The end is the beginning

After almost ten months in the PG program of Mindlab, here I am penning (rather typing) my thoughts on the last required activity. The learning of these 30+ weeks have not had as large an impact as Dr. Bruce turning into the Hulk, but it definitely has refined, re-calibrated and changed some of my thoughts and classroom practices. I am using the reflective model suggested in (Rolfe & Jasper, 2001).
What :  


I can safely say that I have started looking in the mirror a lot more after joining the course, of course not literally, but in context of my Professional learning. Reflective questions have made me think about what is working in my classrooms and what is not. It increased my listening and understanding the student's voice. I sought and used the comments of my colleagues on my classroom practices. The reflections have shown the need for some changes in my processes and perceptions meeting the need of the students who are not able to achieve NCEA credits in my classes.

Now what:
Using the reflective practice cycle (figure below) of (Osterman & Kottkamp) I have tried to identify the problem that is of concern to me and my learners.

The data from NCEA revealed that around 15% students did not gain sufficient credits in the course. The composition of the group did not show any particular common strand that could provide some easy solutions, however, the need for ensuring success for all has made it vital to find a way to improve the situation. I needed to find where my efforts should be focussed and what should I change in my classroom.
For a proper analysis of data, I conducted several surveys and had candid conversations with the students, colleagues, and management team members. This exercise was at the end of each unit as well as after the NCEA results this year. From the data and opinions collected, I could see that there were clear expectations from different groups in my class.
The high-achievers wanted more extension activities and practice questions to master the learning. Their desire was that they get more time for independent exploration and research to understand the concepts and its application. Students who were middle of the distribution wanted time in class to clarify the difficult bits and to reiterate the learning in different ways. However, the most important input came from the under-achieving students, which pointed to their need for greater personal attention and one-on-one time for them to grapple with the content.
This led me to think about how the diverse needs can be met. One stumbling block in all the solutions that I could think was TIME. As the classes could not be split, so the changes in practice needed to simultaneously meet all the desired outcome. I read with growing excitement about Flip Learning (Bergmann & Sams, 2015; Flumerfelt & Green, 2013; Love, Hodge, Corritore, & Ernst, 2015; Schmidt & Ralph, 2016).
With the new thinking, I decided to try FL model to give me more time in class for meeting the needs of the diverse learners. I started off with some EdPuzzle activities from videos available online. Then I made some videos from my presentations with voice-over. Now I have reached the stage where I am ready to face the camera and create full-fledged video lessons with the help of light board (picture below), which I assembled during the summer break. This will enable me to move most of the lectures and basic information transfer to students’ individual time and in the class-time, I am able to provide extension, reiteration or clarification to the different groups, as required.



What next:
The journey is ongoing as I have completed two levels of Flip Learning Certification and am looking forward learning it at higher levels. My department wants me to give a presentation on the making videos with Light-Board. I have also set myself a target of ensuring that I understand from each of my akongā and their whānau, what their feedback is on the use of Flipped learning.
References
Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2015). Flipped Learning for Social Studies Instruction. International Society for Technology in Education. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/unitec/reader.action?docID=4410427&query=
Bolstad, R. & MacDonald,J.(2016). An analysis of participant blogs supplemented by teacher interviews. Wellington:New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
Flumerfelt, S., & Green, G. (2013). Using Lean in the Flipped Classroom for at Risk Students. Educational Technology & Society, 16(1), 356–366. https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2006-99303
Love, B., Hodge, A., Corritore, C., & Ernst, D. C. (2015). Inquiry-Based Learning and the Flipped Classroom Model. PRIMUS, 25(8), 745–762. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2015.1046005
Ministry of Education (nd). Our code, our standards. Retrieved from
Osterman, K. F., & Kottkamp, R. B. (n.d.). Reflective practice for educators : professional development to improve student learning.
Rolfe, G., & Jasper, M. (2001). Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user’s guide. Retrieved from https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/media/MyCumbria/Documents/ReflectiveModelRolfe.pdf
Schmidt, S. M. P., & Ralph, D. L. (2016). The Flipped Classroom: A Twist On Teaching. Contemporary Issues in Education Research – First Quarter, 9(1). Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1087603.pdf 

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Comments

  1. UnknownApril 9, 2018 at 6:45 AM

    Manish it is really great that you have started using flipped learning. I can see this has enabled you to meet the needs of the various learners in your classes much more effectively. I am interested to hear more about the light board you have assembled and how this works. Where can I find more information on this?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Manish TannaApril 23, 2018 at 1:10 AM

      Here is a link to a 12 minute video I made on the lightboard - https://youtu.be/kPzsvxmF3wo
      Here is a link to the actual construction video - https://youtu.be/CqG_kG_igcg

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