Dear AP Euro Students and Parents,
I am writing this letter to inform you of some exciting developments in our class. This coming semester, with the support of my principal and superintendent, we will pilot a new model of instruction that is gaining support across the country. As part of my thesis for my Masters in Education Technology, we will implement what is known as the “Flipped Classroom” in our AP Euro course for several weeks on a trial basis. This involves changing where content is delivered to students. Shortened lectures will be video recorded several times a week to be viewed by students at home on the internet while the assignments that typically have been done as homework will now be done in class. This change allows me to be present to give feedback and assistance when students struggle with difficult assignments like primary source readings, essays, and DBQ’s. As it is, there is precious little time to spend on these activities and other more creative educational pursuits in class due to the amount of content we need to cover. These videos will be available to students who are absent, limiting the amount of important content instruction they miss. These videos will remain posted online so that they are available for student review throughout the year. Students will have the ability to pause lectures to look up definitions or outside information, to rewind a section they didn’t quite understand, and to download the videos to their iPods and phones. It is my hope that this will lead to a richer, fuller classroom learning experience as well as a great tool to develop independent learners.
There are a number of important questions and concerns that arise in this undertaking and I am doing my best to consider these beforehand. For students who do not have internet access at home, I can burn the videos to DVDs or memory sticks. They can also be viewed at the school and public libraries as well as in my classroom if need be. I will work with any student who needs a special arrangement. I want this to be a positive, successful project for all of my students. Research shows that this kind of “pre-loading” of content leads to more intelligent and informed class discussions and this will be more challenging and beneficial for all involved. This model will increase the amount of one-on-one instruction your student receives. I will be soliciting student feedback throughout this process and will make adjustments as necessary. Much of the research on this model of instruction has been conducted in science and math classrooms with very promising results. There is little known of how this will work in a liberal arts class. If this enterprise is a burden on students or is unproductive, then we can easily return to a traditional classroom model and I can make the videos simply as an online study resource. The videos will be posted on our redesigned class website at thewatsonian.weebly.com.
I am very excited about this project and am hopeful that it will be a powerful way to improve student learning. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments please do not hesitate to send me an email at [email protected].
Robert Watson
History Teacher
San Marin High School
There are a number of important questions and concerns that arise in this undertaking and I am doing my best to consider these beforehand. For students who do not have internet access at home, I can burn the videos to DVDs or memory sticks. They can also be viewed at the school and public libraries as well as in my classroom if need be. I will work with any student who needs a special arrangement. I want this to be a positive, successful project for all of my students. Research shows that this kind of “pre-loading” of content leads to more intelligent and informed class discussions and this will be more challenging and beneficial for all involved. This model will increase the amount of one-on-one instruction your student receives. I will be soliciting student feedback throughout this process and will make adjustments as necessary. Much of the research on this model of instruction has been conducted in science and math classrooms with very promising results. There is little known of how this will work in a liberal arts class. If this enterprise is a burden on students or is unproductive, then we can easily return to a traditional classroom model and I can make the videos simply as an online study resource. The videos will be posted on our redesigned class website at thewatsonian.weebly.com.
I am very excited about this project and am hopeful that it will be a powerful way to improve student learning. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments please do not hesitate to send me an email at [email protected].
Robert Watson
History Teacher
San Marin High School
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