Within about one week’s time, the entire nation’s population of teachers went from teaching in-class to teaching online.  Take into account the varying degrees of tech-experience amongst teachers, some who have built online lessons for years and others who still keep a paper-pencil gradebook, and we’ve got ourselves a uniquely exhilarating and terrifying situation when all the nation’s schools simultaneously closed their doors.

In this post, my goal is to put words to what most teachers are experiencing right now as they wrap their minds around the molded-together, modge-podge position they now hold as an online, work-from-home teacher.  Identifying what we are experiencing is the first step, but then I hope to provide effective and efficient strategies for this new dual role. 

A Message For Teachers

I want to take a moment and give a huge shout out to all teachers.  Because we have a career in common, you are my people, and today I stand...

I've been thinking about this post for a while and how to go about writing it.  Better yet, I've been thinking about all of the things I'd like to include in it because it's hard to put the words together to describe how the flipped classroom changed so much for me.

To me, flipping is such a simple idea.  Just flip how you deliver the content with what is traditionally homework, and you've done it.  But I guess that's a bit of an oxymoron to say that flipping something on its head is simple.

Truly it is simple, and so are clear results you'll see in your classroom and your students.  But the process of making it happen, once I step back and think of all that goes into it, really isn't the simplest process in the world.

And that's why I want to support you on your journey of flipping your classroom.  It's not an easy journey.  It certainly wasn't easy for me when I took on the task on my own about nine years ago, and that's not something I want for...

This week I want to be sure that I'm giving you as much practical flipped classroom strategies as possible.  No matter the flipped classroom model you choose (which you can learn about in the Ultimate Flipped Classroom Starter Kit here), you want to rely on solid procedures in your class.  

In this post, I will be bringing you the major three themes and desires behind procedures I had in my classroom, and what I recommend to all of the teachers in my online course, Flipped Classroom Formula.  These are absolute musts for any thriving flipped classroom.

1. Student Content

In my online course, Flipped Classroom Formula, there is an entire MODULE on just this topic... student content and what that looks like.  Here's the big secret... student content is NOT your videos.

Shocker, I know.

Here's the thing, you HAVE to have a procedure for what your students will be doing when they watch your videos.  You can't just leave them out for the wolves and...

Ten or so years ago when I decided to flip my classroom the reasons why I wanted to flip were very clear.  Crystal clear.

From wanting to do more than just lecture all day to increasing student accountability and ownership over their learning, I knew the flipped classroom model would get me closer to those goals.  I could go on and on about finding and solidifying your WHY for flipping, and I give most commons reasons why in this post, but it's something we dive deeply into in my online course where I walk teachers through, step-by-step how to flip their classroom, called the Flipped Classroom Formula.

I won't spend time in this post talking about reasons to flip because, I'm betting, you know what those are.  And if you don't know them for sure, you do have some idea of why you're looking into this whole flipping thing, and I want to help you solidify and optimize those reasons if you become one of the teachers who joins me in the Flipped Classroom Formula.

This...

The flipped classroom has been around for probably close to 15 years.  In the education realm, it's not a brand-new concept, but it is one that is gaining traction with more and more teachers because of the many ways it can improve classroom engagement and the performance of students.

However, there are quite a few misconceptions about the flipped classroom that prevent teachers from even considering it.  In this post, I want to flush out those misconceptions so that teachers can consider flipping for what it truly is.

1. It takes too much TIME.

First thing's first.  Let's start with the big one.  I like to address the elephant in the room, and this is definitely one of them.  Here's why... because it does take time.  Flipping your classroom very much takes time to craft and master.  But here's the thing - it's not that it take more time, it is a trade off in time spent.

The big goal of the business world is to be cognizant of and have a...

When you are starting your journey in flipping and doing your flipped classroom research, you are searching for things like flipped classroom how to, flipped classroom ideas, flipped classroom approaches, and flipped classroom pros and cons.

You are looking for any and all ideas to inspire you and get you started on your journey.  And that flipped classroom research can quickly become a black hole that sucks you in, and two hours later you come out and wonder, "Holy cow, what did I just learn from that?"

Hopefully you gleaned something from your searches, because there really is plenty out there, so I'm sure you did.  But wasn't it quite overwhelming?  Wasn't there so much to take in, and then you're left deciding, "What's going to work for MY classroom?" And, "Yea, but how do I get started flipping my classroom?"

I can't tell you how many times I have been sucked into the rabbit hole that is Google image, Pinterest, or searching tags on Instagram for inspiration...

Homework is a long, and hotly debated topic in the world of education.  I don't need to remind any teacher of this debate.  It's one that many teachers put a big, giant stake in the ground, and don't budge from assigning, and there are others that refuse to assign any at all.

There's tons of research for all grade levels that I won't bore you with, but do encourage you to check out sooner rather than later if you haven't yet, all about its effectiveness or lack thereof.  But, really, no matter what the research says, homework is yet another pendulum that often swings from one extreme to the other as years pass and as kids are still being educated around the world.

What is homework in the flipped classroom?

In the "traditional" flipped classroom, if that's even a word you can use to describe flipping, homework is now what WAS in-class work.  See, in the traditional classroom, students sit at their desks and receive information via the teacher through lecture -...

Last week we chatted about the first two weeks of school and how to set up your flipped classroom for success, because let's be honest, the first two weeks are so important in addressing challenges that you KNOW you will face.

Here's my not-so-secret secret...

The flipped classroom allows you to face the unique challenges you KNOW are present for you and your students HEAD ON.

Each classroom has its own unique challenges, and I can not begin to list or even fully understand what those are.  That's part of what we do as teachers; we teach in our unique schools, to our unique kids, and that makes each of our jobs different even from one teacher to the next.

The flipped classroom, however, allows you to face some of the big challenges that you'll find in many classrooms, and this post is all about answering the big question...

Weather

What an odd one to start with, but I've got a personal story to share with you on this one.  It relates to last week's post because the...

It's that time of year again.  The time of year where teachers are doing more reflecting and planning than most people do in an entire calendar year.  You are thinking about your future students, wondering what to expect, imagining the impact you can have, and dreaming of the connections you'll make in meaningful, authentic ways.

If you're reading this right now, I bet you are also the type of teacher who is thinking about ways you can make things better.  Ways you can optimize class time, strategies to increase student accountability and engagement, creative management techniques, the new Pinterest-worthy classroom decor items you can buy, build, and add to your walls, the new folder or mailbox system, and don't forget the new classroom library!

Don't get me wrong, these are all awesome things, exact ones that I have been over the moon excited about over many summers in my teaching career.  I do NOT fault you for these ambitions and goals during this time...

What impacts student learning most is not a new conversation here in the USA (or in the world for that matter).  It's been hotly debated for quite some time.

What impacts student learning most?

Learning must be measured by tests.

Or, wait, tests hinder learning.

How does technology impact learning?

Standards-based, flipped classroom, project-based, problem-based, student centered, backwards planning, flexible seating...

Wow - so many things.  So many ways to impact student learning.

How in the world do we know what strategies impact students the most?

That's just it... there is no ONE strategy that will impact student learning more than another.

But...

... there is one person.

If you're reading this post, this is probably no surprise to you that teachers are the number one influencer in a student's learning.

But I don't want to just say that and claim it as truth.  I want you to see for yourself.

Economists Raj Chetty and John N. Friedman of Harvard and Jonah E....