#flipout

Group 4: Flipped Classrooms - Melita Fernandes and Clerona Felicien

This presentation delivered by Melita and Cle was incredibly engaging. They provided a slide deck, a website, and a breakout room padlet. While I am not new to a flipped classroom, I had almost forgotten about it, given that many other methods are at the forefront of education. Melita and Cle shared the strengths, weaknesses, and tools to make flipping your classroom a meaningful possibility for educators to adopt.

I have seen beautifully designed flipped classrooms over my 16 years of education. I had a department head specializing in information technology in classrooms, and she approached the task of flipping her classroom perfectly. She contacted parents ahead of the semester to let them know her approach why she thought it might benefit the students, and provided alternatives should students or parents resist. Not one parent did. She also created check-ins at regular intervals to assess and realign the flipped design and included student input. She made it an experiment in which they were all involved. I doubt it would surprise you to know it was widely successful. However, it took a significant amount of her time to plan. She was essentially double teaching, she said. Eventually, as her videos, lessons, and materials were created, the second attempt in the second semester was rewarding for her and her students.

I have also made use of flipping my classroom out of necessity. I was assigned Grade 11 University Biology with one day's notice. While I am a strong student and an even better educator, my Specialized English degree and grade 9 Science credit were useless here. So, without knowing it, I flipped my classroom out of a need to survive. One weekend I read the entire textbook, created notes for students, and then assigned homework to inform the next day's discussions. I needed the time to review the material. Meaningful discussions based on extending knowledge from the text and practical questions we engaged with together happened. It was likely the most meaningful course I have taught. I was also scared that I wouldn’t teach them enough to enable them to be successful in Grade 12, which fuelled my commitment to learning alongside them. Not only were most of them successful, but I like to think I made a doctor out of that experience as one of those students went on to practice medicine.