My Journey:The Flipped Class and Small Group Instruction

A group of our students at work

I can definitely say that I'm learning a great deal about instruction and how to meet the needs of individual students in the classroom. The great dilemma in teaching: How do I teach all of the students while at the same time meet each child's individual needs? This is no small feat. It takes time, thought, and lots of planning. The ongoing desire to be a better teacher than I was the year before led me to the path of the flipped classroom. My sole purpose was this: How can I make the most use of my instructional time while the students are with me during the school day?

During the summer of 2012 I searched for ways to be better at managing my time. I felt that so much time was being lost during the school day but I really couldn't tell where this time was going. So one day I sat down and mapped out a typical daily classroom schedule. What I came to realize was that although the schedule said things like 60 min for math and 90 for reading, most of that time was spent with me at the front of the class teaching. This wasn't necessarily bad teaching. I mean, most of what I was able to incorporate in my teaching were considered to be good practices. Using approaches like I Do- We Do-You Do, Think Time, Think-Pair-Share, and other Kagen Strategies resulted in good class averages and good evaluation scores. However, these methods usually benefited the students right in the middle the most. The outliers weren't getting all that they needed. You know the kids I'm talking about. The ones that needed an extensive amount help and the ones that were far beyond where I was teaching.

The flipped classroom seemed to offer the best solution to my problem. I was able to remove the lecture from the classroom completely or almost completely and focus my efforts on facilitating learning within the classroom. While I am far from and expert on flipping, I can truly say that it has made a tremendous difference in how I view teaching and learning. I'm finding my own way within the flipped model. I facilitate the learning in my math class through small group "instruction". I'm perfecting my ability to meet with all students everyday and guide them at their level of need.

I am grateful for the on-going support that I have received from students, parents, my team, and admin. However, I must commend my PLN (Professional Learning Network) on twitter. What great group of educators! Shout out the Jon Bergmann, flipped class pioneer, who encouraged me and helped me get this going at my school. I have often said that I am a work in progress. This holds true for every area of my life and teaching is no exception.

Live, Laugh, Learn

Celeste Clemons