science said the same thing.  So much is riding on these CBA’s in our district we can’t even teach anymore …. Data, data, data!  More data …. Even in the Physical education classes, they have to do one day a week of in classroom work AND do 20 mins of sit-down reading in the gym on a regular basis.  Instead of going to Phy. Ed. Class to be active, now we are telling kids to sit down more??!  My kindergartener (Who LOVES Phy. Ed) had to sit and color one day as part of the “instructional time”.  He said it was his low for the day … his FAVORITE class was his low that day?!

I think kids are tired … they are sick of taking tests, they are sick of being rushed through everything, they are sick of seeing teachers in panic mode all the time because of all the data that may or may not come from these tests.  Kids are having breakdowns at a crazy rate according to our 2 counselors who are doing the work of 4.  (We have a student body of 1600 and have 2 counselors – down from 4 a couple years ago).  Another symptom that may show kids are done with the “testing model”! 

Today, I stopped.  I gave the kids an organizational graph, a packet and a website and said we have two days to do this and it should only take one, work with whoever you want, use the website, use the packet, listen to your iPod we just need to have these done by Friday.   You could have heard a pin drop!  It was like I gave them crayons and a Scooby Doo coloring book and they were in the zone.  You could almost hear the room go … “ahhhhhhhhhh”.  It was another confirmation that they are tired.  No testing and no major pressure and the brain could slow down and work at a reasonable pace. 

It made me think … why are the ones who are working least with the kids making all the decisions about what works?  Even school boards … how many have classroom experience?  Should administrators be required to teach one class?  All these questions came to me.  I don’t have the answers but I do have opinions and experience that testing kids to death isn’t working.  It’s like a big experiment and these kids are the lab rats we are patiently waiting on to give us results on a doctoral hypothesis.  With changes in education these days a teacher’s voice isn’t able to ring out anymore.  There doesn’t seem to be the checks and balances we used to have.  I just need to work more at teaching in a way that works while I still can.  My flipped class is working better than my class was when I lectured but I still have a ways to go.  I guess we are proving that the saying “Paralysis by Analysis” really can happen. 

Flipping ... Work Smarter Not Harder

My first semester flip is about over and so far it has been a lot of work but it has paid off.  I have a renewed energy for teaching in new ways.  My brain has been stimulated a ton.  I have learned new technologies like Socrative, PollEv, Edmodo, Twitter, QR codes, etc … I have made new connections with educators online and in person.  What a ride so far …

My blog post today is another A-HA moment as to why the flipped model seems to be a method I will continue to incorporate as I continue to hone my craft.  I had an all-to-common event happen in class where a student was removed from class due to behavioral issues.  This was a student who consistently did no work, missed a lot of class and butted heads with about every teacher he had.  It was a matter of time before he reached a point where he was “below the line” so to speak.  So, due to this behavioral issues the administration intervened and he is spending the remainder of the semester in “in-school” suspension.  He is still enrolled in health class so I still need to give him the work to complete for the remainder of the semester (approximately 2 weeks).

Now usually I would need to rifle through the text, identify the content we will be covering and then come up with either questions from the text or an assignment, project or worksheets to give him.  Initially I fell back on old habits and started going through the book and racking my brain for content.  We have 3 more vodcasts left to finish this semester and as I was adding those to the checklist of things for him to do … the light-bulb went off!  “This kid is missing like 10 vodcasts & quizzes from the semester!?  Why am I creating new stuff when he hasn’t done the “old” stuff yet??”  Viola!!!  I simply printed off his missing video work (Quizzes & notes) and gave that to the cooperating teacher in ISS.  All the info he needed was already done, he just needed to watch the vids, take the notes and take the quiz for each. 

Now I don’t want to seem like I am just casting this poor student off, but  true to the purpose of the Flipped model, the learning was HIS responsibility and he has all the tools he needs to learn the content – he just hasn’t done any of it yet.  Now he has that opportunity to get his work done, get some badly needed grades in the books and prepare for the upcoming semester exam.  I don’t have to create busywork for him or re-create the content.  The content is already there just waiting for him to take advantage of it.  No extra stress on my part, no extra work on the cooperating teacher’s part, just a little guidance, direction and youtube …. ;-)  The prep work is done … he just needs to do it now.  No new “busywork”, just the necessary course content that is available to him 24/7.

It almost seemed too easy but I’m not sure when teaching (or learning) turned into being hard and frustrating.  It is so satisfying to know that I can still provide the same quality of education to a troubled youth at the end of the semester as I have been able to provide for the gem of a kid all semester.  The information is set up to be there when the student decides to access it. 

Will he do it??  I don’t know … that is up to him.  I know that when he decides … the information will be there waiting for him!!

Health Ed flip .... A day in the life of Mr. T

I was recently asked to visit a C & I class at UW Madison about the Flipped classroom and how I do it in a health classroom. It was a great opprotunity to share some personal information with students who were just getting ready for their student teaching esperience. They were told to read 2 articles about the Flipped Model and come up with questions. I am not an expert, but i have also done my share of research plus personal experience. I pretty much just talked about the successes and struggles of creating my flip. The students liked the fact they could talk to someone who was doing it rather than just reading about it. Also to see a different type of class flipping rather than just Math and Science. Nothing against Math and Science and I can see how the flip is awesome for those areas, but being a health and phy ed teacher it hasn't been the easiest to find others in my area with expertise/experience. I met up with the flippedcoach in Kenilworth and that was a great time to see how he has been integrating a flipped approach in Phy ed and coaching.

So far I feel like I have at least created a framework to build on and overall have been happy with the changes in my class. It is in no way perfect, and not every kid is wildly successful now but the content is being covered in a more applicable way than I have ever been able to before. Also i am not exhausted from talking all day. I feel like i know my kids alot better and most days I feel like i am actually doing something rather than blah, blah, blah .... 5 periods a day. But i digress ....

I put together a video of what my day looked like so the students at UWM could see what it actually looked like. The question i had and a BIG question they had looking at the Flipped Model was "what do you do in class if you don't lecture??" I decided to show them rather than tell them. Here is the clip I showed the UW class

The basic plan of the lesson is to get the kids to experience the failure rates of the different contraceptives we researched. I modified this activity from one developed by National Health Teacher of the Year Deb Tackmann from Eau Claire North HS called Bag of Beans. I can't take all the credit for this powerful activity. It's a great activity that allows the kids to really experience the risks. Jokingly I'll tell the class "we are going to try our some contraceptives as see how well they work ..." it usually gets a good laugh and some wierd looks. The Bag of Beads activityis usally the closing activity for the contraceptive unit. We have already done the Reproductive system vodcasts,labelingand the contraceptive chart research activityso they have everything they need to do the bag o beads activity.

I also threw in, as a review, an organizational activity for them to organize the vocab words from the vodcasts. It was a great problem solving activity for them to work at organizing all the contraceptives based on categories and types. The sticking point for many was that in the Barrer category, there were both prescription AND non-prescription contraceptives. I saw thier heads melt trying to figure it out ... and they all eventually did figure it out but I had to keep on them to not quit .. ;-)

Anyway, it just worked out to be a great demonstration of how a flip can look in any classroom. The funny thing is that the next day didn't go smooth at all ... a day in the life of teaching :-)