What I Learned my First Year of Flipping

I had said many times before that my first year of "Flipping" my class was the hardest year of my teaching career, but the second year of flipping was the best! I learned so much during that first year of Flipping about things that worked and things that didn't. I changed things every quarter to make improvements, but by the end of the year, I figured out I should flip my class.

Flipping is different for everyone

There is no one way of flipping a class, just like there is no one way of teaching a traditional class or a PBL class. Each teacher needs to find the way of flipping that works well for them and their students. This isn't helpful for first year teachers or teachers preparing for their first year of teaching. But I would encourage a teacher planning on flipping to stay as close to what they have found successful in the past. For example, one of my biggest failures during my first year of flipping was trying to implement a Flipped Mastery approach, because that seemed like was the direction that everyone who was flipping was heading. But a Flipped Mastery model does not work for me. I like giving students second chances and meeting my students where they are, and I found that about half of my students were constantly falling behind. I was afraid of them falling too far behind, so I required students to test on the same day. So more than half of my class hadn't watched all the videos or done the required textbook problems by the day of the test.

Be Flexible

As I mentioned before I changed things about my class every quarter. Here are the things that I tried:

• I collected data and talked to my students, using their data, to convince them that the students who did more of their notes and textbook problems, did better on assessments.
• I changed the grading policies to place more emphasis on textbook problems, because that showed the highest correlation with assessment grades.
• I changed how frequently I put grades in the grading system and how frequently I contacted parents about grades.
• I tried giving note packets for students to use to take notes
• I tried giving a few problems after the notes for students to try before doing the textbook problems.
• I tried making short videos to help students through the few problems after the notes.
• I tried created guided notes for students to use when they were taking notes

The point is that I was willing to adjust things during the entire first year. If things aren't working, change them. Also, don't be afraid of failure. Many of the things that I tried were a total failure (ex: videos explaining example problems and guided notes were both huge failures) and that is okay. I continued changing things and eventually found a system that worked for me.

Keep it Simple

The model that I am using during my second year of flipping is very simple and it works very well. I would recommend teachers that are considering flipping, keep it very simple. Specifically what I mean is:

• Make your own videos (there is a lot of power in doing this, if you are willing to do it. Use the materials that you used in class for the videos, but keep them short. Don't give a lot of examples.)
• Give the homework that you used to give at home, in class.
• Give the same tests and quizzes that you used before. (This is good to compare data between before and after.)

I know that this recommendation goes along with some of the "less than admirable" forms of flipping, but it is the simplest way of flipping. Your focus will be on making videos, so keep everything else the same. Then the second year you can adjust what you do in class to be something more meaningful than old homework problems.

Questions and Conclusion

If the first year of flipping is hard, then why do it? Because the second year is so worth it! Everything that frustrated me about how I taught before flipping has been corrected by my second year. It is a better way of teaching.

If students get a similar lecture at home and similar homework in class, then what is the point of flipping at all? This year my students walk into my classroom in the morning with a similar understanding as when my students left my classroom before I flipped. And I believe that I can move my students future forward while they are in the same room as me, than when they are at home. Plus, as a math teacher, I know that every student can complete my homework if they are only asked to watch a video and take notes. No student "gets stuck" anymore.

If you have any questions about my first year of flipping or what I learned, please contact me at Twitter at @mathlewis.

Differences between Japanese Education and American Education

I am continually fascinated by Japanese education. It is just interesting to see another education system, especially a successful one, and look at the similarities and differences. The more I talk about my experiences and things that I am learning, people want to know "Why is Japanese Education better?" and my answer is "I don't know." Anyone who is involved in education understand that it is very complex and connected to the students that we serve, so it would be impossible to research and find the that make Japanese education work that American education is missing. That is the wrong question to ask. But I do want to point out some differences:

1. Children are left behind

The responsibility of learning information is set squarely on the student's shoulders. Teachers come to class, they lecture, the students take notes, and speak only when invited to by their teacher. In fact, Japanese high school is more like American college than American high School. The students know that if they don't study well, they won't pass their next entrance exam and therefore won't be on a track to get into a good university. But it is their choice to learn or not. I have seen multiple students with their head on their desks sleeping during class. The teacher doesn't make any comments about it, as long as they aren't disturbing the class, it is fine.

2. No Differentiating

Differentiated Instruction is a hot topic and a discussion among American teachers, but not Japanese teachers. American teachers strive to adapt their teaching to meet their kinesthetic, auditory, and visual learners as well as meeting Garners Intelligences. Japanese teachers stand at the front of the room and lecture and draw diagrams on the chalk board. From what I can tell, they may not even know their student's names, let alone their learning styles. When they call on a student they are usually looking at a class list.

3. Not Standards, Curriculum

I have limited working knowledge of Japanese curriculum, but it is an area of interest. There are national education standards approved by the Ministry of Education. But in talking with Japanese teachers, I have never heard them say anything about standards, but they do talk a lot about textbooks. There are only a few textbooks that are used in Japan and they are all approved by the Ministry of Education and therefore you don't deviate from them. The examples that the teacher gives are the examples that are printed in the textbooks. Very little is done that isn't directly from the textbook.

4. Teacher Observations

American teachers are not used to being observed. In my entire teaching career of about four years, I have only been observed about three or four times. I have only had two individuals come into my class and watch me teach. This is very different from Japanese teachers. During a few months of the year, there are open lessons where anyone can come and observe a teacher. So each teacher may have one open lesson a year where the principal, other teachers, or parents are welcome to come and watch them teach. I have also heard that the first full year of teaching is done with an experienced teacher assisting them. Usually in the back, but providing feedback.

Conclusion

I don't know what will fix the problems that we are seeing in American Education. It is my opinion that the American Education system is too complex for simple solutions. Slow and gradual progress is the only way that we will improve our schools. I have highlighted some areas that are very different between Japanese Education and American Education. I find them interesting, I hope you do too.