Flipped classrooms upend traditional approach to teaching

Published: Thursday, March 7, 2013 at 4:53 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, March 8, 2013 at 7:40 a.m.

PALM COAST — When Heidi Alves' students walked into her classroom one recent morning, the sleepy-eyed teenagers were no strangers to diffusion.

The Flagler Palm Coast High School biology students had been asked to watch a 15-minute video about osmosis, diffusion and cell transport before they set foot in Alves' class that day.

Alves then spent 30 minutes reviewing how substances move through a membrane and her ninth-graders were ready to begin a time-honored experiment that relies on dialysis tubing, starch, iodine and water to demonstrate the concept.

Alves joined a growing number of teachers in the fall when she started experimenting with a "flipped" method to teaching: Instead of classroom lectures, students are first exposed to content via videos they watch on their home computers or smartphones. Then they spend class time working on lab experiments or discussing the material in small groups.

"It's absolutely 21st-century learning and we need to embrace the technology instead of running from it," Alves said.

Flipped classes can allow teachers to maximize class time by getting students through preliminary instruction at their own pace before they come to school, said Chris Colwell, director of undergraduate teacher education at Stetson University in DeLand. Applying that instruction — a role traditionally reserved for homework — can be done in class, with guidance from a teacher.

"I think teachers are frustrated with a lack of time for getting done what they need to get done," he said.

But for whatever reason, many teachers are reluctant to try flipping. Robert Miller, who has flipped his math and science instruction for two years, sees "relatively few" Volusia County teachers who are doing the same. The Port Orange Elementary teacher posts videos of himself teaching for his gifted fifth-graders to watch at home — embedding examples and jokes, just as he would in class — and it's easy for students to tune into a familiar voice.

"I think a lot of people think it's just recording a lecture and having kids listen to it, but there's a lot of ways (flipping) can be used," he said.

The novel approach "makes science more fun" because there's more time for hands-on activities, said 14-year-old Calista Melendez, who is taking pre-International Baccalaureate biology from Alves.

"I think it really helps us understand because by the time we're in class we already know what we're doing, what it's about and how we do it," Calista said.

Classmate Connor Fraser agreed.

"It saves the teacher a lot of time and it saves us from a boring lecture," said Connor, 15.

Easy access to educational videos through sources like the Khan Academy, a non-profit website that offers more than 3,000 free videos covering topics ranging from calculus to art history, has helped propel the flipped model locally and across the country. Alves uses Crash Course, a series of educational videos with more than 27 million views, and lectures by Paul Andersen, a science teacher in Bozeman, Mont., who was the state's teacher of the year in 2011. Both are available for free on YouTube.

"I think the tools out there are endless," Alves said. "It's a matter of giving the kids the tools to use and pointing them in the right direction."

Those materials are at students' fingertips day and night, local educators say, because the vast majority of them have Internet access on their computers at home or on their smartphones.

"The only time I ever hit stumbling blocks on the flip is when technology is the issue," Alves said.

And that's unusual for Alves, who sees upward of 125 students weekly and knows of just one who doesn't have Internet access outside of school.

But there are students who don't have easy access to technology. Slightly more than half of teachers of the lowest-income students say that a lack of resources is a "major challenge" to incorporating more digital tools into their teaching, according to a Pew Research Center report released last week. Only one in five teachers who work with the highest income students report that problem.

A challenge for many educators, Colwell said, is leveling the playing field for students who don't have a computer with Internet access or a smartphone. And some schools are helping to bridge the digital divide. A tablet or laptop, he said, could replace the six or seven textbooks many students lug around in their backpacks.

"It's hard for me to see how we can expect that the students are going to be 21st-century learners in a 21st-century environment using 19th- and 20th-century tools," Colwell said.

Some teachers think recording instruction adds to their workload, but Miller points out that teachers can reuse the videos for several years or tap into outside resources.

"There is a learning curve," he said. "You just have to take that leap — you don't have to reinvent the wheel, though."

Concerns about covering content adequately also can discourage teachers from trying unconventional methods like the flipped classroom. Courtney VandeBunte, also a biology teacher at FPC, said she sometimes asks her students to preview content before class. But as the year progresses, VandeBunte has reverted to her tried-and-true strategies because she doesn't want to risk jeopardizing her students' performance on the statewide biology end-of-course exam in May.

Students who entered ninth-grade in the fall must pass the exam to earn credit in her class, which is a graduation requirement.

"Just to make sure the material is covered — that is the main goal — to make sure they know as much as they can before the test," VandeBunte said. "That kind of gets in the way as far as changing your teaching style."

That's a concern for Alves, too. She adds that some material seems better suited for a traditional lecture. Though she initially intended to flip her class every day, she splits her time about 50-50, quipping she has "five performances per day."

"We need to do a little bit of everything," she said. "The traditional model isn't completely lost — there's definitely merit in that and some kids really, really prefer the teacher standing up there lecturing."

<p>PALM COAST &mdash; When Heidi Alves' students walked into her classroom one recent morning, the sleepy-eyed teenagers were no strangers to diffusion. </p><p>The Flagler Palm Coast High School biology students had been asked to watch a 15-minute video about osmosis, diffusion and cell transport before they set foot in Alves' class that day.</p><p>Alves then spent 30 minutes reviewing how substances move through a membrane and her ninth-graders were ready to begin a time-honored experiment that relies on dialysis tubing, starch, iodine and water to demonstrate the concept. </p><p>Alves joined a growing number of teachers in the fall when she started experimenting with a "flipped" method to teaching: Instead of classroom lectures, students are first exposed to content via videos they watch on their home computers or smartphones. Then they spend class time working on lab experiments or discussing the material in small groups.</p><p>"It's absolutely 21st-century learning and we need to embrace the technology instead of running from it," Alves said. </p><p>Flipped classes can allow teachers to maximize class time by getting students through preliminary instruction at their own pace before they come to school, said Chris Colwell, director of undergraduate teacher education at Stetson University in DeLand. Applying that instruction &mdash; a role traditionally reserved for homework &mdash; can be done in class, with guidance from a teacher.</p><p>"I think teachers are frustrated with a lack of time for getting done what they need to get done," he said. </p><p>But for whatever reason, many teachers are reluctant to try flipping. Robert Miller, who has flipped his math and science instruction for two years, sees "relatively few" Volusia County teachers who are doing the same. The Port Orange Elementary teacher posts videos of himself teaching for his gifted fifth-graders to watch at home &mdash; embedding examples and jokes, just as he would in class &mdash; and it's easy for students to tune into a familiar voice. </p><p>"I think a lot of people think it's just recording a lecture and having kids listen to it, but there's a lot of ways (flipping) can be used," he said.</p><p>The novel approach "makes science more fun" because there's more time for hands-on activities, said 14-year-old Calista Melendez, who is taking pre-International Baccalaureate biology from Alves. </p><p>"I think it really helps us understand because by the time we're in class we already know what we're doing, what it's about and how we do it," Calista said.</p><p>Classmate Connor Fraser agreed. </p><p>"It saves the teacher a lot of time and it saves us from a boring lecture," said Connor, 15. </p><p>Easy access to educational videos through sources like the Khan Academy, a non-profit website that offers more than 3,000 free videos covering topics ranging from calculus to art history, has helped propel the flipped model locally and across the country. Alves uses Crash Course, a series of educational videos with more than 27 million views, and lectures by Paul Andersen, a science teacher in Bozeman, Mont., who was the state's teacher of the year in 2011. Both are available for free on YouTube. </p><p>"I think the tools out there are endless," Alves said. "It's a matter of giving the kids the tools to use and pointing them in the right direction."</p><p>Those materials are at students' fingertips day and night, local educators say, because the vast majority of them have Internet access on their computers at home or on their smartphones. </p><p>"The only time I ever hit stumbling blocks on the flip is when technology is the issue," Alves said.</p><p>And that's unusual for Alves, who sees upward of 125 students weekly and knows of just one who doesn't have Internet access outside of school. </p><p>But there are students who don't have easy access to technology. Slightly more than half of teachers of the lowest-income students say that a lack of resources is a "major challenge" to incorporating more digital tools into their teaching, according to a Pew Research Center report released last week. Only one in five teachers who work with the highest income students report that problem.</p><p>A challenge for many educators, Colwell said, is leveling the playing field for students who don't have a computer with Internet access or a smartphone. And some schools are helping to bridge the digital divide. A tablet or laptop, he said, could replace the six or seven textbooks many students lug around in their backpacks. </p><p>"It's hard for me to see how we can expect that the students are going to be 21st-century learners in a 21st-century environment using 19th- and 20th-century tools," Colwell said. </p><p>Some teachers think recording instruction adds to their workload, but Miller points out that teachers can reuse the videos for several years or tap into outside resources. </p><p>"There is a learning curve," he said. "You just have to take that leap &mdash; you don't have to reinvent the wheel, though." </p><p>Concerns about covering content adequately also can discourage teachers from trying unconventional methods like the flipped classroom. Courtney VandeBunte, also a biology teacher at FPC, said she sometimes asks her students to preview content before class. But as the year progresses, VandeBunte has reverted to her tried-and-true strategies because she doesn't want to risk jeopardizing her students' performance on the statewide biology end-of-course exam in May. </p><p>Students who entered ninth-grade in the fall must pass the exam to earn credit in her class, which is a graduation requirement. </p><p>"Just to make sure the material is covered &mdash; that is the main goal &mdash; to make sure they know as much as they can before the test," VandeBunte said. "That kind of gets in the way as far as changing your teaching style." </p><p>That's a concern for Alves, too. She adds that some material seems better suited for a traditional lecture. Though she initially intended to flip her class every day, she splits her time about 50-50, quipping she has "five performances per day." </p><p>"We need to do a little bit of everything," she said. "The traditional model isn't completely lost &mdash; there's definitely merit in that and some kids really, really prefer the teacher standing up there lecturing."</p>