What is a flipped classroom? What I misunderstood about a concept turned into a fantastic teaching method.
Let me tell you a brief story about an experience I had as a teacher.
My student did not understand the lesson I was teaching. The look of exasperation displayed on his face was very telling; He did not understand, and he did not want to be there. I tried restructuring the lesson to suit his learning style, but it didn’t hold his attention. I gave him a bouncy ball chair, but that didn’t help either. I was frustrated with myself thinking that I was letting this student down, and he was frustrated that I wasn’t understanding him. This went on for a couple of lessons, but I eventually reached out to a colleague for support.
“Why don’t you try a flipped classroom?” she said.
I had never heard of that technique, so naturally, I avoided research and adhered to my regular practice of winging it.
Just as you guessed, I completely misunderstood the concept of the flipped classroom. For a reference point, the actual premise of “The Flipped Classroom” is an instructional strategy meant to place the learning in the student’s hands. There are many ways to implement this such as:
- Assigning videos and lessons to be learned on their own time, and they can bring what they learned to school.
- Moving class activities all around the classroom to promote ‘higher thinking’
The list can go on, and it is an awesome strategy, however, as previously stated, I did not know what that was. I thought the ‘Flipped Classroom’ was meant to flip the roles…of the student and the teacher. So that is exactly what I did.
I presented the student with a predicament. ” I don’t think I know as much as I thought about this subject. I can see that you are struggling with what I’m teaching, so I think I need help. Would you mind teaching me what you have learned so far?” The student was more than happy to oblige. He excitedly went to the front of the classroom and I sat in his seat. As he began talking, I realized that he was absorbing more than I previously thought, and by listening to the way he was teaching me, I was able to figure out HOW he was learning. Come to find out the old adage ” those who can’t do, teach” contains a lot of truth. This, as I now know, is called the ‘protege effect.’
At this point, you might be wondering, “What does this have to do with homeschooling neurodivergence?” As parents, your job as an in-home educator is to educate to your child’s learning style. I am a huge advocate of student-centered learning techniques, and what is more student-centered than homeschooling?
I first ask my children what supplies they need to teach. Most of the time, all they want is a whiteboard and some markers. That’s it. There have been a couple of times in which they wanted to create a slideshow, which was pretty cool. But for basic lessons, this is all we’ve needed.
Make some mental notes while they are ‘teaching’ you will be surprised at the things you notice that you haven’t before.
THIS IS ALSO A GREAT ASSESSMENT TOOL!
I flip the role of teacher and student in our home almost weekly. Not only am I able to close the gaps of understanding, but it helps our children with their vocal skills, it works on impulse control and gives them a sense of accomplishment.
Remember parents, if your child is not understanding a lesson yet, it does NOT mean you have done anything wrong. As an in-home educator, we demonstrate lessons through both our verbal and non-verbal communication. However, when working with your neurodivergent children, it is important to recognize that they may not fully grasp the nuances of what is being modeled. So even if you spent a couple of days on the perfect lesson plan, it may look completely different in action or it may not work at all.
I’ll leave you with this:
Take more breaks.
Teach on the floor.
Teach outside.
Homeschool is not just a classroom at home.
Find what works for them, you know them better than anyone.
-Project Homeward Downes
