Technology Aids Flipped Classroom Concept Just as other Diocesan schools are successfully implementing the flipped classroom, so too is St. Michael Catholic School. “We must prepare our students to be digitally literate,” said Mrs. Marianne Bohinski, Grade 5 instructor. “We owe it to them to prepare them for future and high school readiness.” Amy Reitz, our Technology Integration Specialist, heartily agrees. She and a colleague presented the flipped classroom concept at the Diocesan Professional Development Day held September 22. Classroom time is precious and, so teachers need to be fully prepared to make the most of that time. How can they prepare their students in advance, so every classroom minute is dedicated to learning? “Homework has traditionally been paper and pencil work at home after a new concept has been introduced in the classroom,” explained Mrs. Marianne Bohinski, Grade 5 instructor. “I often find it more effective to provide information in advance so that students come to class with a basic understanding and thoughtful questions for discussion,” she explained. She also finds that providing students with guided notes, which they fill in while watching the video clips, helps students to learn note- taking skills while remaining more focused on the task at hand. Homework for Bohinski’s students might be to watch a video and take notes on what they watched. For science, students might be instructed to watch a video explaining how to use a balance scale, and write down those instructions for use the next day in science lab. For math, they have access to all video clips that go with each lesson’s concept. If a student didn’t understand the concept in class, missed class, or needs additional homework help, the video is there as an extra resource. Students can pause the video and watch it as many times as needed, and when they are taking notes, they may do it at their own pace. This teaching method has come to be known as “flipping” the classroom. Bohinski has been trained in this method by Dr. Lodge McCammon, an independent education consultant who was previously a project director with the Friday Institute at N.C. State University. The project was funded by SAS. See this video by Dr. McCammon. In this Issue Technology Aids Flipped Classroom Concept Making Science Come Alive Faculty Profile: Linda Piegore Community Celebrates St. Michael Feast Day Fall Athletes Hustle to Perform Stay Connected: www.facebook.com/StMich aelSchoolCary vimeo.com/stmcary twitter.com/StMSCary Vol. 1 No. 1 October 2014
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Technology Aids Flipped Classroom Concept
Just as other Diocesan schools are successfully implementing the flipped classroom, so too is St. Michael Catholic School. “We must prepare our students to be digitally literate,” said Mrs. Marianne Bohinski, Grade 5 instructor. “We owe it to them to prepare them for future and high school readiness.” Amy Reitz, our Technology Integration Specialist, heartily agrees. She and a colleague presented the flipped classroom concept at the Diocesan Professional Development Day held September 22. Classroom time is precious and, so teachers need to be fully prepared to make the most of that time. How can they prepare their students in advance, so every classroom minute is dedicated to learning? “Homework has traditionally been paper and pencil work at home after a new concept has been introduced in the classroom,” explained Mrs. Marianne Bohinski, Grade 5 instructor. “I often find it more effective to provide information in advance so that students come to class with a basic understanding and thoughtful questions for discussion,” she explained. She also finds that providing students with guided notes, which they fill in while watching the video clips, helps students to learn note-taking skills while remaining more focused on the task at hand. Homework for Bohinski’s students might be to watch a video and take notes on what they watched. For science, students might be instructed to watch a video explaining how to use a balance scale, and write down those instructions for use the next day in science lab. For math, they have access to all video clips that go with each lesson’s concept. If a student didn’t understand the concept in class, missed
class, or needs additional homework help, the video is there as an extra resource. Students can pause the video and watch it as many times as needed, and when they are taking notes, they may do it at their own pace. This teaching method has come to be known as “flipping” the classroom. Bohinski has been trained in this method by Dr. Lodge McCammon, an independent education consultant who was previously a project director with the Friday Institute at N.C. State University. The project was funded by SAS. See this video by Dr. McCammon.
“There are so many great resources available today that we have to take advantage of it,” Bohinski said. “Technology is changing the ways students learn and how teachers teach. The amount of visual aids and tools available today is amazing and can benefit all students, whether it’s enrichment they seek or remediation.” Besides using an online textbook for math, which has a plethora of enrichment opportunities, Bohinski uses instructional videos found on YouTube® and has also created some of her own videos. It’s not, however, all about watching videos at home. Bohinski requires her math students to keep a notebook of math concepts, which is organized by concept and is therefore a valuable reference tool. The goal is that by watching the visual clips, students are better prepared for working with the new concept in the classroom and there is more time available for the teacher to work with small groups or individuals as they work on problems. In a traditional classroom, more time is spent on lecturing and allowing time for copying down notes before being able to do a few sample problems. Typically the rest of the problems are assigned for homework. In a flipped classroom, the large portion of the lecture is done at home with students taking guided notes based on a video clip so that in the classroom students can have more time to work problems. Students may watch the video clip several times as they study and prepare for tests, or to master concepts. Also, students can delve deeper into concepts and whole group math discussions can be conducted where students are encouraged to explain their answers. We are grateful that Mrs. Bohinski has joined our StMS team, as she is passionate about teaching, loves her fifth graders, and is excited to see how well they are doing so far this year.