PPT supplementing presentation on flipping the ELA classroom for NCTE Conference, Minneapolis, MN, Friday, Nov. 20th.

1. Innovation or Speculation?
Research-based Insights into
Flipping the ELA Classroom
Carl A. Young & Clarice M. Moran
NC State University
Natascha Brooks & Hannah Weaver
Wake County Public Schools
NCTE CONFERENCE 2015
Minneapolis, MN -- Friday, Nov. 20th

2. It’s a small, flat world...
Dr. Carl A. Young, Associate Professor, English Education
NC State University
~ former Middle and HS English ELA Teacher
@carl_young
Dr. Clarice M. Moran, Postdoctoral Scholar, English Education
NC State University
~ former English teacher
@ClariceMoran
Natascha Brooks, 6th grade English teacher,
Raleigh, NC @MsBrooksMPMS
Hannah Weaver, 7th grade English teacher,
Apex, NC @hannahmw27

3. Some background...
• Teaching and research interests tied to
integrating digital technologies in ELA
~ ep’s & inquiry-based learning, social media, digital video, etc.
• The transition to a focus on flipping…
• Responses to our research findings on flipping the ELA
classroom…

4. An Important Lens: Literacy instruction in the brave new
world of technology (McKenna, PDK, 2014)
#1. Technology is now indispensable to literacy development.
#2. Technology requires new skills and strategies.
#3. Technology can support those who struggle.
#4. Technology can transform writing [/ learning].
#5. Technology offers a means of motivating students.
#6. Waiting for research is a losing strategy.
~ This does not mean, however, that research cannot inform technology use!
It definitely should! Our research efforts aim to develop best practices for
flipping the ELA classroom!

5. What is it…exactly?

6. Flipped Classroom
• Baker (2000) – campus-
wide Intranet.
• Lage, Platt, & Treglia
(2000)- “inverted
classroom”
• King (2003) – “guide on
the side”
Access to technology was
the KINDLING
Baker’s (2000) flip. Used with
permission.

7. Flipped Learning Definition
“Flipped Learning is a pedagogical approach in which direct
instruction moves from the group learning space to the
individual learning space, and the resulting group space is
transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning
environment where the educator guides students as they
apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject
matter.”
- Flipped Learning Network, 2014

8. The Research – Plusses +
• Leans on active learning
strategies and peer work
(Bergmann & Sams, 2012)
• Some aspects connected to
Dewey (Nagel, 2013)
• Teacher may have increased
one-on-one time with students
(Fulton, 2012)

9. The Research – Deltas Δ
• Students in flipped college courses expressed
dissatisfaction with the course (Strayer, 2007)
• Student engagement decreased among secondary
students in language arts flipped classrooms (Moran,
2013; Moran & Young, 2014)
• Johnson (2006) found that humanities-based courses
may not be appropriate for flipping

10. High School Study on Flipping
Participants: Two sections of an
AP English class, grade 11, public
school. 49 participants.
How: Two flips. Used Jing
screencasting software.
Survey/Other: Computer Attitude
Questionnaire (Knezek, &
Christensen, 1996); two focus
groups

11. Results of High School Study
1)“I like the flipped method.”
2)“I prefer traditional classes.”
3)“The flip is impersonal.”
4)“The flip is not good for English class.”
5)“School is school. I don’t care.”

12. Middle School Study on Flipping
Participants: 183 7th grade
language arts students; 2 early-
career teachers
How: Three-week unit on poetry.
3 teacher-made videos.
Survey/Other: Motivated
Strategies for Learning
Questionnaire (Pintrich &
DeGroot, 1990); 6 case studies

13. Results of Middle School Study
• Four subscales of MSLQ indicated that overall student engagement
went down during flipped unit.
1) “Pacing is an issue.”
2) “I like the flipped method.”
3) “I don’t like the flipped method.”
4) “I enjoy having less homework with the flipped method.”
5) “I don’t care. School is school.”

14. Tales from the Front Lines
Natascha Brooks and Hannah Weaver
7th Grade ELA classes in Wake County Public Schools, NC

15. Before the Flip
• Deciding what to flip
– Concrete vs. Abstract
• Deciding when to flip
– Beginning vs. End of Year
– Deciding how to flip
• Deciding how to flip
– Video tools
– Assessment/Monitoring tools
• Video Examples
– Poetic Form (Powerpoint/ Jing)
– Annotation Video (Doc Cam)
– How-to Comment (Screencast)
– Argument Writing (Educanon)

16. During the Flip
• Modeled how to learn through a video
• Unit of study: term-heavy poetry unit
• Structure of the Class
– Videos for Homework: Notes/ Assessment tool--several days to watch
– What does the class look like if you aren’t “teaching”?
–Asynchronous Independent Practice (original study)
–Group Practice (Stations)
–Student/teacher conferences
–Interactive Activities
• Students were instructed that with a question, they should:
–1: rewatch video
–2: ask a peer
–3: ask a teacher

17. After the Flip: Student Perspectives
• Positives:
– Fun, interactive way to learn
– Self-paced and self-regulated learning
“At school, we have to get it done in a certain amount of time. But
at home, I get as much time as I need. Also, at school, there are a
lot of distractions...but at home...I can concentrate and I get
better scores.”

18. After the Flip: Student Perspectives
• Negatives:
– No “real-time” assistance
“When I came to a point when I had a
question to ask, there was no one to ask it
to.”
– Stressful to keep up
– Tech issues

19. After the Flip: Teacher Perspectives
• Positives:
– More engaging use of class time
– Students enjoy it (overall)
– Simple (once you get the hang of it)
– With the right assessment tool, you have great
formative assessment
– Good to use videos for review

20. After the Flip: Teacher Perspectives
• Negatives:
– Hard to find the “right” unit to flip: review or new concepts?
– What if students don’t watch?
– Tech complications
– Can’t reach each student each day (Isn’t that a goal of flipping?)
– Age/maturity of students
• Would I “flip” again?

21. Follow-up: What We’ve Changed
Neither of us completely flip classrooms; both use elements from flipped
model as an instructional strategy.
● How can we be sure students have watched the video? What do we do
about students who haven’t?
● How can we increase student engagement and on-task time in class with
the flipped model?
● Given our large class sizes, how can we get to each kid, each day?
● How do we decide what to flip?

22. Guidelines for Flipping the ELA Class
(based on our research findings)
1. Discuss and model the flip process for students (be proactive about discussing the process, including strategic
note-taking, active video-viewing, demonstrating understanding, as well as competency with the technologies involved)
2. Choose appropriate content for flipping (content that can be taught and/or modeled directly rather than more complex
or abstract material is recommended; e.g., literary terms, poetic devices, genre forms, background information on authors or texts, revision and editing
strategies, etc.)
3. Flip content on a regular basis but not exclusively (students need practice with the strategy, but not all ELA
content necessarily lends itself to flipping; be purposeful in terms of when and what you decide to flip)
4. Create engaging and varying opportunities for students to demonstrate what
they’ve learned and how to apply it (students should be accountable for the work they do in the flipped context, both in
terms of viewing and also processing the viewing experience; collaborative activities seem to work best for demonstrating mastery; include opportunities
for reflection on both the flip process as well as the content learned)
5. Take a proactive approach to classroom organization and management(be proactive in
planning how to organize the flip approach and how to manage collaborative work in terms of what students do outside of the classroom and also what
they do afterwards inside of the classroom)

23. Tested Tools for Flipping

24. More Tools for Flipping

25. Questions?