Wow, wait, what? Many times I have found my students coming to class after watching a conceptual video done on Educreations or Khan academy and are still striving to grasp the concept of mathematics that was taught.
Flipped teaching has worked wonders in my fifth grade class, allowing me to better differentiate and keep up with kids using the coaching features on Khan academy. But there is more to flipped teaching than just watching videos at home and working on problems in class.
Understanding the hows behind mathematics is key. This past month I have begun to use Today’s Meet at the start of my math class as a place to post conceptual questions. Right now I am creating the questions for the students about the math, but in the future I hope to have them create their own. As a table group, the students then discuss the questions with each other thus increasing their abilities to also discuss mathematics verbally. Next, student are called on to explain a question to the group.
Throughout this time, each group has one computer set up that allows them to put in answers on Today’s meet or ask questions. An alternate to using todays meet is to make a simple google presentation with the concept questions on a slide and then share this with one student in each group.
The next step is to give practice problems. I allow students to work collaboratively on these and will pull small groups during this time if needed. Additionally, sometimes this time is used for a project or a more open ended math activity like ones found on illuminations or the Silicon Valley Math Institute website.
Overall, I am incredibly happy with the structure of my math class now. Each day needs tweaking and shifting and there are times where I simply wish I had another hour with them, but as a teacher it is good to reflect and be open to change because as we know change keeps us growing and learning just like our students.
Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajc1/8144344750/
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