challenges and opportunities in flipped writing classrooms: a preliminary report
DESCRIPTION
Craig, D. (2014, September). Challenges and opportunities in flipped writing classrooms: A preliminary report. Paper presented at the meeting of KAMALL Annual Conference 2014, Seoul, Korea. [Abstract] This study evaluates the implementation of a Flipped Classroom approach in two academic English writing courses at a Korea nuniversity. The Flipped Classroom approach inverts a traditional class design with students viewing lectures at home and doing homework in class. It was developed in response to a perceived lack of classroom time for engagement and an increase in access to computer and Internet technologies. Two writing courses for 67 English majors at a Korean university were flipped with the intention of reducing lecture time and increasing students’ discussion of and engagement with writing concepts and practice during class time. Instruction was designed to match these goals. For each major topic, students watched a video and took an online quiz to assess their recall of ideas from the video lecture prior to attending class. In class, students were given time to ask questions about the lectures and assignments. They were then asked to do class activities that encouraged them to come to a deeper understand of the course content. These activities included worksheets, a range of group activities, self- and peer-review of essays, and writing. PowerPoint presentations were created for major topics in the course (7 total). From these presentations, video lectures were created. Four different screencasting programs were used (Movenote, ActivePresenter, knovio, and Present.me) in order to evaluate which of the programs best fit the development needs of the instructor and the viewing preferences of the students. This research was conducted as a type of action research (Lewin, 1946). The researcher was also the lecturer for the two writing courses. As such, the focus of the research was to better understand and improve on the instructional design of the course. To accomplish this, data were collected from numerous sources, including quizzes, one-on-one and whole class interactions, a research journal, and student survey responses. Preliminary findings will be presented in three categories: student perceptions, teacher perceptions, and instructional design. Based on student and teacher experiences, the there are a number of instructional design changes that will take place in future classes. Videos will be shorter. This will be accomplished by making more videos that focus on fewer elements in each. Quizzes remain a good way to encourage students to watch the video lectures and to assess their understanding of the content prior to coming to class. It is clear, however, that a better way to push students to both view the videos and take the quizzes is needed. Lastly, more/better activities need to be developed for classes.TRANSCRIPT
Challenges and Opportunities in Flipped Writing
Classrooms
A Preliminary Report
The Time Is Right to Flip
Educational culture, methods, and technology are intersecting to drive interest in what has come to be called the “Flipped Classroom”.
• Theory and practice collide: Many in the field are promoting more communicative and networked approaches to learning. However, expectations are still largely transmission oriented.
• Flipped learning addresses both of these concerns.
What is the Flipped Classroom? Difference from previous methods
utilizing front-loading of content• Promotion of digital technology to
o create, o deliver, o consume, and o assess understanding of content outside of class.
• This makes flipped teaching a truly 21st Century approach.
What is the Flipped Classroom? Modern development of the idea• Walvoord & Anderson (1998)
o General idea
• Lage, Platt, & Treglia (2000)o “Inverting” the classroom
• Baker (2000)o The “classroom flip”
• Kahn (2006)o Kahn Academy
• Bergman & Sams (2007)o Modelled (and evangelized) the flipped classroom with
their high school science students in Colorado.
What is the Flipped Classroom? Lecture-type content
• Recordings (audio/video), Interactive content, Interpersonal communication…
Assessment (motivation)• Assessment to gauge understanding of the content.• Motivation to view/participate in the content delivery
Classroom Q&A Mini-Lectures / Just-in-time learning Engagement with the content in ways that
foster higher-order processing
The Context of this Study
Participants• 67 3rd and 4th year English Education majors taking a
required English writing course at a midsized, urban Korean university.o 47 completed the courseo 20 completed survey
Class Description• Test writing (중등학교교사임용후보자선정경쟁시험 )• Dual-focus on writing (lectures) and content (discussion) • Lectures on planning, editing, formatting, grammar, and
other aspects of language usage (see video topics)• Process Writing• Four assignments focusing on SLA and Teaching Methods
Why Did I Do It?
Torn between student/institution expectations and personal theory of learning
Frustrated with a perceived lack of time to “cover everything”• Large amount of material• Roughly 2 usable class hrs/wk
Desire to focus on student engagement with the content during class time.
Need to increase higher-order processing of both writing and SLA/pedagogical concepts
Design & ImplementationLMS
LMS• Moodle
Design & ImplementationVideo
Video Requirements• Screencasting• Free to use• High-quality recordings• Narrated PowerPoints• Able to stream online• Variety of features
Video considerations• Mobile-ready• Editable• Flexible recording environment• Ease of use• Time limits• Number of free productions/storage/streams• Webcam functionality
VideosActivePresenter
ActivePresenter + YouTube• Processing Writing
VideosMoveNote
MoveNote• Test Writing
VideosPresent.me
Present.me• Logical Connections• Descriptive Writing• Articles & Commas
Videosknovio
knovio• Connecting Words and Phrases• Clauses
Design & ImplementationAssessment
Quizzes Writing
Samples Class
performance
Design & ImplementationActivities
Questions & Answers Mini-lectures Group Discussions (writing, SLA, and teaching) Focused activities (micro-writing and worksheets) Brainstorming Outlining Timed-writing Peer editing One-on-one/small group editing and consultations
Data Collection & Analysis
General• Documents• LMS
Students• Surveys• Observations• Class Q&A• Writing Samples
Teacher• Journals/Notes• Design Changes
Student PerceptionsVideo
Liked the video lectures• However, not all. “I think in class lectures are better than video lectures.”
o Thought the quality of the online lectures weren’t as good.
Preferred videos with professor’s webcam• 19 of 20 surveyed
Video service preferences• MoveNote 10/20• Present.me 10/20• ActivePresenter + YouTube 2/20• knovio 1/20
Preferred shorter to longer videos• Shorter than 15 minutes• Approved of course video length (2.35, n=20)
Preferred mobile-ready• Only 1 of 20 surveyed preferred the video without a mobile option• “If we can watch the video lecture on mobile phone, we need not find
computers.“
Student PerceptionsQuizzes & Activities
Disliked quizzes• Forgetting to do them• Not a good way to “grade”
Liked class activities• “…classroom activities such as brainstorming,
peer-editing, and discussion are very helpful to students to make their own ideas and develop writing skill.”
Student PerceptionsPreparing for Class
I use a textbook to prepare for class. • 4 vs. 9 (7 Occasionally)
I use a website to prepare for class. • 2 vs. 14 (4 Occasionally)
I use audio recordings to prepare for class. • 11 vs. 4 (5 Occasionally)
I use videos to prepare for class. • 10 vs. 2 (8 Occasionally)
I use smartphone apps to prepare for class. • 3 vs. 7 (8 Occasionally)
Student PerceptionsLectures & Accountability
I think that using video lectures is a good method of instruction. 3.95
I liked the video lectures that we watched. 3.85
I believe that it is important for teachers to lecture in class. 4.3
I believe it is important to check whether students do the required homework for the course (reading, worksheets, videos, etc.). 4.1
I think that the online quizzes we did this semester were a good way to check if students watched the video lectures. 3.65
Student Perceptions
I believe that class time is best used to do activities that help students learn the course content deeply. 4.05
I think that the activities we did in class helped me learn the course content deeply. 4
I watched each of the video lectures. 3.75 I completed each of the online quizzes
last semester. 3.6
Teacher Perceptions
Video• Concerned more with ease of use and functionality
o Liked Present.me the best Easy to learn, recorded both PPT and webcam, excellent quality video, and
mobile ready
Quizzes• Disappointed with the quizzes
o Low performanceo Unused by many (over 30% not attempted)o Seemed to be the Ss who were no well-prepared in class
In-class Activities• Generally satisfied by the increased time available to address
students’ needs individually• Sometimes, I felt that I was under-prepared or didn’t have
appropriately engaging activities.
Suggested Design Changes Videos
• Alternative Software• Shorten videos• Provide more examples• Demonstrate
Quizzes• Reminders• Integrate videos and quizzes
Activities• Demonstrate writing and editing more• Provide and practice daily objectives