Over the past couple of years educators have been hearing about the flipped classroom. The concept of the flipped classroom is to allow students more time to actually work through lessons with their teacher close by. Teachers prepare their lessons prior to class meeting times. Students can view/listen to these lessons prior to coming to class. Some teachers make their lessons available online while others create DVDs for their students. Either way, the lessons are available prior to the class as well as after the class for refreshing their minds.
We have teachers and we have technology coordinators. In most cases it is the tech coordinator's responsibility that their teachers have the resources and the knowledge to implement a more technological classroom. The challenge comes down to how to inspire and educate the teachers. A teacher's day is filled to the rim already with lesson plans, extra duties and teaching. When the school day ends teachers then sit down and work on more lesson plans, grading more papers, helping with after school activities and also trying to have a life outside of the school. It is an overwhelming job. When high school graduates enter the college world and decide to become a teacher - they have no idea how much work and how tiring it can be. All at the same time it is just as rewarding, if not more.
We are seeing the shift in education to provide more options for our students. It all rolls back to differentiated instruction, make your lesson work for everyone in your classroom. Why can't we do this for educators? Teachers have very limited time to attend conferences and sit through daily workshops. A person can only learn so much during a 40 minute plan period dedicated to professional development. Here is where flipped professional development comes into play. It is all over the Internet, webinars for many different applications and technology integration. Take time to find your own comfortable learning style. If you can learn more from listening in on a webinar then do that instead of taking an entire day away from students and your classes.
The flipped classroom, was it introduced because of flipped professional development or should that statement be flipped?
