Flipped Instruction

One tool I use to help students learn is called flipped instruction.

By mrbennettphysic | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

In the traditional model, students get their primary instruction by listening to the teacher lecture and taking notes in class. They then go home and complete homework assignments and projects to turn in when they come back to class.

In the flipped instruction model, students get their primary instruction through videos and reading at home, rather than in the classroom. When they come to school, they spend their time working on assignments and completing hands-on learning activities, all with the support of other students and the teacher.

This model is new to my practice, but is something I've done a great deal of research on and am continuing to learn about. I'm quite pleased with the results so far, and believe that things will only get better as I create more content and activities for students to engage with, both at home and in class.

If you're interested in learning more about this system, this web site has a great deal of information. I'd also love to converse with you about how this all works in my classes, and what I'm planning for the future.

The best-known program in which students get the lecture portion through online videos and lessons at home is The Khan Academy, which has some excellent materials for physics, and which I'll refer students to periodically.

To be clear, I don't believe that any one approach works for all topics in all subjects for all students. Flipped instruction is, as I said, one tool I use, but not the only one.