Reaction to “The Biggest Hurdle to Flipping Your Class”

As a teacher you hear the term “flipping your classroom” constantly.  Why should educators do this if school has been structured the same for centuries?  The article answers that flipping your classroom “Makes class time more enriching and more valuable.”  This certainly sounds like something teachers should implement.

The article states that students are not just given the content but are forced to “learn how to learn”.  I have tried flipping things in my classroom this semester such as a video recorded instruction as well as providing the entire course notes on Blackboard but still think I have many enhancements to make. 

The issue for me has been so far at middle school; students don’t want to or expect to view elective class notes from home.  Some students may not have a computer from home so I still have to dedicate time in the classroom for students to view the instruction I have provided online.  One of the most important things to teaching in a flipped classroom is implement a routine with the class from day 1.  One major benefit I have seen is that some students will go home and view my instructional videos multiple times if they don’t understand something.  Students have mentioned to me that they wish their core classes especially math and social studies would record daily lessons they could go back later and view.

Overall, I think flipping your classroom is a neat idea and it works differently depending on each teacher’s situation but should be able to be performed to some extent in all subject areas.  Flipping your classroom is the imminent of education and we will see more of it in the future as technology improves.

Article Citation:

Bergmann, Jon (2013, November 18). The Biggest Hurdle to Flipping Your Class. http://www.edutopia.org/.  Retrieved November 23rd, 2013 from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/biggest-hurdle-flipping-your-class-jon-bergmann