Are You the GUIDE on the SIDE?

Are You the GUIDE on the SIDE?

Focus on the Student and the Teacher

Language of the Student

Vocabulary of the Student

Instructors Model Learning

Students Interact With Students

Students Interact with Instructor

Classroom is Noisy

Classroom is Active

Students Evaluate Their Own Work

Students Critique Each Other

Teachers Monitor Evaluation

Instructor Provides Feedback

Students Choose Topics

Knowledge is Unlimited

Instructors Monitor Material

Students Answer Each Others Questions

Teacher Becomes a Resource

Pairs, Trios and Groups Work Together

TEAM takes Effect (Together Each Achieves More)

Emphasis on Process

Assessment is Inter-twined in the Learning

Differentiated assessment is the Norm

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Information is Synthesized

Focus on Understanding the Content

Real Life Examples and Utilization of Content

Learning Process is Evaluated

Teacher Becomes a Mentor

Based upon Student Engagement
How to Think

Are You the SAGE on the STAGE?

Are You the SAGE on the STAGE?

Teacher Centered

Teacher Talks – Students Listen

Language of the Teacher

Vocabulary of the Teacher

Instructor Chooses Topics

Teacher Filters Material

Teacher Evaluates Student Work

Classroom is Quiet

Knowledge Limited by Teacher’s Knowledge

Students Work Alone

Classroom is Passive

Knowledge is Passed Down

Students Receive Information

Emphasis on Right Answers

Classroom is Competitive

Learning is Individualistic

Assessment and Teaching are Separate

Testing is Primary Assessment

Information is Gathered

Focus on Completing Content

Lecture

Based on Delivery
What to Think

Colligative Properties - And Its So Tasty Too!!!

Colligative Properties - An Its So Tasty Too!!!

What if everyday your students came to the door of your chemistry classroom with ANTICIPATION and EXCITEMENT?

What if your chemistry students spent more time smiling in your class than grimacing with angst over another lecture or worksheet?

What if you couldn't wait to get to your chemistry class because you wanted to see how your students would respond to the activities you have planned for that day?

What if you made ICE CREAM and ate it in the science lab and students grasped the concept of freezing point depression and were excited about how to calculate colligative properties because they have an answer to the age old question of "When am I ever going to use this in life?

Well, this is just a tiny part of what I get to experience since adding FLIPPED LEARNING to my education environment. And while the flipped model is not a silver bullet for education, it is a means of creating a more engaging, hands on, student centered classroom.

Let's face it, freezing point depression and boiling point elevation in a lecture-worksheet classroom experience is not one of the most engaging pathways to student learning. But throw in a couple of baggies, some whole milk, whipping cream, sugar and vanilla, a whole lot of ice and some salt and all of a sudden you have smiles, laughter, cold hands, warm hearts and a great learning experience for students that will be part of discussions with peers and parents  and will be most definitely be part of discussions at 10, 20 and 30 year class reunions.  And isn't that when the students own the learning?  When they can articulate the experience beyond your classroom walls. 

http://www.sophia.org/playlists/solutions-colligative-properties

So after students completed their flipped lesson playlist for colligative properties on SOPHIA we took a Friday afternoon and the following recipe and solidified our understanding of freezing point depression by making ice cream and a whole lot of smiles. 

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup whipping cream 
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla flavoring 
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup sodium chloride (NaCl) as table salt or rock salt
• 2 cups ice
• 1-quart freezer bag
• 1-gallon freezer bag
• themometer
• measuring cups and spoons
• cups and spoons for eating your treat!

Add the milk, whipping cream, sugar and vanilla to the 1-quart bag.  Squeeze out as much of the air as possible and seal the bag. Place the sealed bag into the 1-gallon bag and surround it with the ice. Pour in the salt and seal the 1 gallon bag. Massage the contents until the ice has melted completely. Students may want to wrap the bag in a towel as the bags get very cold. 
When the ice cream has a texture and viscosity, open the 1-gallon bag, remove the 1-quart bag, discard the melted ice and bag. Now grab a spoon and enjoy the fruits of your labor. 

The learning moments abound as students question, "Why does the ice get so cold?" and,  "How does the liquid thicken?"  But I think the best question is, when they ask, "Can I do this at home?" Because then, I know that I have got them!!!!  And I know they will be coming back for more!!!






  

Finding Value in Mistakes

FINDING VALUE IN MISTEAKS MISTAKES

There's a common story that circulates about 

"success and failure".

The story goes that "Thomas Edison failed more than 1,000 times when trying to create the light bulb".  When asked about it, Edison allegedly said, "I have not failed 1,000 times.  I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb."

The idea is that -- even if you try and fail, it doesn't mean that you didn't learn something.

Education, like everything else since the industrial revolution is a product driven system. High stakes standardized testing has only served to perpetuate this, in valuing only correct responses as opposed to placing value in the process of determining that correct answer.  How can students, learn to appreciate
the skills of critical thinking if they are not encouraged to value porcess?

One method I have incorporated in my classroom, is to focus on the incorrect answers.  I will use scenarios and multiple choice questions to ask students not only to find the correct answer, but to explain why the other possibilities are not acceptable solutions or how other students may have determined the incorrect choices.  When students have to deconstruct the solutions they really begin to think about the process involved in finding the solution.  As students become better at evaluating the incorrect answers, they also become more effective at correcting their own work when they make a mistake.  Students also find it easier to assist other students when they make mistakes.   

An example in math might be:

What is the product of  34  x 12?

a)  46     b)  102       c)  308     d) 408       

   34      The correct answer is d) 408.    
x 12
   68
 340
 408 

a) 46  A student would have added instead of multiplied to get an answer of 46.    34 + 12 = 46

b) 102  A student would have calculated an answer of 102 if they did not place a zero in the ones column when they began multiplying by the tens value. 

   34
x 12
   68
_ 34
 102

c) 308  The student did not carry the one after adding the 
6 and 4.  

   34          
x 12
   68
 340
 308 

A chemistry example might be:

From the following, choose the correct balanced chemical equation.  Explain why the other choices are not correct.

a)   H₂    +    O    ----->     H₂O 
b)   2H    +    O    ----->     H₂O 
c)   2H₂    +    O₂    ----->     2H₂O  C is the correct equation.
d)   2H₂    +    2O    ----->     2H₂O 

Each of the other equations are balanced.  They are incorrect because Hydrogen and Oxygen are diatomic molecules in their gas state and must to be H2 and O2. (H, O, N, Cl, Br, I, F)

When students are engaged in the critical thinking process of deconstructing incorrect answers, they gain a greater understanding and appreciation for the process of learning. Incorrect answers can sometimes have a far greater value for learning than simply being correct.

SOPHIA - Classroom Follow-Up

SOPHIA - CLASSROOM FOLLOW-UP

I adopted the use of the SOPHIA learning platform in my Honors Chemistry course in February, 2014.  It is a work in progress and both my students and I are learning the benefits and the nuances of this SOPHIA portal as a system for sharing knowledge.

I first must preface this with the fact, that my Honors Chemistry class is a fantastic group of students and they have fully bought in to the concepts of learning that are the cornerstones of my classroom:

1. Our learning environment is predicated on the concept of the 
6 C's: Think Critically, Communicate Clearly, Work Collaboratively, Develop Creativity, Embrace Culture and Utilize Connectivity

2. I teach learning on a path called chemistry.  If you learn how to learn the content will take care of itself.

3. We will remember 92% of what we teach someone else, 30 days afterward. We teach to learn.

4. Success is measured by the definition of success according to John Wooden, “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.”

I use SOPHIA to create tutorials using my own videos and other online resources and gather them into playlists of the content aspects I want students to learn.  These SOPHIA playlists are posted on Monday and they are due on Sunday by 11:00 pm. The material is always presented online the week before we will be working on it in class.  

This model has allowed me to get students more involved in their own learning, conduct more lab work and develop more real life assignments, activities and discussions in class. We work in a block schedule with 95 minute classes and I see this class every other day.

On the Monday morning, I check the SOPHIA portal for the class content page to see who has completed the playlist and who may have struggled based upon the number of questions necessary to complete the three questions to move on in the playlist. After four playlists I am experiencing a 96% completion rate for my students.

One of the formative assessment practices I use in for a class activity to check for student understanding is to have students solve PODs in partners on the Monday or Tuesday following the due date.  I have six octagonal lab tables in my lab and put two questions, one on each side of the table for students to complete.  Students work together through the problem solving.  They are given 2to 2 and half minutes to complete the question before rotating.  This process has afforded me and my students tremendous insight into their understanding:

1. I can listen to student discussions of the problem solving process.

2. Students can ask me questions throughout the process for clarification.

3. Students who have not completed the playlist are brought up to speed by their peers.

4. Students solidify their own understanding by sharing with a partner.

This process allows me to take on the role of "guide on the side" rather than "sage on the stage", making students responsible for their learning and allowing them to take ownership of their knowledge. 

While, this is an a Honors Chem class and these students do tend to be more motivated, the effectiveness of using platforms like SOPHIA or incorporating the FLIPPED model is entirely dependent upon the environment of learning that becomes the culture of the classroom.

Back to the Classroom – Taking It Beyond the Content

Okay so now you have library of digital resources to provide 

content for your students. 

Now What???

You have all of the support mechanisms in line to make sure every student has access to the tools necessary to watch those resources.  The administrators have been pacified, parents have been appeased and the students know what’s happening.

Now it hits you, what happens next in your classroom?  What do you do with all this class time since you don’t need to lecture anymore?  You have all these short demonstrations that you have squeezed into lecture time. Your labs have all been cut down to 30 minutes to fit them in with all the content you had to cover.  And on top of that you have to begin adopting the new standards format set forth by the Next Generation Science Standards. What happens after the video?

There is no one model for the flipped classroom.  Each educator must choose the model that best suits the environment of their classroom, the needs of their students and the, outcomes expected from their specific class, course, department, school and district.

In order to maximize the learning potential of the students, the classroom must be an environment that safe and comfortable for both the educator and the student.

The nature of your classroom model is only limited by your imagination and energy.

While no one model is best, most teachers find that adopting parts of several of the classroom teaching models work best depending upon the nature of the course, subject, topic and learning goals associated with that classroom

  

Four basic models of the flipped classroom include:

·      Traditional Flipped Model

·      Inquiry Based Approach

·      The Flipped Mastery Approach

·      Project Based Learning

Traditional Flipped Model

This is a good place to begin for most teachers. 

Educators provide access to learning resources in the class and take the role of “Guide on the Side” as students work in peer groups to apply, teach, learn, unlearn and relearn.

Students are encouraged to take an active role in their own learning process.

Inquiry Based Approach

Students learn to take ownership of their own learning by searching for answers about their own questions.  Students can work independently or in groups to conduct the inquiry process.  Students are encouraged to follow the steps of the scientific method in this approach: 

·      State the Problem

·      Research the Concept

·      Form a Hypothesis

·      Test the Hypothesis,

·      Gather and Process Data

·      Form Conclusions

·      Present the Work

Flipped Mastery Approach

This model allows the educator to truly become the “Guide on the Side” as this is a self-directed learning model where students work at their own pace to gain mastery of a concept before moving on to the next topic.  Students can work independently or in peer group teams.  Educators monitor student progress and encourage students to maximize their potential. 

This model provides the best opportunity for differentiation in the classroom.  The accelerated learner can move through the material quickly and provide opportunities to explore content beyond the framework objectives.  Students who process at varying levels can achieve the framework objectives at their own pace and using a variety of digital content and assessment modes.  Students who find passion in specific topics can spend extra time and dig deeper into the content material in order to satisfy intellectual curiosity.  

Project Based Learning

Using real-world problems to inspire students to apply content to the solution, students use critical thinking and problem solving to create solutions.  Learning objectives go beyond the understanding of the content but are dependent upon the application of the knowledge in some concrete demonstration.  Students are encouraged to create self- assessment and feedback loops to monitor their progress and the ultimate success of their project outcome. This model encourages students to develop the 21^st century skills necessary to enter the job market of their future.