Posted by David Wetzel
Math Notes
Flipping a classroom is not a teaching technique, it is more in line with a philosophy or way of teaching. It involves using technology as a tool, not the main focus, for helping students increase their understanding of science or math concepts.
Effective use of this way of thinking helps reduce student anxiety and frustration when studying science or math, especially when homework is involved. Unfortunately, failure to complete homework is a common problem among students, because they typically work in isolation.
This aggravation causes students to view homework as a maddening waste of time — leading to incomplete assignments and ultimately poor grades as they fall further and further behind.
Contrary to perceptions some may have about flipping a classroom, homework is not eliminated. It uses an entirely different approach (Learning 4 Mastery, Student Impressions).
How does Homework Change?
Homework becomes a series of short instructional videos, teacher lecture screencasts, and podcasts on your blog or wiki designed to replace in-class lectures.
Why is this a good thing?
Lecturing Does Not = Learning
Have you ever experienced the glazed look in your students’ eyes when lecturing?
Do you observe them taking copious notes and not really paying attention to you as you talk or place notes for them to copy on the overhead, chalk board, whiteboard, or smart board?
Also, this delivery method provides students limited time to make sense and formulate questions regarding new information, i.e., they do not have time to assimilate the information or make connections.
Impact of Lecturing
Lectures result in a one-way transfer of knowledge that does not pass through your students brains. It goes straight from your mouth or screen to their pen or pencil onto paper — passing go (the brain), proceeding directly to a potentially never opened notebook.
Through your best efforts to teach the important concept(s) in a lesson, they have learned little and typically cannot apply the information. This is why traditional home work is frustrating and viewed as a waste of time by most students. Typically, students do not remember enough from class to complete their homework assignments.
Impact on Homework
Using the flipped philosophy, students learn from podcasts, lectures, or videos at their own pace. Also, they can review them as many times as want. Of course questions will come up, even higher-order questions. Why? Because students now have time to think about what they are observing — this is a good thing. Now lectures and content videos are passing through your student brains! Homework is now useful and a beginning point for the next day’s class.
Science Investigation
Homework Resources
The following is a short list of vieo resources for science and math.
- Kahn Academy an extensive list of short videos of science and math concepts and procedures.
How Does In-Class Time Change?
Classes now become a center for student learning. You have more time to interact with students on a one-to-on basis. Additionally,:
- you address student higher-order questions concerning homework.
- your opportunity to discover student misconceptions and procedural confusion is increased.
- students spend more time on experiments and investigations.
- students work in groups or independently to solve problems.
- you can differentiate instruction as necessary.
Flipping Your Classroom: Things to Consider
Is this for you and your students? Think about the following, remembering that like anything new it takes time and should be implemented in steps to avoid frustrating yourself and students. A flipped classroom is:
- not a substitute for you.
- a place where you are no longer the purveyor (one way communication) of all knowledge.
- a place where content is stored on your blog or wiki for student review prior to tests and absent or home bound students can review.
Challenging the Status Quo
Why use this strategy? Because in far too many cases the status quo is not working.
Although there are a multitude of reasons why students drop out of school, the process begins as early as elementary school. The leading cause is poor grades and test scores. Students do not feel engaged in school and find it monotonous (California Dropout Research Project).
Sources
California Dropout Research Project, UC Santa Barbara, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, 2008
Learning 4 Mystery, Flipped/Mastery Educational Model: Student Impressions, Accessed December 12, 2011
Should You Flip Your Classroom? Edutopia, October 26, 2011
The White House, President Obama Announces Steps to Reduce Dropout Rate, Office of the Press Secretary, 2010
Posted by David Wetzel
Wiki pages are always a work in progress. The wiki is like a dynamic online science classroom which continually grows and changes.
Applications for the use of Wikis in science classrooms is only limited by the creativeness of the teacher in support science teaching and student earning.
Teaching Strategies with Wikis
The following are examples of how teachers can use wikis in science classes:
- Simulations and Animations - these can be used by students during investigations or review. One example: pH Scale
- Interactive White Board - screen shots from class discussions on topic for students to review later.
- Podcasts - both audio and video podcasts for students to use for review or use during investigations. One example: Physical Science
- Wordles - post a teacher or student created Wordle of a specific chapter, unit, or investigation. One example: Nature of Science
- Resources - providing links to Delicious or Digg resources for students to read or use in science projects.
- Images - a set of Flickr images for use when teaching specific concepts, a picture is always worth a thousand words. One example: Marine Biology
- Projects - a copy of current science projects for students (and parents) to read and review, along with the project rubric. One example: Investigating Earthquakes
- Class Notes - post an overview of daily lessons for students who missed class and review. One example: Density Power Point (works well with Google Docs and VoiceThread)
- Lab Report - a copy of your standard lab investigation report.
- Science Fair - guidelines are provided for the school’s science fair. One example: Science Fair
- Science Safety Rules - include a copy of student safety contract, lab safety rules, and internet use contract (if required by school).
Learning Strategies with Wikis
Wikis promote learning network by creating a community of experts. The following are examples of students can use wikis in science class:
- Glossary of Scientific Terms - Example: students develop an interactive glossary for defining physical science terms throughout the entire school year.
- Taxonomy – a student developed identification, naming, and classification of living things during their life science or biology course. Example: students develop the taxonomy of specific plants using definitions and images.
- Investigations – student groups report on experimental designs and submit investigation reports to their teacher. Example: students collaborate in the investigation of the mystery, why honey bees are are disappearing.
- Visual Arts – students groups can collaborate in research to find web-based resources which describe scientific processes using works of art. Example: students upload images or animals, plants, or nature of science.
- Science Newsletter - students can create a class science newsletter for sharing with other science classes and parents.
Advantages of a Wiki
These are some of the advantages of a wiki:
- Wikis allow for open editing, whereas web pages are limited editing (specific program on specific computer).
- Multiple users can edit a wiki.
- Privacy levels allow control of users.
- Notifications and display of all changes allow monitoring of all edits.
- Uses simple text language instead of html as in web pages.
Many science teachers who used web pages to support their classes have switched to wikis, because of all these advantages.
Posted by David Wetzel
Using Web 2.0 Technology in Project based Learning
Project Based Learning can be defined as an instructional approach built upon authentic learning activities that engage student interest and motivation. These activities are designed to answer a question or solve a problem and generally reflect the types of learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom.
Integration of technology is an integral part of project based learning, because technology is an integral part of life outside the classroom as revealed in this part of the definition – “types of learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom.”
Strategies for Integrating Technology in Project based Learning
The following is an aggregate of free Web 2.0 resources for use in project based learning.
Book Trailer Videos
Students can create a book trailer for trade books such as the “Math Curse” by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith or the “Tiny Seed” by Eric Carle to intrigue others about reading the book. Students use video or digital images to represent a portion of the story and then turn it into a movie using:
- Photo Story 3 - converting photos into slideshow
- Windows Movie Maker - creating digital movies
- iMovie - creating movies
- Animoto - creating videos
- Netvibes - blogs, videos, and photos
- Kerpoof - illustrate writing and videos
- Fluxtime - animated videos
- Fanfiction - creating videos
- Screentoaster - creating videos
Interactive Posters/Presentations
Students create an interactive poster about a specific event in science or math history, scientist, mathematicians, and math or science concepts. Their interactive poster includes photos, videos, documents, and other information. Students create this interactive poster using:
- Glogster - interactive posters using video, music, and documents
- Flickr - image sharing
- Google Docs - spreadsheets, wordprocessing, surveys, and presentations
- Open Office - spreadsheets, wordprocessing, and presentations
- Zoho - spreadsheets, wordprocesssing, and presentations
- Animoto - videos
- VoiceThread - images, documents, and videos
- Netvibes - blogs, videos, and photos
- ccMixter - music
- Wordle - vocabulary cloud
- Kerpoof - illustrate writing and videos
- Fluxtime - animated videos
Podcasts – Audio/Video
Students use digital images to create a vocabulary review for topics in science or math. Then they can be turned into audio or video Podcasts. Students create this podcasts using:
- Audacity - audio recorder and editor
- iTunes - music, videos, and podcasting
- Garageband - audio editing and recording
- Podsafe Audio - music
- Netvibes - blogs, videos, and photos
- ccMixter - music for video
- Kerpooof - videos
- Fluxtime - animated videos
- Screentoaster - videos
Slideshows
Students use digital images to create a vocabulary review for topics in science or math. Then they can be turned into audio or video Podcasts. Students create this podcasts using:
- Slideshare - powerpoint presentations and documents
- Slidesix - powerpoint presentations, audio, and video
- Slideboom - powerpoint presentations
- Slideroll - photos
- VoiceThread - images, documents, and videos
- Wordle - vocabulary cloud
- ccMixter - music
Collaborative Sharing
These projects can be shared within the class and others outside the classroom using:
- Class Wiki – All
- Skype – Book Trailers and Presentations
- Twitter - All
- Class Blog – All
- VoiceThread – Interactive Posters/Presentations
- Stupeflix Studio – Videos
- Flixtime – Videos
- SchoolTube – Videos and Podcasts
- Jing – All
- Ning – All
- iPhone – Podcasts
- iPod Touch – Podcasts
- Diigo – All
- Stumble Upon – All
- Delicious - All
- YouTube - Videos
- Vimeo - Videos
Using Web 2.0 tools in support of student learning in math and science accomplishes two things.
- First – these tools take advantage of prior knowledge and experiences with digital tools for these digital citizens.
- Second – these tools allow students to complete project based learning using real world applications.
