Flipping Algebra Is Not The Same
As Flipping Social Studies
My first introduction to the flipped classroom was at a workshop that was led by a middle school Social Studies teacher. I understood the concept and saw the benefits of flipping. However, I could not relate the Social Studies teacher’s method to my Algebra class. He would search the History Channel for a video about a topic such as the Roman Empire and provide a link for his students to watch the video at home as homework. Then the students would have a discussion about the video the next day in class.
There are probably many appropriate videos on the History Channel relevant to the curriculum in a Social Studies class, but where do we go to find videos for Algebra? Especially day after day, lesson after lesson? I needed to learn how to create my own videos, but did not know how to get started. I then attended a conference and was introduced to tools that would allow me to do just that!
Discussions seem to be a natural part of a Social Studies class, and discussions in Algebra class can be valuable sometimes, but we cannot spend the entire Algebra class period discussing the content of the lesson in my video. Students need time to actually practice working the types of problems in the lesson while they are in class.
I think flipping Algebra works well . . . I did it and you can too. I hope to share some of the insights I’ve gained and to answer possible questions about flipping Algebra. You can also watch the FREE video series I made for teachers called "How I Flipped My Algebra Class (And You Can, Too!)".