Reaching All Learning Levels in the 21st Century

Many of us have wrestled with the question:  How do I help the struggling student keep up in my class while still challenging the advance student to excel and go above and beyond the proficient expectations?  This year I thought I would knuckle down and truly try to find an effective answer to this question in my own classroom.  While it seems impossible sometimes to switch gears constantly as our students present different levels of questioning based on their own level of learning, technology has helped us out.  Using the idea of the “flipped” classroom as a foundation for my own class and our students’ availability of tech tools (at school and at home) I decided to try out screencasts.   Screencasts are a cloud computing tool that allows the user to record the activity on your computer monitor while recording your voice.  While not completely “flipping” my class, the students are still able to view the videos and re-view them based on their own learning needs.  The traditional “flipped” classroom requires students to view a video, preferably outside of school time, of their teacher presenting the concepts of a lesson in a lecture format; notes are taken and students are prepared for the next day’s hands-on application of the concept, flipping classwork and homework.  I have found that many of my students are not fully equipped to allow me to “flip” my classroom completely, given the fact that not all students have computers and internet in their homes and not all software programs they learn are online.  After surveying my students, I decided that I could still apply the technology of lesson tutorials in my class to accommodate the variety of learning levels that pass through my door.  I started with my eighth grade classes earlier in the term, moving down to the seventh grade around mid-term, and finally with my sixth graders during the final week of the quarter.  The students have shown much more progress than I ever imagined.  In the past, my lesson and project deadlines have either rushed some of my students to try to grasp the concepts before I introduced the next concept while my more advanced students were left waiting on their slower paced peers. At this point, all of my students are accessing the lesson tutorials as needed.  Requests to repeat information has decreased since the students can review the short video tutorial on their own and as many times as needed. I still provide deadlines to help students keep their pace and as the student masters a concept, I add that to the grade book and they move on. This tool has afforded me more one-on-one time with my students to discuss enrichment possibilities and to see where they can go with their knowledge of technology.  I realize that not every teacher has a fully equipped computer lab accessible on a daily basis.  In this case, I can see teachers creating videos or screencasts for students that need the re-teaching of a concept as well as the student that needs the enrichment activity if the classroom has at least one networked computer available for use. Resources:      Katie Ash. (August 27, 2012). Educators Evaluate 'Flipped Classrooms'. In Education Week. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/08/29/02el-flipped.h32.html. http://www.screenr.com/