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After a horrendous start of the year (I won’t go into it here…) I was finally able to introduce the whole flipped classroom idea to my students today. They had a taste yesterday, but with the materials in hand and the technology to use, it finally began to click for many of my students.

I’m convinced that the key to handing education back to students lies in the simple act of allowing some freedom. The concept is so foreign to students that they don’t know how to react when they have freedom.

“Can I work ahead?”

“Can we work with someone else on this?”

“I can use pictures to answer the questions?”

As I enthusiastically answered yes, the questions became more bold.

“Do I have to watch your videos?”

“I remember how to do this…do I have to listen to this section?”

They were analyzing their prior knowledge and critically thinking about what I was asking them to do. There was creativity in their responses. They immediately formed groups and began to problem solve on some of the tougher components. My students were engaged and deeply involved in the learning cycle from the start…because they had freedom.

Freedom to make mistakes without repercussions.

Freedom to forge their own learning path.

Freedom to talk and share and collaborate.

The best part was watching the light bulb turn on for kids that had no interest in science when they walked in the door that same day.

I can’t wait for tomorrow.

Things go wrong. It’s a fact that we have to embrace and learn to live with if we want to be great teachers. I’ve learned some of my most valuable teaching lessons from classes or activities melting down in front of me.

Adversity is inevitable when we work with other people. We have disagreements with colleagues, students will fight for something…it’s human nature. By nature, we all work for ourselves. To be effective in schools, we must be willing to step out and support one another.

We tend to think of our best days when everything goes right. The lab worked perfectly, kids got the concept, we all cooperated, and maybe even had some fun in class. I’m not convinced those days offer significant opportunity for growth. We can learn from success, but we all know our best learning happens in failure. How we handle that failure in the moment gives us a glimpse of our growth. I’ve observed three responses to failure and supports for people that fit each category.

The Pouter – I think this type of response is a symptom of entitlement. When something doesn’t go right, it isn’t our fault. We were wronged and there’s nothing anyone can say or do to help us move on. Give me space and I’ll check back in when things smooth out. This isn’t necessarily withdrawing physically, but a mental check-out that hurts the learning atmosphere, and worst of all, the students.

Support – Be a gentle voice. Offer help on small tasks so they can focus on teaching. Finding a way to make sure students are supported, even in the midst of failure, is priority. Give your colleague some space, but also remind them that there is a support network to help move on.

The Worker – Driven by a need to make things right, this person puts their head down and plows forward. Unfortunately, they often shoulder the entire burden and do not ask for help, leading to an eventual burn-out. These people are great problem solvers, but miss the group atmosphere of finding solutions. Colleagues may feel a little helpless as they watch The Worker power through issues on their own.

Support – The Worker is not used to asking for help and may not be looking for areas that are open for outside support. When you have time, offer to do small tasks. Find ways to engage students by taking a class over or by stepping in and co-teaching for a period. Be forceful, but defer to the person you’re supporting.

The Engager – This person looks for ways to meet the situation at face value and move forward collaboratively. Working with colleagues and/or students as needed, they are able to find effective solutions and avoid a burn-out during the problem-solving process. The Engager is a good leader and is willing to accept responsibility for mistakes that are made.

Support – Be ready to take on a leadership role within the group. The Engager is looking to delegate and they need people they can count on to take care of particular things that need to happen. Follow through with whatever task is given and be willing to do more for them.

Notice that each supporting role is just that…support. Failure needs to be a collaborative experience, and by taking on a support role, we can encourage learning rather than bitterness. These are not at all comprehensive, not permanent labels, and apply to students just as much as they apply to teachers…more so, even. I have fallen into each of the categories depending on the particulars of the problem. But, if we can recognize what role we’re taking in a situation, it will help the healing and learning process begin sooner rather than later.

The featured image is from James Sanders’ Instagram library.

I want to try something new. In addition to the writing I normally do, I want to give some more people a chance to publish a guest post on my blog. I get to talk to many of you through Twitter, but I also want to include other voices on a larger platform. Hopefully, this will spur more discussion and discourse on teaching and learning in connected classrooms.

If you’re interested in posting:

– Your post needs to be ready to publish starting on August 27th.

– Your final article should be original and between 500 – 750 words in length.

– Focus on pedagogy or methods in your class or school.

– Please don’t write a list of tech tools you use. I’m looking for discourse on how you’re changing your class with what you’ve learned.

– The application deadline is August 15th. Selected writers will be notified no later than August 17th.

– The content is yours, and you’re free to cross-post the article on your blog 24 hours later.

If all of that looks good, fill out this form. I’m closing the form the evening of August 15th, so make sure you have it in before then!

NOTE: This is a cross-post of a piece I wrote for SmartBlogs. You can see the original here.

Since Sal Khan’s 2011 TED Talk, the Khan Academy has been nearly synonymous with “flipped classrooms.” This is because since then, Khan Academy has been promoted by the Gates Foundation as well as major media outlets like CNN and CBS. But, what the media and outsiders (non-educators) fail to recognize is that Khan Academy is just a tool and not a methodology or pedagogy on its own. Debates have raged simultaneously in educator’s circles, especially in social media and blogs, about the benefits (or lack thereof) of flipping. Through all of this, the term “flipped classroom” or even “flipping” has been misconstrued and inaccurately represented. Rather than argue about titles or labels, let’s get into the philosophy of flipping.

We need to change the vocabulary. The term “flipped classroom” has an implication of isolated instances or a single mode of instruction…sort of, “If you do x, y, and z, then you have a flipped classroom.” I want to lay out major themes that can be found in all instances of flipping.

Flipped Learning as an idea encompasses a variety of individual practices that are tailored from class to class, by the teacher, to meet the needs of his or her students. The practices and methods the teacher uses vary, just as traditional teaching methods vary from class to class. However, there are philosophical parallels between any two classes that promote flipped learning.

1. Students have a voice – Flipped learning is about reversing the roles in education. The teacher is no longer the center of attention…students are. Class time is spent focusing on their needs, not on the teacher’s schedule. Students are encouraged to make decisions, question, succeed, and fail in a supportive, dynamic learning environment. Choice is rampant in flipped learning and students are given an opportunity to defend their choices as a partner in learning rather than a subordinate.
2. Teachers improve their craft – Flipped learning does not mean a teacher can relax and sit back while kids work through computer problems or worksheets. It also does not mean that all content is moved to video. Good pedagogy is absolutely essential, and it is the teacher’s job to continue to provide dynamic and varied learning experiences based on observation and assessment. In fact, a teacher’s ability to differentiate and personalize learning in a flipped setting is enhanced; students are given choices on which activities they want to work through and the teacher can help tailor that path to the strengths and weaknesses of each student or group.
3. Flipping leads to a fundamental redesign of school – When we reverse learning roles and begin to integrate content that is available anywhere and anytime, the role of school begins to take a fundamental shift. Is class time best spent listening to a teacher when students can find the same content on the web whenever they want it (or need it)? Of course not. The role of school needs to shift from content delivery to supported learning, whatever that may be. Flipping can help make that shift. Content is supplied as a resource in the learning process rather than the starting point. This can take the shape of video in some cases, PBL or inquiry in others…it depends on the class and the learning goals. There is no single method of content delivery, and in fact, should be a mixture of methods to meet the needs of diverse learners.

Too much of the discussion around flipping has been on the technology. Let’s begin to focus on the philosophical decisions teachers and schools need to make to move education forward in a connected world. For me, flipping the learning process was the best way to make that shift, and that’s simply what it is…a tool to push teaching and learning forward. I am continually learning and improving on what has worked in the past to become a better teacher.

There are thousands of teachers across the country making the same decision. But, there are also teachers who are deciding that flipping is not the best thing for their students, and that is totally fine. Flipped learning is not a one-size-fits-all approach nor is it appropriate in every situation.

In the end, the decision to flip or not to flip can be made by only one person: you. Understand that making the decision to flip (or not flip) your class cannot be done whimsically…no decision you make in your approach to teaching should be. You are responsible for serving your students. Your class will need to meet your student’s needs…no one else can do that for you. Flipping is so much more than using video to deliver content. It is a mindset that requires you to totally rethink the way teachers and students interact on a day to day basis. Let’s talk about why we’re doing what we’re doing and continue to learn from one another.

It is believed that the average adult makes 35,000 decisions every day. There is even research that suggests that decision fatigue plagues many professionals. Not all of our choices are cognitively difficult (Do I feed the dog first, or eat my breakfast first?) but those decisions add up over time. We also have motivations playing into our decisions, and each of ours are different. We have different experiences, plans, or desired outcomes.

I do not think decisions we make regarding teaching should ever be taken lightly. I have made some off-the-cuff choices about teaching or planning in the past. They usually blew up in my face. Because of that, I think I am hyper-aware of each decision I make when it comes to my class.

I’m thinking about decisions this morning because of a comment I heard from another teacher during a group discussion:

I think we should gamify this so kids are hooked in. They’ll do the work if there is a gaming aspect.

I started shifting in my seat because that statement made me so uncomfortable. It is not because I am against gamification…there is research that shows students can benefit from a gaming component in a class. Unfortunately, many people forget that there has to be “implemented according to a solid educational model, grounded in research,” and not just used as a gimmick.

Khan Academy uses a point-and-badge system (game) for tracking students through the videos. Unfortunately, teachers are using this as their grading system. There is no connection to the context of the course. The points and badges do not inform the teacher of what the student can or cannot do. In fact, there were articles posted on how to gain points in the system without doing the work. These loopholes have since been closed, but the treatment of the symptom does nothing to fight the root issue: gaming as a gimmick will not help students.

Gaming is done well across the country. Paul Andersen is a biology teacher in Bozeman, Montana. He has developed a fantastic gaming system in his AP Biology course that is rooted in sound education practice and provides context for the content. In other words, the gamification in his class is not a gimmick to get kids to “do the work.” You can learn more about Paul from his TEDxBozeman talk.

So, what’s the point? We need to so what’s best for our students. Don’t make decisions about teaching lightly…gimmicks will not help you improve. Kids are resourceful and insightful. They can see when we try something simply to gimmick them into doing the work. I wish I had spoken up during the discussion so we could talk about why we might or might not want a gaming component. If you’re interested in learning more about gaming your class, this list of articles from Heather Scott might help.

If you’re working on gaming your class to enhance the learning, I’d love to hear how you’re doing that in the comments.

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On July 2nd, I wrote a short post about taking some time off for the month. Well, the month is over, I haven’t written a single article, and now I’m trying to decide what to focus on first.

I’ve been thinking a lot about defining my learning spaces this year. I’ve got some ideas about creating an inviting and inspiring space for students. I have some ideas, but I really want it to be my students who drive what happens. One thing I’ve thought about is a collage wall, where students can post pictures of their learning, especially learning outside of school. Hopefully, the photos will spark conversations and students will become experts in a certain area, and the pictures will help them tell their stories. We’ll see what happens with that.

I’ve also been thinking about flipped learning and what role it will play in my class this year. Again, the space is a major issue, but I’m also continuing to think about how learning will be defined next year. I’ll be writing more on the pedagogy behind flipping and what it looks like in my situation. I would also like to begin writing more about common threads found in all areas being flipped. We need to begin pushing the discussion further.

Finally, I am going to be working on the structure and content of my class website. I need to get back to the basics of what I’m teaching and streamline the content for my students. I’ll be making some changes to the course outlines as well as the videos within the course in an attempt to make them more interactive and not solely content delivery. Again, I’m not totally sure what the course will look like when this is done, but I’m excited about the possibilities.

When I wasn’t thinking about school, I learned how to make yogurt, moved into a new apartment, went to Colorado for a wedding, and rode a bike in a ride across Indiana.

I travelled 14,862 miles in June, give or take a few miles. I spoke to almost 1,000 people and I was never in a single time zone for more than five days. Now, I am back at home, sipping coffee while the dog tries to carry the new barn cat around the back yard like a puppy.

My wife tells me that I need to slow down and take some time for myself…and she’s right. I have a compulsion (obsession?) to start conversations around tough topics and to always be learning something new. I love going to conferences and sharing flipped learning with people. I love answering questions with questions, much like how I do in my own classroom. I enjoy meeting new people and making new friends. I met some great people between my trip to Moscow, the Flipped Learning conference (use the drop-down menu to navigate to conference videos) and ISTE. And now, I’m back to home life, thinking about my brother-in-law’s wedding coming up and the bike ride across Indiana later this month.

Many of you are in the same situation. Where do we go from here?

I’m going to take a hiatus from the blog for a while. I need to refocus some energy on myself and take some time to relax. I have to tell myself that no, I’m not being selfish…I’m staying healthy. I will still be on Twitter periodically, mostly for the #flipclass chat Monday nights. I need to grab a new notebook (my old one is full) and a pen and begin thinking about the fall. I need to think about the message I share and about what I consume to develop as a teacher. I have some ideas, but they need to develop more before I share them.

For those of you chewing on what you heard at ISTE or in Chicago, I do have one piece of advice: Blaze a trail. A little melodramatic, I know, but you have access to tools and resources to redefine your learning spaces. Rethink what you do in class and work to find creative solutions to obstacles. Lean on the backs of others either in your school or on Twitter. Did we meet at ISTE? Send me a tweet or email and let’s stay connected. I can’t promise I’ll write back immediately, but I will write back. Let’s continue to build relationships and push for change.

As for me, I’ll see you in August.

I just returned from a three-day trip to Russia. That’s right. Three days. I was asked to go and share the ideas behind the flipped classroom at a culture and book fair hosted by Strelka University in downtown Moscow. I did not have a very clear picture of who my audience would entail, but it turned out to be one of the best flipped classroom discussions I have ever led.

My audience was a mix of students, teachers, university professors, journalists, and just interested and curious people from the community.

Instead of talking about the technology behind flipping like I usually do, I got to talk more philosophy and rationale behind flipped classrooms. We discussed what happens in class and how my classes have evolved into flexible learning spaces and how student-driven learning is king. We talked about students working collaboratively and peer-teaching one another through tough concepts. We also talked about what implications this can have in adult learning, regardless of your line of work. It was by far the most organic discussion I’ve ever had on the flipped classroom and I got some great feedback from the people in the room.

Whenever I visit new cultures, I realize how education can be a common discussion point. We all recognize the need to change schools in a positive way and the flipped classroom seems to make sense, no matter where we are. I think this is because the flipped classroom is not a methodology…it is an ideology that removes the teacher from the front of the room and puts the students back in the middle. We are working to re-humanize the class and push discussion, trial and error, and collaborative learning, rather than the old top-down instructional model that has been used for 100 years. The flipped classroom is built on relationships and cooperation and that is why it is so successful…students and teachers working together to learn together.

Here is an album of photos I was able to take during my visit. Moscow is a beautiful city and if you ever get a chance to visit, make it happen.

I promised people that I would post pictures and/or a video on how I watched the Venus transit last night. Well, they’re ready to share.

It was great to be able to watch this in real time. I was worried earlier in the afternoon because the cloud cover really picked up, but it cleared out right at six o’clock, just before the transit began at 6:09 PM.

If you didn’t see it, NASA put a great video out from the Solar Dynamics Observatory showing the transit in multiple wavelengths. I favorited it because it is something I can show my students over the next 105 years until they get to see the next transit for themselves.

Tuesday, June 5th and Wednesday, June 6th, we have a great opportunity to see the planet Venus travel across the face of the sun. This event is called a

transit and it is significant because of the timeframe between each event. It is over 100 years between each transit, but they come in pairs eight years apart. The most recent transit occurred in 2004, so tomorrow’s event is the second of the pair. If you miss it this time around, unfortunately, you won’t be able to see it happen again until December 2117.

I’m sure you’ve heard of this in the news, but if you are interested in watching it for yourself, here are some resources to help you plan.

1. When is the best time to view the transit? – This depends on your geographical location. Luckily, the majority of the continental United States will be able to see a portion of the transit at sunset on June 5th. Because this is so rare, there are parties and events popping up all over the country where you can watch the transit with others in your area.
2. How can I watch the transit? – Never, never, never look directly at the sun. Ever. Unless, of course, you want permanent damage to your retina to occur. So, to safely view the transit, you’ll need to do some basic DIY using household materials. A great website, Transit of Venus has a list of six ways to see the transit safely.

Personally, I will be using a pair of binoculars mounted on a tripod projecting on a white space. Here’s a great video on how to set up your binoculars if you want to do the same.

3. What causes the transit? – It’s always good to learn something, so this website does a great job of explaining what causes the Earth and Venus to line up every 120 years or so.

I wrote an article with Aaron Sams regarding common perceptions and misconceptions surrounding the flipped classroom in an effort to move the discussion forward.

You can read the article on the eSchoolNews website.

I asked my students on the last day of school to write letters to next year’s students, whoever they are. I took all of those responses, removed the common words, and then pasted all of the letters into Wordle.

The assignment was: “Write a letter explaining how a future student can be successful in a flipped classroom.”

So, are videos still the most important part?

I sat outside this morning drinking coffee and watching a bumblebee flop its way through a camellia, hunting for nectar. With each foray, her hairy body was saturated with pollen to be distributed to the next flower. All of the plant’s energy had gone into a gamble that an insect would visit and take some of the pollen and donate some to another lucky flower.

The Indiana state biology standards do not have a place for pollination, or even basic plant and animal anatomy, unless you count identifying the differences between their cells, and even that has significant room for improvement. Kids do not care about the differences in the cells unless they can see how it makes a difference in their world.

Without bees, there would be no new flowers each season. Without the flowers, bees would not have a source of nutrition. Cells, when added up, make a difference.

Every day spent with students is an opportunity to question, observe, debate, explain, and create. Unfortunately, we are under the impression that our hands are tied. I chose to believe in standards, rather than observation and questioning, and I regret the opportunities I missed with my students.

Does the bee realize the opportunity it is providing each flower with each stop? I’m not sure, but it doesn’t matter. Be aware of the moment and let learning opportunities happen. Do what is right for your kids and the rest will sort itself out.

In response to some emails and tweets I received on my last post, I decided to write three short examples of flipping that can happen at varying levels and content areas. Keep in mind, my experience is in high school science, and I am not, in any way, intending these to be used straight from this post in the classroom. You do not need to ask permission to modify, change, or use any of these examples in your class.

Elementary Math – Building Bridges

Students are given time in class by the teacher to identify different shapes in the classroom. They can make a chart of the properties of the shapes in comparison to one another (ex. triangle vs. circle). Then, have them look for different shapes in bridges. How can they show the differences between two different shapes? How are the bridges different?

Give students time in class to draw a bridge comparison. Talk about what shapes are the most common. Why are they common? What makes them good for building? Can they design and build their own structure using those shapes?

Give students options to begin building a bridge using the shape they think is best. Which one holds the most weight? Take pictures of their bridge with the weight and explain why it works.

Essential Questions

– How can we describe different shapes?

– What shapes are similar or different from one another?

– What shapes are used in bridges based on observation? Why do you think those are used?

– If you designed a bridge, what shape would you make it? Why?

Technology Applications

– Models of different shapes to describe

– Photos of different bridges (i.e. suspension vs. iron lattice)

– Camera for students to photograph or film bridges with

Middle School English – Hero Analysis

Students choose a short story/novella/novel to read based on their interest. Concurrently, they are working on hero and villain character sketches, describing different attributes of protagonists and antagonists. Students produce a book trailer for the piece they read and they are shared with the class as a whole.

Students are grouped (you decide how) and they have a discussion about the heroes and villains in their books. Try to fit each character into the model developed from literary history. Do contemporary heroes and villains fit in that model? Are there outliers? Why?

Students swap heroes and villains and they re-write a book trailer, mashing the new characters into their book’s storyline. Does the book end the same way? Is the plot the same, or does it change based on the traits of the new hero?

Essential Questions

– What are the attributes of heroes and villains?

– Do attributes of heroes and villains cross between stories?

– Are heroes and villains interchangeable within a storyline, or is a story specific to that hero?

Technology Applications

– Book availability

– Computers for video editing (either local or web-based editing)

– Internet connectivity

High School Language – Interviewing a Native Speaker

Rather than teaching culture from an American perspective, have students find a native speaker to speak to about food, culture, their city, or life as a student in their country. If possible, have students record their interview (either with a screencast or as audio only) for review and sharing with peers. In the same interview, if possible, reverse the rolls and have your students practice English with their interview partner.

As a follow-up, write monthly letters or emails in the language you are learning as a way to practice the written grammar and conventions.

Essential Questions

– How is American perspective of a foreign culture accurate or inaccurate?

– How is American culture accurate or inaccurate from an outsider’s perspective?

– What current events are similar in our societies?

Technology Applications

– Internet connection

– Web chatting application (Skype, Google+, FaceTime, etc…)

– Email account for follow up

– Collaborative blog (for correspondance or co-blogging with a pen-pal)

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Notice, the common denominator in each of these applications is choice and a redesign of the learning time in class. Video is not the center of a flipped class, it is the experience and interaction that happens with peers and teachers during the school day.

A comment I hear frequently after a visit is, “That looked nothing like what I thought it would.” It’s a good place to start a discussion about the total redesign a flipped classroom brings.

A major criticism of the flipped classroom is that lecture is given as homework, and homework becomes the new class work. This view is too simplistic and leads to a labyrinth of other misconceptions. The main part of this argument assumes a flipped classroom simply injects video into a traditional teaching format. Assignments are not modified and class expectations do not change.

I think of this like adding more salt to saltines. It may increase the flavor a little, but you are not doing anything revolutionary to that cracker. Inevitably, the saltine tastes the same.

In order to leverage the power of video, either as instruction or as extension, you have to rethink what class looks like.

I do not have a preference where my students learn chemistry. I have a group that watches the videos the night before and then uses class time (extremely effectively, I might add) to work through challenge problems, labs, quizzes, and projects. In the same class, I have two students that work 30-35 hours each week outside of school. They use the class time to watch the videos together and then move forward. They rarely do chemistry at home, which is fine with me. Yet a third group does most of their chemistry at home, checks with me in class, and then moves on to geometry for the rest of the period. Each group is totally different than the others, but they are still learning.

I had to re-think what class looks like when information is available anywhere, any time.

Learning about and moving to a flipped classroom requires that you shift your thinking about class time in general. Your role, as the teacher, changes entirely. You have to be okay with students using class to learn chemistry, or using it to learn english, or math, or history. Part of the beauty in a flipped classroom is that it is no longer limited to my content. I can learn alongside students every day. (Did you know, frogs blink their eyes to help them swallow? So. Cool.)

At this point, you may be thinking, “This sounds like something that could easily end up in anarchy.” I want to reassure you, that although this sounds uncoordinated and chaotic, it is a good, fulfilling chaos. Students are engaged in their learning. They are coaching one another through hard questions. Groups form spontaneously, based on self-identified needs. There is freedom to be wrong, free from a fear of failure or negative consequence. Since the class is student time, the “noise” is really hypothesis, creation, and critique in their purest forms. Also bear in mind, this change does not happen overnight. This movement requires a shift that has to occur in both the student’s, as well as the teacher’s, perception of school and the learning process. This requires a healthy investment of time and energy.

Don’t simply salt your class with video and call it a flipped classroom. Many teachers begin by adding some of the new with the old, but that approach will rapidly stagnate and your class will not feel any different than when you started. Challenge yourself to think outside the box about the time in class. Ask students for their opinions. You could even go so far as to implement an iteration of Google’s now-famous 20% time initiatives. By simply allowing for flexibility, your class dynamic can change dramatically.

Time spent in school should be spent meeting your student’s learning needs, not defining learning for them. We seem to have lost that vision in the age of industrialized education.

A true flip is not in when or where videos are assigned…it is time to go deeper. Flip your thinking about where learning happens and work with students on making the change. Working together, you will all land on your feet.

At the start of teacher appreciation week, I feel selfish.

“I’m a teacher and I deserve to be recognized. Yes, I’ll take a PTA lunch. Thank you for the cards and candy. I’m awesome.”

Then I remember that I’m only a teacher because of the people around me. How much more meaningful would this week be if we take time to appreciate what it means to be a teacher?

I spent an entire class period this year talking with a student about a bad breakup. What did that mean to her? What does it mean when I stay at school to five or six o’clock with a club? What does it mean when I go to the school play or musical?

I wouldn’t get to have those experiences or relationships if I wasn’t a teacher.

I appreciate students and the hard work of learning. I appreciate my administrators and colleagues.

I love a fist bump in the hallway as a student walks by. I love laughing and crying with students. I love jokes and serious conversations and everything in between.

I’m blessed to be a teacher.

We learn by emulating or imitating. To begin our frog dissections this week, I demonstrated proper cutting procedures on a frog. Students watched and then imitated my cuts. Soon, they were off on their own with a new skill under their belt.

“Mr. Bennett, to get through the muscle, I made a pinch cut again”

“I cut to the jaw instead of the larynx because it gave me more room to work. I pinched and then cut laterally to the jawbone hinge.”

Independent.

The same goes for teachers. We learn by watching other teachers and we can then imitate or emulate the tool or style in our own classes. This is especially true of first-year teachers, fresh out of watching and practicing with a seasoned teacher for a full semester. As far as preparation for a career, I think teaching has the best method (no comment on styles of teaching right now, simply the practice of watching and learning).

As we learn new practices and skills, we need to remember to put our own spin on what we do. I can tell you right now, a lesson copied from someone else will not be successful. We can see this even between classes. One method of instruction may work for one group of my students, but fail completely with another. I need to adapt my approach to meet the needs of each group.

This comes up a lot with the flipped classroom. I see ads for “solutions to flipping” and “use service ____ to unlock your flipped classroom!” I am getting more and more questions from people asking, in a step-by-step instruction manual, how to flip. There is no answer to that question, there is no service that you can use and magically change your teaching.

The best I can do is show you what I do, and then you can take what you like and leave the rest. My class is not your class. My student’s needs are different from your student’s needs. Do not go searching for the “perfect” flipped class to copy because it does not exist.

Repeated copying ends up diluting the sharp contrast and color of a beautiful original. Be original in what you do because you and your students are one of a kind.

I cannot believe the year is ending in just over two weeks. We are down to 13 days here in Evansville, and the crunch is definitely starting. This week, we are enjoying the End of Course Assessments, courtesy of the Indiana DOE. Then, we will spend the last eight days of school doing frog dissections and putting together dissection guides for future biology students.

Just as my school schedule is bursting at the seams, my summer schedule is just as busy. I will be travelling to multiple conferences to share the flipped classroom with as many people as I can and (hopefully) to run into many people I speak with on Twitter for the first time. My current schedule is below…I would love to hear in the comments if our travels will overlap at any point so we can try to meet one another.

Right now, I do not have any dates in July, but if you are looking for someone to speak on technology in education or on the flipped classroom (full training), please feel free to contact me and we can speak about specifics.

June

(May 31) – 1: W. Leyden High School, Chicago IL

9 – 11: Strelka University, Moscow, Russia

18 – 20: Flipped Class Conference, Chicago, IL

23 – 27: ISTE, San Diego, CA

Finally, this year, my wife and I will be transitioning to South Bend, Indiana. It has been a good year in Evansville, but due to changing family circumstances and opportunities coming my way, South Bend is the next step in our path. I want to thank everyone for the support you have shown me this year and for all the growth opportunities you have provided.

I have not written for almost two weeks now. Half of the reason is because of writer’s block, another half because school is crazy, and a third half because of some family issues that came up unexpectedly. I opened up my blog a few times with intention to write, but I could not get anything to form. But that’s okay. It gave me time to reflect on other’s posts and thoughts while trying to get all of mine to fit in my head.

There has been a lot happening with the Flipped Classroom recently…almost too much to list. For example:

• The Flipped Classroom book by Jon and Aaron being published by ISTE had its release date moved up a month because of high demand.
• Ted-Ed launched.
• The Flipped Learning Network began.
• The Flipped Class Network NING passed 4000 registered members.
• The #flipclass hashtag on Twitter is exploding with links, articles, and connections.

Plus, dozens of articles on the flipped classroom.

As I have been reading and following articles and discussions, one thing stood out: the prevailing description of the flipped classroom is “videos at home, ‘homework’ in school.” And this bothers me.

The biggest complaint I hear from flipped class skeptics is that it still relies on homework and technology use. Any ideology that relies on any one tool is doomed. If your class relies on textbooks and kids do not bring their book, what will you do with no redundancy built in?

What is missed in so many articles on the flipped classroom is the fact that it does not rely on homework or video. That is simply one iteration of a larger process.

I have a flipped classroom, but I do not assign homework nor do I require students to watch lecture videos. What I do expect students to do is drive their own learning rather than relying on someone else (me) to crack the whip behind them. That is what the flipped classroom is about…reversing the learning roles. Not the video. Not the technology.

If you are a flipper, I want to encourage you to change the discussion focus from video to how we can better support student learning in a flipped classroom. What works well for you? What did not work well for you? How has your teaching changed since flipping? I do realize that video is a great tool in flipping, but it really is the smallest part of the puzzle and does not accurately represent the whole picture. If we want to move forward, we need to start having more deeper, connective conversations with other educators, just like we try to with our students.

Unfortunately, we are entrenched in an age of education that wants to be “pretty.” Students are all reaching “mastery” in every subject and they all move at the same pace through every class every year. Like all utopian societies, this is not attainable. True learning is ugly (to outsiders), and we need to embrace that thought before we can move forward in education.

When I am asked about what things should be done to flip a class successfully, I always respond with good pedagogy, collaboration, and reflection. If we are not reflecting, we are not growing. If we are reflecting properly, student voice will also be a major player in decisions as classes move forward.

I like to think of class adaptations like I think about Facebook changes. The outward appearance changes and people lose their minds about how terrible the new design is and how they want to go back to the old, familiar way of doing things (status quo). Teaching is no different. When a teacher flips for the first time, students are put under the microscope and they hate it…at least in my experience. They have to unlearn how they have been [STRIKEOUT:learning] playing school up until your class. Needless to say, student surveys usually do not go well the first time they are asked about the new style.

Second, grades are imperfect. Students that play the school game well get good grades…that is just the way it is. Learning is messy. It requires failure, and in today’s grading atmosphere, that usually means a lower class average. Do not define your teaching by the grades of your students. Talk to other people (parents, students, administrators, colleagues) about why true learning is so ugly in the grade book…it is not rewarded by the traditional school model. Do not sacrifice what you know is right for your students because of a number on paper.

I want to encourage you, if you are flipping for the first time, to look at your survey results as reflex reactions to a new environment, and not necessarily as a success or failure in your book. You will never have 100% satisfaction or love from students, so do not expect it. If it is your first time, I would expect your results to be split 50-50. The first few weeks will be hard, and we do not talk about that enough. But, take heart…it does get better.

Listen to your students and work with them. Find ways to compromise on expectations or methods. Take their advice on how to improve instruction. Reward failure and look at the big picture being painted. Watching students learn is beautiful, and we need to begin to recognize the process, not snapshot performances. You, the teacher, know what is best for their learning, so keep doing what is right.