This past year, I have been working towards flipping my classroom. I was finding it difficult to meet each student's individual needs while delivering whole group lessons. Some students worked more quickly than others, so they'd get off task due to boredom and cause distractions. On the other hand, some students may not work as quickly as the class average, so they may feel they can't keep up and then decide to give up and put their heads down. I also noticed the same students participating in our whole group discussions every single time, leaving no space for others. Not to mention that I never had time for small group instruction. My solution was to pre-record my lessons, and allow students to work on them, as well as their differentiated support assignments, at their own pace. Doing this not only allowed me to meet my students' individual needs but helped me to be able to hold small groups where I can interact with each student in a more intentional way. My higher-ordered questions are embedded in the notes, so all students are given the chance to process their thoughts before discussing them. Students are being empowered by choosing how they provide evidence for their learning. And, to top it all off, students are learning how to collaborate and navigate technology at an impressive rate, preparing them for their on-going education, as well as their future careers. In order to do this effectively, I will need to provide durable, working headphones to my students in order to keep them focused and on task. Currently, we borrow some from another teacher, and most of those are not in working condition. Going back and forth trying to find working headphones is one of the biggest things holding my classes back at this time.
About my class
This past year, I have been working towards flipping my classroom. I was finding it difficult to meet each student's individual needs while delivering whole group lessons. Some students worked more quickly than others, so they'd get off task due to boredom and cause distractions. On the other hand, some students may not work as quickly as the class average, so they may feel they can't keep up and then decide to give up and put their heads down. I also noticed the same students participating in our whole group discussions every single time, leaving no space for others. Not to mention that I never had time for small group instruction. My solution was to pre-record my lessons, and allow students to work on them, as well as their differentiated support assignments, at their own pace. Doing this not only allowed me to meet my students' individual needs but helped me to be able to hold small groups where I can interact with each student in a more intentional way. My higher-ordered questions are embedded in the notes, so all students are given the chance to process their thoughts before discussing them. Students are being empowered by choosing how they provide evidence for their learning. And, to top it all off, students are learning how to collaborate and navigate technology at an impressive rate, preparing them for their on-going education, as well as their future careers. In order to do this effectively, I will need to provide durable, working headphones to my students in order to keep them focused and on task. Currently, we borrow some from another teacher, and most of those are not in working condition. Going back and forth trying to find working headphones is one of the biggest things holding my classes back at this time.
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