10 Reasons to Flip - Phi Delta Kappan

8/13/2019 10 Reasons to Flip - Phi Delta Kappan

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New styles of instruction

In fall 2009, the Byron School District near Rochester, Minn., faced a perfect storm of academic and financial chal-lenges. Pushing from one direction was the dire need to order new high school math textbooks because the old ones

were dog-eared and poorly matched to new state math standards. Pushing from the other direction was the realitythat no funds were available. Two failed operating levy referenda had sunk the district to near the bottom in the statefor local funding, and it was coming off a $1.2 million funding cut during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years. Thedistricts annual budget for its 1,743 students 501 in the high school is $18.1 million.

A southern Minnesota school

district flipped its math classrooms

and raised achievement and

student engagement.

By Kathleen P. Fulton

10reasons toflipflip

20 Kappan October 2012


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allows students to review and previewmaterials as they see fit, giving themcontrol over their academics.

#2. Doing homework in class gives

teachers better insight into studentdifficulties and learning styles.

In traditional math classes, teacherssee evidence of student struggles whenhomework papers are turned in ornot incomplete, or riddled with er-rors. But exactly what was it that con-fused the student? With flipping, theteacher is there looking over shouldersas students work on problems in class,

Thinkstock/iStockphoto

We literally had no money for newtextbooks, said then-Superintendent

Wendy Shannon.The math teachers stepped up to

the challenge and came up with a radi-cal idea: They would create their owncurriculum, and, by bringing in online

resources, do away with textbooks al-together. Thus was borne the bookless24/7 math curriculum from which By-ron High Schools flipped classroomsemerged.

It was a crash course in innovation,given that the teachers hadnt even heardof flipped classrooms when they beganthe process. But they were determinedto develop their own curriculum alignedto state standards and dedicated to find-ing the best solution for their students.Beginning in January 2010, they set to

work, meeting before school from 6:45to 7:45 a.m. every Monday during theirprofessional learning community time.

As they dissected the new math stan-dards, reviewed student test data indicat-ing areas of special challenge, and pre-

viewed resources pulled down from theweb, they realized they couldnt just buya prepackaged online math curriculum.First, they had no money to do this; just asimportant, any prepackaged curriculum traditional or online presented the

same problems of not fully aligning withMinnesotas state standards. They wouldhave to create an entirely new model.

To fuel their efforts, they landed a$5,000 grant from a local foundation,the Byron Fund for Excellence in Edu-cation, which provided small stipendsfor teachers to continue to work to-gether during summer 2010 and paidfor Kuta, a software tool for creating

worksheets and tests. With the help ofJen Hegna, the districts technology di-rector, the teachers used Moodle to cre-

ate an online site for each course. Then,they realized they would need to recordlecture videos so students and parents

would have a resource for when they

Byron teachers adopted

some concepts from

flipped classroom pioneers

Aaron Sams and Jonathan

Bergmann, but adapted

the technique to fit their

needs.

were at home in place of the books. Andonce they began to record lessons onan interactive whiteboard, uploadingthem onto YouTube, they realized thatthe students could view these lessonsat home as homework, freeing up classtime for discussion and practice.

As they worked, adopting some of theconcepts of flipped classroom pioneers

Aaron Sams and Jonathan Bergmann,they adapted the technique to fit theirneeds. They started small, experiment-ing with a few chapters and classes in fall2010. Today, the innovation has spreadto all math courses at Byron High. In ad-dition, 8th-grade mathematics teacher

Jeremy Baumbach, who joined the highschool teachers in the redesign process,now provides some flipped classes formiddle school students. Other depart-ments also are watching and learningfrom their math colleagues. In fall 2011,Intel awarded Byron High School itsSchool of Distinction Award for Math-ematics.

Byron teachers share their top10 reasons for adopting a flippedclassroom.

#1. Students move at their own pace.

In a traditional classroom, theteacher lectures and demonstrates howto solve the math problems during theconstraints of the class period. Theteacher is doing the active work andthe students are passively listening. Forsome students, the length of the classperiod is just right, but for those whounderstand the material, the lecturesand questions can drag on and on. Con-

versely, for those who struggle, thereisnt enough time left after a lecture for

them to get it. These students mustarrange to meet with teachers after classor spend frustratingly long stretches athome trying to recall and make sense of

what was delivered in the class lecture.When classrooms are flipped, stu-

dents attend each lesson via the home-work video. A strong student can breezethrough; others can watch it over andover as needed until the concepts be-come clear. The availability of videos

KATHLEEN P. FULTON(kathleenpfulton@

gmail.com) is an independent consultant in

Tacoma Park, Md., and is recently retired as

director of Reinventing Schools for the 21st

Century for the National Commission on Teach-

ing and Americas Future.

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22 Kappan October 201222 Kappan October 2012

a concept presented in the homeworkvideo, she is no longer stuck with herteachers explanation. Rather, she canturn to one of the other teachers videolessons. Because teachers created a libraryof all the BHS teacher course videos, stu-dents can choose to watch any teachers

videos. Most prefer to watch their ownteacher, but some find it helpful to watcha different teachers video lesson for re-

view or for insight into a new angle forunderstanding a difficult concept. Withthe department working from a commoncurriculum, all teachers videos cover thesame content, even if lessons and exam-ples are presented in different ways.

#5. Teachers flip professionaldevelopment by watching each

others videos and learning from

each other.Professional learning communities

(PLCs) have been a part of the Byronculture for several years. But the weeklyPLCs really came to life when teachersbegan to devote this time for develop-ing and revising lessons for the flippedcurriculum, creating common assess-ments and class notes, and sharing frus-trations and successes. As they analyzestudent work, noting whose studentsare successful in which areas, they re-

view each others videos to see how theircolleagues taught the concepts, offer-ing a window into each others teach-ing. The open classroom provided bythe online resources makes it possibleto visit each others teaching, an op-tion rarely available in the real time ofa busy school day.

#6. Classroom time can be usedmore effectively and creatively.

In the flipped classroom, teachersspend more actual time teaching and

facilitating instead of just lecturing.Students learn by doing, and, in theflipped classroom, the doing is happen-ing within a hand-raise of the teacher.Students are no longer at home in iso-lation and unsupported while they dothe difficult work of learning. Teacherscan use class time to make meaningfulcontact with students, observing, guid-ing, and helping.

With the lesson demonstrations now

where struggles are obvious, and mis-takes can be nipped in the bud.

For example, in his precalculus class,teacher Troy Faulkner moves fromstudent to student, cluster to cluster,

watching, listening, noting who needshelp, and working with students as

needed. If several students are stuckon a problem, he might work throughmore examples on the board at the frontof the class. And, just to be sure, thereare daily spot quizzes, often using aninteractive clicker to grade as they go.

The instantaneous feedback allows forgroup discussion and peer instructionon problems that many students arestruggling with and help Faulkner andhis colleagues target and revise instruc-tion on concepts that students find dif-ficult. This flexibility and real-timeanalysis allows for a true and immedi-ate response to student needs.

#3. Teachers can customize and

update the curriculum, and provide it

to students 24/7.

Even though many teaching videosare available online via open sourceslike YouTube or Khan Academy, whenteachers make their own videos, theycan ensure the perfect fit of content,rigor, and personal connections. Stu-

dents like having the voice behind thelesson belong to someone with whomthey have a personal relationship. This

connection strengthens the teacher-student bond that is so important forlearning. By designing their own cur-riculum, Byron teachers also empha-size topics students find most challeng-ing and spend less time on areas whereskills are more solid, while still address-

ing state standards. Based on their col-laborative analysis of student work, theteachers update and revise homework

videos regularly and bring a variety ofother resources into the curriculum.

The 24/7 teaching lessons provideanother benefit: a new way of address-ing absenteeism. Whatever the reasonfor students having to miss class ill-ness, sports, vacations, etc. their abil-ity to access course materials anytime,anywhere, means they can stay up todate. When they return from an absence,theyre not behind and no longer haveto come in before or after school for ad-ditional instruction on missed content.

This frees teacher time as well: Timepreviously spent creating lesson plans forpreplanned absences and/or reteachingabsent students can now be spent work-ing directly with students on content.

#4. Students have access to multipleteachers expertise.

At Byron, teaching assignments of-

ten change. For example, three differentteachers might teach Algebra II during agiven year. If a student has trouble with


FIG. 1.

Lecture vs. flipped

(Percentage of students proficient in calculus)

85

80

75

70

65

60

Percentage

CH. 1 CH. 3 CH. 4 CH. 5 CH. 7 & 8 FINAL

FLIPPED

LECTURE

Calculus proficiencies are up on average 9.8%. (Chapter 2 is omitted since it has

not yet been taught with the flipped approach.)


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their work, as well as just-in-time sup-port from teachers and peers. They oftenview the videos together, work in teamsin class, and learn through teaching oneanother via peer tutoring approachesvalidated by social learning theory. Forexample, some teachers have adoptedwhat educator Eric Mazur calls peer in-struction, asking students to convince

your neighbor during Q&A time. AsMazur says, . . . when one student hasthe right answer and the other doesnt,the first one is more likely to convincethe second its hard to talk someoneinto the wrong answer when they havethe right one. More important, a fellowstudent is more likely to reach them . . .Youre a student, and youve only re-cently learned this, so you still knowwhere you got hung up, because its notthat long ago that you were hung up onthat very same thing (Lambert, 2012).

#10. The use of technology is flexible

and appropriate for 21st-century

learning.

We need to reach out to the stu-dents where they are, said Jen Green.She and her fellow Byron teachers knowstudents have technology all aroundthem and will be using it for learningthroughout their academic and profes-sional careers, accessing information

moved onto the homework videos,teachers have time in class to try newthings including more hands-on ac-tivities and problem-based learning. Mathclasses have incorporated project-basedactivities, team challenges, and cross-curricular innovations, which take more

time to support now that time previouslyspent on lectures has been freed up.

#7. Parents have a window into the

coursework.

Most parents find it hard to recallthe algebra, geometry, or calculus theylearned many years ago. Many becomefrustrated when theyre unable to helpa child who brings home a math assign-ment and gets stuck on a problem. Theyappreciate that the work of explainingmath is done in school by teachers. Asone parent said, Since my math skillsare a little rusty since I was in highschool, I appreciate that any homeworkquestions can be asked in the classroomrather than at home. That approach ismuch more helpful to students. Lessfrustration for all of us!

Furthermore, with the flipped class-room, parents can watch videos with theirchildren, refreshing their own math skills.Byron geometry teacher Jen Green re-calls, I had a young man who was strug-

gling at the beginning of the year. Whenhe began watching the videos at homewith his grandfather, they built their un-derstanding of geometry together andshared a growing confidence in beingable to do math. The young man cameto believe in his ability to succeed and cre-ated a special bond with his grandfather inthe process. In a voluntary parent survey,84% said the flipped classroom is theirpreferred choice in instructional deliveryfor their children.

#8. Student achievement isincreasing, so is interest and

engagement in higher-level math.

Byrons math teachers are collectingdetailed data on student achievement,and the results are promising. Earlydata suggest that flipping contributes tosignificant increases in student learningand achievement as compared to base-line data on the same courses taught inthe traditional classroom lecture mode

using the same assessments.The accompanying charts show stu-

dent proficiency (the number of studentswho are at 80% or above) on unit as-sessments.

#9. Learning theory supports thenew approaches.

The flipped classroom pulls togethera number of instructional techniques

supported by research on learning the-ory. Limits on video upload capacitymeans content is chunked into manage-able, understandable units. As they de-termine how often they need to reviewa video lesson, students must constantlyassess their understanding of material,building thinking skills. With studentsusing classroom time to complete prob-lems demonstrating their understand-ing, they get immediate feedback on

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In a voluntary parent

survey, 84% said the

flipped classroom is

their preferred choice in

instructional delivery for

their children.

FIG. 2.

Lecture vs. flipped vs. peer flipped

(Percentage of students proficient in precalculus)

95

90

85

80

75

70

65

60

Percentage

CH.1

CH.2

CH.3

CH.4

CH.5

FINAL

%As&Bs

CH.6

CH.7

CH.8

CH.9&11

FINAL

%As&Bs

FLIPPED

PEER FLIPPED

LECTURE

Precalculus proficiencies are up on average 6.1% with the traditional flipped

classroom while proficiencies are up even higher, on average 11%, with thepeer instruction flipped classroom. Note the total number of As and Bs for peer

flipped are significantly up at the end of each quarter.


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removed) provides a window into whystudents seem to prefer the flippedclassrooms:

I personally like that I can getthrough the lessons quicker than when

we have . . . class lecture. Then, whenI do the homework in class, I can have

help right away, which means I askmore questions.

I liked this approach a lot because,when we work on homework in theclassroom, you are here to help us.Otherwise, I would be lost at home and

wouldnt be able to finish my homeworkbecause I would have no idea how todo it.

I liked how I could rewind and pausethe lectures in case I didnt understandsomething.

I liked the fact that I could get themore difficult problems in class and beable to ask questions on them.

I like that we watched the concept athome, but then mastered the conceptin class.

The videos online explain exactlythe same way you would if you were toteach the lesson during class. Everyoneshould be able to understand the lesson,and, if not, they can watch it again.

Throughout the process, Byron

has insisted on a solid high-level matheducation for all students, as shown bythe fact that at the end of the 2011-12school year, 94.5% of Byrons seniorshad completed four or more years ofmath.

Clearly, educators, students, andparents in the Byron School Districtdidnt just ride out their perfect storm ofscal and academic challenges; they are,in fact, making waves that will long af-fect education in their community and

across the nation. For others seeking toimprove teaching and learning for a newgeneration of learners, Byrons top 10reasons for flipping a classroom providea guide for charting a course to success. KReference

Lambert, C. (2012, March/April). Twilight of

the lecture. Harvard Magazine, 114 (4), 23-27.

http://harvardmagazine.com/2012/03/twilight-

of-the-lecture

24/7. Believing that learning shouldhappen anytime, anywhere, they haveadopted a bring your own technol-ogy approach. This saves the districtmoney about $185,000 annually as stu-dents are allowed to bring to class anduse whatever technology they alreadyown: smartphones, tablet comput-

ers, laptops, and iPod Touches. In to-

days technology-infused environment,overload can pose a greater problemthan access. Sometimes, students cantlog on and watch videos at home if sev-eral family members need to use thefamily computer or get on the Internetin the evening. For these students andthose without access to their own tech-

nology devices, the school is developingcreative solutions: downloaded lessonmaterial on CDs or flash drives, opencomputer labs, and extra devices avail-able in all classrooms.

Our survey found that 97% of ourstudents have access to high-speed In-ternet at home. Students who had dial-up access were given the videos on aflash drive. Recently we received ourfirst student request to have the mate-rials delivered via DVD. We complied.Students with no or limited Internet ac-

cess choose to watch the videos beforeschool or during their lunch in the me-dia center while others go to a friendshouse or use their smartphone.

Last, but certainly not least, isreason # 11: Students like the

flipped classroom!

BHS math teachers survey studentsat the start and end of each course. Asampling of their comments (names


For more information

about the Byron High

School math department,

visit its web site at

http://tinyurl.com/bhsmath

FIG. 3.

Does having digital content online help?

(Median test scores of students in Accelerated Algebra II)

100

95

90

85

80

75

Testmedian

CH.

1

&

2

CH.

3

&

4

CH.

5

CH.

6

CH.

7

CH.

8

&

9

CH.

10

CH.

11

&

12

CH.

13

&

14

ALL CONTENT ONLINE

NO CONTENT ONLINE

In Accelerated Algebra II, there was a 5.1% increase in test median scores after

putting digital content (videos, notes, homework, homework solutions, and extra

links to help our students visualize mathematics) online. Geometry students have

posted similar gains; overall course failure rates have decreased from 13% with

lecture to 6% with flipped classes.

10 Reasons to Flip - Phi Delta Kappan

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