Effective Teaching

In this Episode, I talk about why you should flip your classroom and some of the best practices for how to do it. I discuss using Insert Learning or EdPuzzle as tools to help you identify student knowledge and differentiate your teaching and learning in the classroom, as well as provide advice on what to do when the students don't watch the video or do the reading before class. Listen to the audio above or read through the summary below.Flipped Learning by Daniel Jackson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Join the Facebook CommunityRough transcriptHi and welcome to episode 5 of the Effective Teaching podcast. Today I want to talk to you about flipped learning as an effective method for producing life-long learners.I have been flipping my classrooms since 2010 when I was first introduced to the concept. The idea just made sense to me… Get the students to go through the content before they come to class and then there is more time in class to do the fun things that I wanted to do as a teacher… at least that is what I thought.After I did some more research and a bunch of professional development I realised that it wasn’t just the fun stuff that I could do now, I now would be able to help my students when they most needed it. For so long, I had been giving lectures for most of my lessons and helping students know the content, but in reality, they didn’t need me to provide the content, they needed me to help with its application, critiquing and creating. My traditional approach had only really allowed my students to get the lower levels of Blooms Taxonomy, But they really needed me at the higher levels, the deeper thinking as Hattie says. Students can consume content on their own quite fine, learning new ideas, but they need help relating, applying and critiquing those ideas.This new perspective on flipped learning made me more committed to the approach as a meta-pedagogy. That is, I began to use it as my umbrella approach and now in my classroom, I could use project-based learning, critical inquiry approaches, case studies, collaborative tasks, and more. I now had time to prepare my students for exams and help them with assessment tasks.So…let’s talk about some of the best practices for flipping your classroom and creating life-long learners.Firstly, you will get better engagement from your students in the flipping if you tell them why you are doing it and teach them how to engage with videos or readings for learning, rather than for entertainment. This means teaching them to take notes, pause, rewind and re-read or watch sections. If you're feeling good, you could also send something home to let the parents know about this approach as well.Secondly, it is best if you make your own flipped content, whether that be videos or text, but you can also gather and use content from other places, such as textbooks, websites, youtube, Vimeo, Ted videos and more. You don’t have to do it all at once to start with.Next, you should find a way to check that your students have engaged with the content before class. This can be as simple as checking they have notes as they enter the room or using tech such as Insert Learning or EdPuzzle. The tech also allows you to check that they understood the content, which you will need to do before you do anything else in the classroom.The most important thing that you need to do when you flip your lessons is to change what you do in your classroom. If you have half your students not watch the video at home, for example, DO NOT then present the information to the whole class, this will stop the students who did watch it from watching next time. And don’t just give questions from a textbook. Remember, you now have time!I start by getting the students who didn’t watch my video at home to sit at the back with earplugs and watch the video. While they do that I do something fun with the rest of the clas..

In this episode, I examine how many teachers currently provide feedback and how this feedback can be improved. I discuss the importance of feedback being future focused and how to differentiate your feedback according to the stage of the learner.Effective Feedback by Daniel Jackson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Join the Facebook CommunityFeedback is importantAccording to Hattie’s research after analysing over 800 MetaAnalyses on teaching and learning Feedback is one of the most effective teacher activities when it is done well.Many of us provide feedback to students that is ignored on assessment tasksYou even might be providing feedback on drafts, and/or general learning happening in your classroomSome of you, like me, are using technology to provide fast feedback on student quizzes, such as Kahoot, Google forms, Socrative, or QuizletBut, is our feedback effective, are we improving the learning of our students and what’s more, are we helping them develop a love for learning?Students do not respond to feedback if they are given their markTry releasing the mark after they adjust the task based on the feedbackFeedback must be future focusedFeedback must be future focused and goal orientatedWhere are they, where were they, where are they headed and what are they doing next!Eg you can identify all the bones and muscles, which 2 weeks ago you didn’t know. This is great progress as we move towards being able to analyse movements. Next we need to work on being able to describe the different joint movements and muscular contractions.Feedback should focus on 1 thing they can improve next time they do something similareg) net time you critically evaluate a topic make sure you set up clear criteria to use in the evaluationProvide lots of positive feedback (5-1)Feedback must be specific to levels of prios konwledgeIf the topic is new to the student focus on correct and incorrect informationIf they know the content, focus on how they relate the content and the processes that are used in applying, critiquing, and creatingEg when comparing and contrasting try using words such as, “in contrast” or “similarly” and contrast each aspect in its own paragraphIf they are skilled in the topic then feedback should look to help them become more self-sufficient in checking their own workEg have a look at this example and this success/marking criteria and make a list of things you could improve for next time. ORCan you tell the difference between example A and example B. Which would you say is more successful and why?Your turnDuring each of your lessons today, tomorrow and this week, seek opportunities to provide future focused feedback for your students based on the learning goals.REMEMBER:Where are they, where have they come from, where are they heading and what are they doing next?Ensure your feedback is appropriate for where your student currently is, new, familiar or competent

In this episode, I discuss why we should be using and providing exemplars to our students and some of the best practices around how to use exemplars to improve student learning and help to create life-long learners.Exemplars by Daniel Jackson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Join the Facebook CommunityWhy ExemplarsExemplars show students what success looks likeThey are a great reference for feedbackThey help improve peer feedback and student self-assessmentThey work really well when they are directly connected to the learning goals/intentionsThey have a positive impact on students achieving successSuccess feels good and helps students to love learningHow to use exemplarsStart with an exemplar of what your students might produce as evidence of their learning by the end of your lesson, or by the end of this week.Creative writing pieceVideo explanationDramatic performance orA pamphlet they could createMake sure your learning goals or intentions are clearly evidenced in the exemplarEnsure students understand that they do not have to replicate what you have done, but should use it as a reference to check their workYou will use the exemplar to help you provide feedbackLevel upHave more than one exemplar using different methods for achieving the same learning goalAnnotate your exemplar, maybe use Screencastify and make a video explanation, or use the comments/track changes section of your document to put comments that help explain why the exemplar is so goodHave examples at different levels that you compare and contrast with your students to help them know what is required to move from where their first draft might be to where you want them to get toAs they progress, highlight this and celebrate it with them.Remember the more you celebrate their achievements the more they will develop their confidence in learning and the more they are likely to begin to enjoy the process.Create your ownPick 1 lesson or sequence of lessons, and create 1 exemplar that shows your students what success in that lesson or those lessons might look like.Make sure you show and explain the exemplar to your students so that they understand why the exemplar is a good example of successfully achieving the learning goal/sCelebrate students achievements, and use them as exemplars for each other.