Flipping the Class & Khan, Part 2

So, I went back and watched several videos at the Khan Academy last night. To be fair, there is more conceptual presentation than I thought. This makes me feel even better about sending my students to watch these videos. Yesterday’s blog shows the power of Web 2.0, blogging, & Twitter. I asked if I was missing something, and got lots of great feedback including from Jason with the Khan Academy team.

Where am I today?

I still feel that flipping the classroom is a worthy pursuit. There are lots of ways to get this done. The easiest way would be to flip the class in such a way that all of the students were working at the same pace on the same material. A motivating conceptual lecture could be given at the end of the class session, students could visit web sites for conceptual enrichment & how-to practice, with collaborative work in class the following day. There are variations that could work – written assignments for students to develop conceptual understanding at home, computerized assignments for drill practice, conceptual portions of the collaborative work. The Khan Academy videos could definitely be a tool utilized in this approach.

But is keeping everyone on the same pace the best way to flip the class? Isn’t there something to be said for allowing students to learn at their own pace? This is much harder to pull off, because it would then be impossible to give mini-lectures that conceptually motivated the topics. (Imagine 30 students in 30 different places – even if you could give all the mini-lectures there would be no time left for coaching/mentoring). So, we’re reliant on using the work of others to deliver the conceptual understanding or we must create all of the material ourselves. The best option is often the most difficult option.

Even after looking at the Khan Academy videos again, I don’t think that there is sufficient conceptual development there. It will be hard to find a one-stop shop that couples solid conceptual explanations of mathematical ideas along with practical how-to videos (which Khan does quite well) along with an arena for interactive student practice.

For me, I think the opportunity is there with MyMathLab. Depending on the book, there are videos that explain concepts & demonstrate how to solve problems. The homework & study plan, with all of its learning aids, can provide students with the quality practice they need. I’m going to try it in the fall, using the “all on the same pace” approach. I may need to supplement with more how-to videos, either from other sources online or by creating my own. I may need to develop some conceptual videos & materials. But I’ve got all summer, right? I wonder if I’m stumbling into one of those a-ha moments?

Let’s keep the conversation going. Please leave your opinion as a comment, or you can reach me through the contact page at my web site – georgewoodbury.com. I’d still like to hear from those of you who have experience in flipping the classroom.

-George

I am a math instructor at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA. Each Wednesday I post an article related to General Teaching on my blog. If there’s a particular topic you’d like me to address, or if you have a question or a comment, please let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website – http://georgewoodbury.com.