Teacher Tuesday: How to Flip Your Classroom, Passports-Style
passports, being the educator’s choice for student travel, is always looking for ways to provide resources for traveling teachers. This week, we delve into the “flipped classroom” method, and how passports lesson plans can help you out with it!
Here are three simple ways you can flip your classroom, passports-style:
1. SHIFT YOUR USUAL CLASS PROCEDURE
Think of the way you usually conduct your class. Like most teachers, you probably introduce the content, provide some guided practice, give group work and individual activities, then assign an extension activity so students can master the content at home. Now envision a classroom where you have shifted all of those activities. Students use resources to introduce the content to themselves the night before, then class time is spent mastering what they had learned and resolving any misunderstandings. Less time spent delivering the content, more time spent mastering it —now that’s an interactive classroom I would want to be a part of!
2. FIND RESOURCES, OR CREATE YOUR OWN
The success of the flipped classroom hinges on the relevance, quality and accessibility of the resources you give students to introduce the content to them outside of class. A number of these resources already exist and are at your disposal. Many can be found using YouTube Education, Khan Academy, Brain Pop and, of course, passports.com! You can also choose to create your own, using slideshow makers like Microsoft PowerPoint and Prezi, or screen recording software like Camtasia, Jing and Snagit. Don’t forget you can also request lesson plans directly related to your passports tour!
3. IMPLEMENT STUDENT-CENTRIC TEACHING
With all of your class time dedicated to mastering the content, you, the teacher, have the perfect opportunity to make class all about the students. Create engaging activities for students to participate in the second they walk through the door. Close that achievement gap by having students who “got” the introduction mentor the students who “didn’t get it.” Or, take the latter group aside for extra help. This gives you the chance to be a more involved educator, and gives students the chance to fill in gaps of knowledge and actively master the content.
Have any tips for teachers implementing the flipped classroom method? Share them in the comment section below!