Sacred Heart University DigitalCommons@SHU EDL Sixth Year Theses Isabelle Farrington College Of Education Summer 2016 Is the Flipped Classroom Pedagogy Effective for All Students? Stephanie Quarato Sacred Heart University, s.com Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.edu/edl Part of the Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons, and the Science and Mathematics Education Commons Custom Citation Quarato, S. Is the Flipped Classroom Pedagogy Effective for All Students? Unpublished Certificate of Advanced Study Thesis, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.edu/edl/9/ This Certificate of Advanced Study is brought to you for free and open access by the Isabelle Farrington College Of Education at DigitalCommons@SHU. It has been accepted for inclusion in EDL Sixth Year Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@SHU.
For more information, please contact ferribyp@sacredheart. Running Head: IS THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM EFFECTIVE FOR ALL STUDENTS? Is the Flipped Classroom Pedagogy Effective for All Students? Stephanie Quarato Sacred Heart University Advisor: Michael K. Barbour IS THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM EFFECTIVE FOR ALL STUDENTS? 1 Abstract In my experience as a mathematics teacher, I have learned that mathematics is a subject that is commonly paired with negative feelings. Many individuals lack confidence in their ability to perform mathematics.
As a mathematics teacher, I am always looking for different ways to reach the needs of all of my students. The flipped classroom was one initiative that I implemented into my classroom to understand the benefits of learning in this unique way. In a flipped lesson, the students learn the lesson from a textbook or video as the homework, while the practice is completed in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to determine the perspectives of middle school students on the flipped classroom.
In addition, because my goal was to reach all of my learners, this study also gathered perceptions from teachers, parents, and students who have individualized educational programs (IEPs) or 504 plans on using the flipped classroom method in terms of differentiating instruction. Data was collected through student surveys, a student focus group, teacher interviews, parent interviews, and classroom observations. The data showed that the flipped classroom was beneficial in terms of allowing students to pace themselves when learning, focus more on the lesson and in class activities, have access to the information whenever and wherever they needed to review, and gaining more help and guidance from the teacher. IS THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM EFFECTIVE FOR ALL STUDENTS? 2 Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………….1 Table of Contents…………………………………………………………….2 Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………………………………5 Introduction 5 Statement of the Problem 6 Thesis Study 7 Summary 8 Definition of Terms 10 Chapter 2: Literature Review…………………………………………………………………11 Homework From A Textbook Versus Homework From Technology 14 Differentiating All Instruction 16 The Flipped Versus The Traditional Classroom 20 Perspectives on the Flipped Classroom 23 Summary 28 Chapter 3: Methodology………………………………………………………………………31 The Case 32 Data Collection Methods 33 Surveys 34 Focus Groups 35 Interviews 36 Observations 37 IS THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM EFFECTIVE FOR ALL STUDENTS? 3 Data Analysis Methods 39 Quantitative Data 39 Qualitative Data 40 Reliability and Validity 41 Subjectivity Statement 43 Summary 45 Chapter 4: Results and Discussion ……………………………………………………………47 Research Question 1 47 Pacing 48 Availability 51 Ability to focus 54 Research Question 2 57 Multiple avenues for learning 58 Ability to focus 59 Higher level of engagement 61 Additional Results 63 Educating the purpose 63 Provide other teaching styles 64 Summary 65 Chapter 5: Conclusions and Implications ……………………………………………………67 Conclusion 67 Limitations 68 Implications for Practice 69 IS THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM EFFECTIVE FOR ALL STUDENTS? 4 Suggestions for Future Research 71 References 73 Appendices 78 A.
Parent/Guardian Consent Form 78 B. Student Survey Questions 79 C. Focus Group Discussion Questions 81 D. Parent and Teacher Interview Questions 82 E.
Pre-Made Notes Given to Students for Lesson 83 F. Example of a Lesson Used in a Flipped Video Lesson 84 IS THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM EFFECTIVE FOR ALL STUDENTS? 5 Chapter 1 – Introduction The school bell rings, and all students take their seats to begin the math lesson for the day. The teacher stands at the front of the room by the white board going over how to solve a problem. After the teacher lectures, he provides students with practice problems to complete either individually or with a partner or group.
If students have questions, they ask and the teacher will answer. Before the class ends, the teacher assigns homework that aligns with the lesson that was taught that day. The bell rings again to end the period, and students are off to their next class. When the student gets home to work on his math homework, he finds himself having a difficult time completing a problem that he understood in class that same day.
When he returns to math class the next day, the teacher has a couple of minutes to spend on reviewing the homework before he moves on to the next topic. Some students understand the content extremely well, while others are still struggling and need more time to practice. This is the story behind a traditional math class. Teachers find themselves struggling to meet the needs of all of their learners.
That struggle is part of the reason why two teachers, Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams, revived the notion of a flipped classroom (Bergmann & Sams, 2015). The flipped classroom is one where the lessons are learned at home (i., the ‘homework’ part), while the practice is completed in the classroom (Bergmann & Sams, 2015; Cox, 2015; Desantis, Van Curen, Putsch, & Metzger, 2015; Houston & Lin, 2012; Lage, Platt, & Treglia, 2000; Mattis, 2014; McCallum, Schultz, Selke, & Spartz, 2015; Parslow, 2012; Siegle, 2014; Strayer, 2012; Talbert, 2014). Students will learn the lesson by either reading pages from the textbook, or watching a video on the lesson that was provided by the teacher. This affords students an opportunity to learn the content at their own pace, and have enough time to take IS THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM EFFECTIVE FOR ALL STUDENTS? 6 notes and write down questions that they may want to ask the teacher the next day (Cox, 2015; Houston & Lin, 2012; Russell et al.
The class following the flipped lesson is one where the teacher is able to break students down and provide them with more one-on-one teaching, which has proven to be one of the reasons why the flipped classroom is so effective (Houston & Lin, 2012; Lage et al., 2000; Parslow, 2012; Stanford, Crowe, & Flice, 2010), or an enrichment activity, depending on how well they understood the lesson. The flipped classroom not only gives those who excel more challenges to apply their learning to, but it also provides the teacher with the availability to sit and work with all students to ensure every student reaches mastery before moving on to the next topic. Statement of the Problem Bergmann and Sams (2015) defined mastery learning as “a system in which learners must demonstrate understanding, or ‘mastery,’ of a particular topic before moving through the rest of the course material” (p. Mathematics has a domino effect and if a student does not understand one topic, that student will find himself struggling with much more.
For example, if a student does not understand how to add or subtract two numbers, then that student will have a difficult time learning how to solve equations. In mathematics, it is important for students to reach a level of mastery so that they do not fall behind as new topics are taught. Unfortunately in my eighth grade math classes, I have students who have difficulties understanding a topic and don’t reach mastery learning before we move on to the next focus area. I invite these students to come for extra help, use manipulatives and technology in my teaching, differentiate instruction, have students work in small groups, and use any other methods that I feel would help increase their overall understanding.
However, I always wind up having a group of students who continue to struggle throughout the lessons. The homework that is provided is meant to give students IS THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM EFFECTIVE FOR ALL STUDENTS? 7 additional practice on the material so that they can get better at understanding. However, many students give up and choose not to complete their homework because they don’t understand how to answer the questions, which is what one study found to be why many students do not complete their math homework (Cox, 2015). In addition, I have many students who have individualized educational programs (IEPs) or 504 plans and struggle with learning in general.
These students need a lot of additional help and resources to assist with their understanding of the content. Teachers modify their instruction and provide multiple recourses in order to help these students get the most out of the instruction (Lage et al. When my superintendent brought the idea of a flipped classroom to mind, I became interested to learn about whether this would assist my students with their understanding in math. If the students saw that they could perform well in each topic, it could increase their confidence and help them understand the content more quickly so they won’t fall behind.
This study was necessary in helping me to determine whether or not the students felt that the flipped classroom was beneficial in helping them learn. Thesis Study The purpose of this study is to determine perceptions of the flipped classroom model in a middle school setting. This general purpose lends itself to the following research questions: 1) What are middle school student perceptions of the flipped classroom method? 2) What are teachers, parents, and students who have IEPs or 504 plans perceptions of using the flipped classroom method in terms of differentiating instruction? I decided to use a case study methodology for my research design because the drive behind my study was to determine perspectives about a flipped classroom so that there could be better understanding of the topic (Stake, 1994). IS THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM EFFECTIVE FOR ALL STUDENTS? 8 The research was conducted at a public middle school in a shoreline town in Connecticut.
The school hosted approximately 450 students from grades six through eight. The research was specifically conducted in an eighth grade mathematics classroom. The classroom was equipped with a Smart Board, a student computer that stayed in the classroom at all times, and a laptop cart that contained more than enough Chrome Books for every student in one math class to utilize. The participants of the study included four eighth grade mathematics classes comprised of a total of 80 students, two teachers, and four parents.
One of the math classes was an algebra class, while the other three classes were pre-algebra classes. The Common Core curriculum for eighth and ninth grade mathematics was followed to teach instruction. The age of the students in the study were between 13 and 15 years old. There were an average of 22 students in each class.
The parents had students who were identified as students with IEP’s, 504 plans, or placed in response to intervention for mathematics. None of the students, teachers, or parents have experienced a flipped classroom prior to this class. Summary Chapter one provided an overview of the flipped classroom, as well as an explanation for the importance of this study. In addition, the chapter offered an introduction to the study including the purpose, research questions, and methodology used to conduct the study.
Readers also gained information on the location and participants of the specific study. In chapter two, I will provide information on the literature that has already been written about the flipped classroom and beyond. Because the flipped lesson can be assigned by allowing students to read the text or watch a video, I discuss the differences between homework from a textbook versus homework from technology. This moves into helping the reader to understand how teachers use technology to differentiate instruction.
From there, the review focuses on the IS THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM EFFECTIVE FOR ALL STUDENTS? 9 similarities and differences between a flipped classroom and a traditional classroom.