Dr. "TKA" Kulla-Abbott's List: 21st Century Flipped Classroom

Recently, I wrote a post regarding some ideas that I did not believe that would transform school culture.  Although most agreed on two of the ideas that I shared, there was a large contingent of educators that argued regarding the “flip” and are very passionate about what it can do for the classroom (one even referred to me as a “nut” for even suggesting this!).

Also, Forbes magazine talked about the Khan Academy and the “flipped classroom” being one of the most important stories of 2012.  Whether it was inspired by Salman Khan or by educators, it has certainly stirred a movement:

Entire school districts are now reworking their curriculum, pedagogy, classroom structure and technology around Khan Academy videos. The net result of these changes is that students in Khan-centered schools don’t watch Khan videos in the classroom. They watch them at home. They use classroom time to do homework under the active supervision of their teacher (who serves as more of a learning lab tutor/coach) and fellow students (who, in technologically advanced classrooms, are digitally flagged when a classmate needs help). In perfectly melding with the collaborative learning ethos of the iGeneration, the Khan Academy has not only flipped the classroom, it’s flipped how we look at education.

Flipping, Follow Up, Modeling, and Reflection
by Dwight Carter • March 24, 2014 • 1 Comment

At Gahanna Lincoln High School, several teachers have implemented the Flipped Classroom model. They and Assistant Principal, Aaron Winner (@aaronwinner), shared their Flipped experiences at our January staff meeting and the response was very positive. Their presentation was a well-organized, engaging, and reflective of their learning.

Whenever I get a chance, I ask staff about how things are going, especially during informal conversations. I’ve recently asked about professional development needs and a number of times I heard a similar response, “We love all the presentations at staff meetings, but there is no follow up. We get excited about what we see and hear, but we aren’t given any time to try it or to came back later to talk about it.” I appreciate their feedback because they expressed a desire to learn, so I need to provide the conditions for that to take place. This caused me to peruse my notes from the book, 10-Minute In-Service by Todd Whitaker (@Todd) and Annette Breaux (@AnnetteBreaux). I knew I had to do something to address the concerns of  a lack of time and a lack of follow up.