I was finally able to do the activity with my classes at the beginning of this week. It went really well. I ended up doing this with my high school class too and am glad I did. The 8th grade classes I teach this year are all accelerated, but my high school class isn't. They are the ones that need the extra support at home. While the percentage of high school students who watched the video at night is less than the 8th graders, they seemed more appreciative of having a video that just told them how to do the math.
Doing this project has made me think about turning my class into a blended learning environment. I have explored with flipping in the past, but I think the classroom needs to be more than just "watch the lecture at home and do the worksheets in class." If we do a little challenge problem toward the end of class, students might leave wanting to know if they got it right or not. Then, they can watch a video at night that explains the process. After they watch the video, they can post if they want to change their answer or keep it the same in an online forum like Edmodo. This will let me know who watched the video and the level of understanding that took place. At the beginning of class the next day, we'd clarify the answer to the challenge problem and clear up any concerns the students had. Then, during class the students would do activities. They wouldn't just do worksheets, but they'd do an activity where they had to know how to do use the material in the video (the lecture) and apply it to something meaningful or challenging to them. If nothing else, I think I'll create videos as support for the lessons we're doing in class and move toward a blended classroom in the future.
I'm thankful for all of the great things I learned from my classmates this semester. I'll be on Twitter and always love sharing ideas! Best wishes to you all in the future!
