Flipped Learning with The Teaching Touch, Ep. 93 Buzzing with Ms. B: The Coaching Podcast
During the early to mid-pandemic, there was a big push to try flipped learning. On this episode of the Coaching Podcast, Belu Tur and Gi Zoccola from The Teaching Touch join me to talk about what flipped classrooms look like in action. They explain the benefits of flipping a classroom and the tools they use most often. We chat about how coaches can help teachers implement this blended learning model to open up class time and differentiate learning.
Benefits of Flipped Learning
In the flipped classroom most of the group lectures are recorded and the students watch them before coming to class. This reduces the amount of teacher talk and provides students with the opportunity to watch the videos as many times as needed to understand the lesson. School time can then be devoted to pair work, group work, and individualized instruction. Belu and Gi explain that this is just one of many benefits of flipping a classroom.
Flipped learning also encourages families to get involved in their children’s learning. Parents can watch the video lesson and have a resource to help their kids if they need it.
They say another great thing about the flipped classroom is that teachers have more time to work with students in smaller groups. Teachers acts as facilitators and students participate in self-paced, differentiated activities. This allows students to get more involved in their own learning process.
Another benefit of flipping a classroom is that you can start little by little. You can begin with one activity or subject area. You don’t have to change your whole day all at once.
Videos and the Flipped Classroom
Videos are an important part of flipped learning. Belu and Gi recommend using teacher-made videos that have a clear instructional aim. Teachers can use videos found online, but it’s more meaningful and engaging for students to see someone they already know.
They say it's important to teach students what they're supposed to do before, during, and after videos. Teachers need to explain whether they’re allowed to watch it more than once, if students can pause it, when they should take notes, etc.
The length of the video will depend on the age of the children. Videos for young students should be brief. They say a video for first-grade students shouldn't be longer than a minute or a minute and a half.
Misconceptions and Challenges of Flipped Learning
Belu and Gi share some common misunderstandings and challenges with flipped learning. They say it’s a big misconception to think that a flipped classroom means just sending videos to students. It’s much more than that. How you use the videos and the tasks you assign with them are what counts. Flipping a classroom is about making the most of the limited time teachers and students have together.
One of the biggest challenges that we faced at the beginning of the pandemic was the lack of technology and access to the internet. While there has been a lot of progress, this could still be an issue in some places. For flipped learning to be most effective, teachers need to ensure students have access to the content before class.
They say another challenge is getting teachers to do something new and unfamiliar. It can be overwhelming for educators to make a big change or envision what this hybrid model could look like in the classroom.
Instructional Coaching and Flipped Learning
When teachers try something new, they need support. During the episode, we talk about how coaches can guide teachers through the process and make it easier. Instructional coaches can encourage teachers to try flipped learning a little at a time, so they don’t feel overwhelmed.
Belu and Gi say that the best part of flipping a classroom is that there is no one way to do it. Having a supportive coach allows teachers to reflect on the journey and figure things out along the way.
The Flipped Classroom
I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I did. If I were to go back into the classroom, I would try to integrate some elements of this into my own teaching. I’d probably choose one subject area and have kids learn the content initially at home. Then they could come to school and do cool stuff with it because we would have even more learning time. I think it would be such a fun way to teach without doing as much direct teaching.
Flipped Learning Tools
Want to test out flipped learning in your school?
There are resources in my TpT store that would work well if you want to give it a try. I have two collections of writing mini-lessons geared toward having students watch a video and then do an activity. One way to use them would be to have students do the interactive mini-lesson at home and work on writing pieces together at school. You can learn more about these products by clicking the links below.
Sensory Details Writing Minilessons for Google Classroom - Distance Learning
Narrative Beginnings Minilessons for Google Classroom - Distance Learning
During the episode, Belu and Gi share their favorite online tools. These can be used for virtual or in-person learning. If you want to know how they suggest using each one be sure to check out the entire episode.
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Podcast produced by Fernie Ceniceros of Crowd & Town Creative