Flipped Mastery Classes
I’m finishing up my 4th semester of applying a flipped classroom and with some encouragement from my peers I decided to “take it to the next level” this semester. Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams call this the Flipped Mastery Method.
This semester my classes have a list of topics that each student needs to demonstrate their mastery in. The format for showing their mastery is completely open and graded on an OSU (Outstanding, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory) scale.
My guidance is that for each topic they can achieve “outstanding” by creating content that can be used to teach another student the material. “Satisfactory” is simply showing me that they understand the material in question.
Did I also mention that there are no individual deadlines other than the end of semester hard deadline? This could be chaotic but I think bringing order to the chaos will be instructive to myself, the students and hopefully anyone reading this blog as well.
Inspiration for Mastery
"A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at." - Bruce Lee
Many students are going beyond what was expected and I can see passion and interest in their work. I’m truly impressed with the products some of them are creating. We are blessed with students with amazing talent and our job is to help them express those talents and develop them further.
Could I create passion in a traditional classroom to this level? Perhaps, but I truly believe that putting my trust in my students combined with empowering them with the tools needed to explore are the keys here.
This is a Lot of Work
I saved a lot of time grading by using student graders over the past few years but I really cannot do that now. I started with that plan this semester for marking the other portion of my courses (WSQ assignments – Watch, Summarize, Questions), but this type of formative assessment really requires my attention to each student’s work. I’m exhausted but impressed.
That said, I need to find a way to optimize this process while still staying engaged with my students.
How are you Engaging your Students?
Your turn now, how are you creating engagement in your classroom this academic session? Please let me know, I would be very interested in hearing from others on this topic.
I use videos and other work to deliver original content online (async). The classroom activities are constructs of cooperative learning (http://www.co-operation.org), a teaching method which really encourages relationship building and learning in carefully assigned groups. #1 reason for students successfully completing my classes is building relationships with each other! #2 reason is the students building relationships with me, the prof. Cooperative learning in the class activities fits perfectly with flipping.
Thanks for the comment Ric, relationships are so important student-to-student, teacher-to-student and teacher-to-teacher!