--Originally published at Mrs. Gibbs Flips Algebra 1
In September, many teachers in the flipped learning community participated in a "challenge" put out there by Andrew Swan (@flipping_a_tchr) via Twitter: the "20-over-30 September #flipblogs challenge". There were many great posts made as part of the challenge and as we head into October, we're going to share a few more of them that we didn't get to in September. See Joy's first entry here for some context and a little more information about the challenge. And oh yeah - now there is a new "Weekend at Flipblogs" challenge (less taxing) to participate in!
This week I have been reminded of another benefit of flipped lessons: the ability to work one-on-one with students in class and see the resulting growth.
In Algebra 1, we are solving equations right now. I've had several students who can get to the right answer but struggle to show their thinking in a way that is organized and easy to follow. And often, when students can't organize their thinking, they can't get to the right answer, either. Many students are seeing that a little negative sign - easy to lose when one's work is not well-organized - can cause big problems.
As students have worked through activities in class, I have sat with students who have been having difficulty demonstrating their thinking. Yesterday we did an activity where I asked some students to let me see each problem as they finished it. We talked through each problem together.
Today I gave a "quick check" with two equations to solve. Several students showed marked improvement in the organization and presentation of their thinking. I wrote "Bee-you-ti-ful!" on a couple of papers.
This improvement happened because students were able to work on content in class after watching the lesson at home. And I was able to circulate amongst students and spend time with those who needed me.
Another #flipclass win.
