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Flipping the Classroom Blog

This blog recaps the experiences of two high school teachers and LTF Trainers, Melissa Parma and Robert Gonzales, as they implement the flipped classroom model of teaching. Middle school and high school teachers across the United States can benefit from the strategies that Parma and Gonzales use in their classrooms and present here. Please join the conversation and let us know your thoughts.

 

Melissa: Getting started

Today I sat down and started working with the hardware that will be the backbone of the video lessons for my math classes when our new semester starts next month.  The fact that it all worked so well is probably why I'm going to begin this blog with this post!  Nothing like a great first step when launching a daunting journey!

My goal is to flip my Algebra 1 and my Pre-AP Algebra 2 classes beginning on January 17.  I'm going to create my own video lessons, which the students will watch outside of class time, and then I'll function more as a tutor during class when the students practice problem-solving, gather data and analyze it, do graphing calculator activities, and work on LTF lessons.  In a previous teaching position and as an LTF trainer, I used a Tablet PC to deliver instruction and presentations, so this feels like a natural transition that will help students use class time more productively.

I'm using a Wacom Cintiq 12WX pen display wired to my MacBook Pro, and the only extra item I had to get to make that work was the Apple MiniDisplay/Port--DVI Adapter for the video link.  The audio seems clear enough with the Mac's built-in microphone, but I might need to rethink that once I hear the finished product.  The software that I'm using includes Autodesk's SketchBook Express and TechSmith's Camtasia for Mac.  One of the ways I'd like to improve on the Khan Academy videos is by having example problems that I want to work already in the Sketchbook file, preferably via MathType, so I don't have to use valuable screen time writing out the problem.  Figuring out how to do that most efficiently will be tomorrow's challenge!

Posted by: Melissa Parma on 12/26/2011 | 0 Comments
 

Contributors


Melissa Parma has taught in public high schools in Texas and California for 28 years. A native Texan, she graduated from Rice University and did her graduate work in education at Cal State, Los Angeles. With rare exceptions, her teaching assignments have always been either mathematics or physics or both. She is an LTF Math Trainer and manages the online LTF Math Forum, and she currently teaches at an Early College High School in New Braunfels, Texas.


Robert Gonzales is a graduate of the UTeach Program at UT Austin. He has worked in Austin ISD for nine years, taking two years out of the chemistry classroom to be a department chair and instructional coach. He currently teaches chemistry in the Academy for Global Studies, a small learning community within Austin High School affiliated with the Asia Society as part of the International Studies School Network. Gonzales is an LTF Chemistry Trainer.

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Recent Comments

"Robert I am extremely interested in this concept and would really like to see examples of this, can you post a link to your Weebly? Also in reference to a forum for your students why not a closed group on fb? You can monitors it as the administrator of it. This might be to simple for you but I take pictures of problems I've worked or answers to a study guide and then post them on my class fb. It works for me and my kids love it. " Read more
by Christy Hames on Robert - Musings in May

"Now I know what you meant about the audio files! You did a great job with your flipping presentation this evening, and I appreciate getting to tag along. " Read more
by Melissa Parma on Robert - Musings in May

"Melissa, Thanks for the Ted-Ed link. I am going to explore that more thoroughly in some hotel room this summer. I'm not sure if I'll use the website directly because YouTube is blocked on my campus for students, but I think it could generate some awesome ideas. I love your post because we are in the opposite position. I think I have a better sense of the forest than I do the trees. I'm still figuring out what hashtags are for! ;) #huh? We'll make a great team for our presentation this summer!" Read more
by Robert Gonzales on Melissa: End of Year Thoughts

"Yes, I think they're on board now. Today I showed them how a flipped classroom without video support would look--lots of pulling info from the textbook--and they are begging for the videos. Had to do something because too many were counting on their peers to have watched carefully. :)" Read more
by Melissa Parma on Melissa: Tweaking the Model

"This is amazing! Are the students finding that they prefer this style so that they do have the time to work on the problems in class with help?" Read more
by D Young on Melissa: Tweaking the Model

"That's amazing! Technology can be such an amazing tool in helping kids learn. Maybe you and your students can use your new iPads to check out our weekly math problems (www.mathcounts.org) to solve in the classroom or submit some student videos of your own! " Read more
by MathCounts on Robert - Taking Stock; Finding the Right Solutions

"Looks like we are on the same page! My proposal to get 16 iPads in my classroom was approved. We will be using some screencasting apps to make student videos later in the semester. Stay tuned!" Read more
by Robert Gonzales on Robert - Taking Stock; Finding the Right Solutions

"Engaging students with technology can be a great way to connect students to the lessons, and creating video content for the classroom is an excellent way of doing that! As a non-profit, we are always looking for new ways to excite kids about math and have seen the positive impact of using videos as a teaching tool. The student-created math videos are educational and fun. Maybe your classroom will be the next to get involved in creating content! " Read more
by mathcounts on Robert - Taking Stock; Finding the Right Solutions