My theory in class is that if one student asks a question, there are at least 10 others who want to ask but do not, for whatever reason. I think the same theory applies to all people, especially to parents. Here is some real Q & A between myself and a parent (for the 135 of you that secretly want to know too) | |
Parent: How much time do you feel the kids should be spending at home on this?
Me: 100 point a week is the minimum I expect from students. This can be as few as 4 or as many as 15 quests.
Parent: Will there be a lot more time to do more of these quests in class? If so, can you push to get the experiments done that cannot easily be done at home?
Me: We work on this every day in class. There are "stations" in class such as laboratory, computers, small group instruction, independent work, etc. so everyone is working on something, but no necessarily the same thing. All the experiments are ready to go in class.
Parent: The real question: is [my student] missing a lot of instructions in class? Should he already know the answers to some of these questions?
Me: The idea behind this flipped classroom model is that students construct their own knowledge. For instance, if they watch the BrainPop on Graphing at home, they can use their class time with me to ask questions, work further on graphing, correct misconceptions, etc. There is less lecture and direct instruction to the whole class. I may spend one day introducing a topic and the related vocabulary to gauge their background knowledge, but then let each individual choose how to gain more information on the topic since all student learn differently.
But if they get 100% on the BrainPop quiz, they do not need additional graphing practice/instruction and can move on to a more challenging topic, such as variables. This allows each student to have ownership and responsibility over what they are learning and pace themselves accordingly.
I have the students fill out a self assessment on the topic's learning targets. It lists the skills they need to have before quizzing and then recommends assignments to further practice each skill to help them plan what they need to focus on this week in class. It sounds confusing and like a lot of work (and that it is) but it allows me to work in small groups with kids who need the direct instruction and allows the kids who can work independently a chance to both control and construct their own knowledge. This model focuses the responsibility of learning on the student so that I can focus on each student as an individual learner...becuase even though I have 150+ students a day, I want to reach each and every one of them.
Me: 100 point a week is the minimum I expect from students. This can be as few as 4 or as many as 15 quests.
Parent: Will there be a lot more time to do more of these quests in class? If so, can you push to get the experiments done that cannot easily be done at home?
Me: We work on this every day in class. There are "stations" in class such as laboratory, computers, small group instruction, independent work, etc. so everyone is working on something, but no necessarily the same thing. All the experiments are ready to go in class.
Parent: The real question: is [my student] missing a lot of instructions in class? Should he already know the answers to some of these questions?
Me: The idea behind this flipped classroom model is that students construct their own knowledge. For instance, if they watch the BrainPop on Graphing at home, they can use their class time with me to ask questions, work further on graphing, correct misconceptions, etc. There is less lecture and direct instruction to the whole class. I may spend one day introducing a topic and the related vocabulary to gauge their background knowledge, but then let each individual choose how to gain more information on the topic since all student learn differently.
But if they get 100% on the BrainPop quiz, they do not need additional graphing practice/instruction and can move on to a more challenging topic, such as variables. This allows each student to have ownership and responsibility over what they are learning and pace themselves accordingly.
I have the students fill out a self assessment on the topic's learning targets. It lists the skills they need to have before quizzing and then recommends assignments to further practice each skill to help them plan what they need to focus on this week in class. It sounds confusing and like a lot of work (and that it is) but it allows me to work in small groups with kids who need the direct instruction and allows the kids who can work independently a chance to both control and construct their own knowledge. This model focuses the responsibility of learning on the student so that I can focus on each student as an individual learner...becuase even though I have 150+ students a day, I want to reach each and every one of them.