Thoughts and Resources on "Flipped" Instuction

To me it seems there are many benefits to flipped instruction and I can see how this method could revoluntionize college and high school lectures.  By working on skills and checking comprehension in the classroom instead of through homework, I am sure many students will avoid getting stuck or confused while mastering content.  If there is consistent use of these instructional videos then flipped instruction is a valuable tool.  However, my concern about flipped instruction is that it wouldn't be effective unless every student had access to a computer at home and diligently watched the videos.  Furthermore, younger and less proactive students might not write down questions while watching the video and remember to ask them later.  When a lecture is being given in person, there is much more opportunity for spontaneous questions and comments.  Despite these disadvantages, I still feel that flipped instruction is extremely useful, especially for review and reinforcement of content if not introducing new content.

Advantages of Flipped Instruction: Students learn at their own pace without pressure to immediately understand material. Students are able to rewind specific sections to isolate and rehearse specific challenging parts of a lesson. Students watch videos outside of class thus lengthening the amount of time they spend thinking about the academic subject. Students are engaged by the technology (videos can use more diverse settings than a classroom). Students proceed at their own pace so if a certain topic is easier, students can fast forward it or skip to the next topic.

Teachers can rehearse and rerecord lessons to perfect them. Teachers have the benefit of teaching each student independently to target specific needs when the students are in class.

Kahn Academy Specifics: Clear ways of charting student acheivement for both students and teachers. Specifically the badge system for students.

Disadvantages of Flipped Instruction: Done the Kahn way, the student is almost entirely subtracted from the deriving or reasoning aspect of the skill. Instead, the videos tend to reduce complex ideas to an algorithmic method of approaching a problem. The teaching method seems to be: "This is how you solve this kind of problem. Now you solve 10 of these and if you get too many wrong you can watch the same procedure to relearn it." For some tasks this might be an adaquate way to learn the material, but these tasks are by nature low level skills in Bloom's Taxonomy (Perhaps the in class time might be used to not only to go over individual student weeknesses but to engage students in higher level learning tasks.) Also learning is an interpersonal experience where various members of the class (or whatever group) are able to contribute to eachothers understanding of topics. I feel by individualizing the learning experience such a huge aspect of the joy of learning as a group and discussing knowledge is subtracted from schooling. Furthermore, I worry that the learning of interpersonal skills in work is sacrificed by following the Kahn model for Flipped Instruction.

For me, personally, I think there are other alternatives to the Kahn method for using blended learning effectively which I would feel more comfortable using. I do however think that the Kahn method is an excellent tool for remediating skills and reviewing skills prior to high stakes tests.

I agree with the basic practical concerns Mariel and Emily share concerning access. I would also add that we need to be concerned about engagement regardless of access.

Self-pacing allows students to replay and work on something until it is understood without shame or reproach whether from the teacher or fellow students. However, self-pacing is ultimately connected to self-motivation. You have to want to pause, practice and rewind. You have to want to fully comprehend a subject. I'm not entirely convinced that the gaming aspect of this technology will adequately compensate. Let's take our own points system where we earn points for watching a video and responding. If the task is to watch the video for homework, a student who cares little for the task or subject will play the video without interacting with it--who is to say they won't just play the video and leave the room (I know an adult teacher who did this to earn credits for his plus-30). You start from square one in the classroom with students like this.

Furthermore, I agree with Cary concerning the level of sophistication and variety of learning styles available for this type of instruction. For English classrooms, I think this would be a great way to teach basic grammar and spelling errors. Once we move beyond the mechanics of writing, there doesn't seem to be room for the more organic and (for me) exhilirating process of discovery through socratic discussion of literary texts. I took umbrage when he said "the last thing you need when wrapping your head around a concept is someone asking if you understand it" This reduces the interactions of teachers and students to comprehension rather than analysis and application, not to mention its ignorance of teacher diagnosis and assessment.

For my AP English classes, screencasts may be a way of introducing critical reading practices or an overview of a literary genre/movement but I doubt I'd be able to utilize flipped instruction to the degree that this video suggest is possible.

While I agree with the notion of flipped instruction, I still believe that struggling students need a little of everything to master content and skills. I like the many ways in which flipped instruction allows for student interaction such as screen casting to model "how to” and the use of interactive quizzes, video tutorials and power points to help students slow down the mini lesson.  It is also a great way for teachers to do inquiry work with students. During the semester, my students will be watching a video and writing a lab report for the experiment that they watch. I am definitely a huge fan of flipped instruction and have seen it work as a great support for struggling learners. My aim for next year is to create a paperless general science class wherein all aspects of class is taught using the computer. While I agree with the notion of flipped instruction, I still believe that struggling students need a little of everything to master content and skills. I like the many ways in which flipped instruction allows for student interaction such as screen casting to model "how to” and the use of interactive quizzes, video tutorials and power points to help students slow down the mini lesson.  It is also a great way for teachers to do inquiry work with students. During the semester, my students will be watching a video and writing a lab report for the experiment that they watch. I am definitely a huge fan of flipped instruction and have seen it work as a great support for struggling learners. My aim for next year is to create a paperless general science class wherein all aspects of class is taught using the computer.