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Last week I got to attend the METC conference in St.
Charles. It was a great three days in which I had the opportunity to learn
new instructional and engagement activities, make and extend connections with
fellow educators, and share some of the great things our district is doing
with professional development. While there is much to share, one common theme
was reoccurring throughout the conference relate to instruction. And that is
that we need to start asking ourselves what problem do we want students to
solve?
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Many of the presenters
opined that this was the question we needed to start asking instead of what
do we want students to learn. As our district begins to shift to a Problem
Based focus, I thought this was a great place for us to start as we begin
this journey. Before anyone tackles a problem or project, there needs to be a
clear focus on what we are trying to accomplish. While this is a great
mindset to have while we transition to PBL, this can still be the focus of
your classroom each day.
Another popular item
at the conference was flipped classrooms and learning. There were many
sessions that had this as the focus and each session I attended with this as
the focus were great. One of the sessions was a beginner’s guide to flipping
your classroom that provided resources and helpful strategies to get you
started. First, if you are all about flipping your class than jump right in
and start. If you are mildly reluctant, start slowing before going 100%
flipped. This will help with the transition and give you time to refine
practices and find what works best for you.
The other strategy I found most helpful was that a study of classrooms that
were flipped experienced the most success when the content to be viewed at
home was limited to 8 minutes or less. Students responded that they wanted to
get the information right away and to the point. If videos remained brief,
students were more likely to view the content more than once. If you need a
few talking points when talking with parents, explain to them that when your
classroom is flipped, you will be covering the more in-depth material in
class. The "easy" portion of the lesson will be completed at home.
Also explain to them, that in the flipped classroom, they have the
opportunity to view the material with their student. If you are on the fence
about flipping your class, I would at least experiment a few times to see how
it works with your students. There are numerous benefits for flipping your
class that will help increase student achievement.
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