I am taking this blog post to explain the plan for and limits of my study on the flipped classroom. I am going to examine the effectiveness of a flipped classroom on freshmen math students, specifically those who are historically low-performing. To do this, I will compare the results of a short multiple-choice assessment given after lessons on solving systems of equations. I teach two sections of freshman math students that are comparable in performance. One of those sections will be taught systems of equations in a traditional method, using our school’s math curriculum and classroom strategies that are typical of a math lesson in my classroom. They will then be assigned practice problems as homework and take the assessment the next day in class. The other class will watch a video on solving systems of equations using elimination that I produce myself. The video will show only my hands and a piece of paper from an overhead angle as I narrate the strategy for solving systems of equations using elimination and work a couple examples. When they come in the next day, they will work examples in groups with support of their peers and myself. They will then take the assessment at the end of class.
This study may shed light on whether or not the flipped classroom is something that could be considered at Horizon High School. However, it is important to note that regardless of the findings, no clear conclusions can be drawn due to the very limited scope of the study. In addition to the study being just a small snapshot of the viability of the flipped classroom model, there are other factors that limit this study. I will be looking at three groups of students, historically high-performing, average-performing, and low-performing students. These will consist of students who earned grades of A’s, B’s or C’s, and D’s and F’s in the Fall semester, respectively. This way of grouping students is a very inexact and flawed way of grouping students. Many factors go into a student’s letter grade that may not be affected by their mathematical ability. Additionally, this will be the first time having a flipped lesson for most of my students, and one of my first times doing a flipped lesson. Both the students and myself likely would have room to grow in making a flipped model work, so each of us being rookies to this style of learning may not represent that true effects of a flipped classroom. I see these as the two biggest limitations of my study besides the fact that it is simply a small snapshot. There are other subtle variances in the study that may effect my results. Examples are that one class has math at the beginning of the day while the other is at the end of the day, or that the knowledge and readiness of the students in each class are not exactly identical. Regardless of the limitations, I am looking forward to implementing and understanding my study on the flipped classroom.
4 Comments
Alex Gardner
2/6/2017 01:48:34 pm
Hi Taylor,
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Alex Gardner
2/6/2017 01:49:48 pm
Hi Taylor,
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Alex Gardner
2/6/2017 01:51:46 pm
I appreciate the fact that you explain that no clear conclusion can be decided because of the restricted scope of the research. However, I do believe the small snapshot will offer you and potentially other teachers an insight to the benefits of the flipped classroom.
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Alex Gardner
2/6/2017 01:53:26 pm
Hello Taylor,
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