Flipped Classroom

In an English classroom, discussion is an absolute necessity in order to understand and explore themes and essential ideas within texts. Often times, it is difficult to dedicate the necessary amount of time to a fruitful discussion, when one is limited to a 47 minute block of time. This becomes problematic, especially when reading a difficult novel which may require more explanation or supplementary information. For instance, while reading Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, understanding the Great Depression as well as the Dust Bowl was crucial for understanding the context and plight of the characters. When time is of the essence, and a novel needs to be completed in an allotted amount of time, prioritizing discussion and engaging anticipatory sets becomes difficult when you just need to get the novel finished in time. Learning about a "flipped" classroom helped me to deal with this issue. In a flipped classroom, a teacher will assign something to be viewed at home, for instance, I had my students watch a PBS documentary called Surviving the Dust Bowl. I also had my students create three thought provoking discussion questions, which they where to bring with them to class the following day. Instead of spending half of the class period watching the documentary, we were able to use that time to engage in a class discussion which proved to be greatly supportive in helping students understand the time period, as well as develop an interest in the topic. Having experienced the usefulness of this method, I plan to continue using the flipped classroom so as to spur self initiative as well as fruitful discussion within my future English classroom.