I have been using an iPad in my classroom since November and it has been an overwhelmingly beautiful process. I wanted to try everything and so I did try everything. Some things have worked and other things have bombed. Nevertheless I have kept doing what I can with what I have. I would like to share a little piece of my classroom flipping experience.

First I would like to share that I teach ninth grade Algebra which translates to students that have struggled with math at some point in their academic career. Regardless of their level of motivation I enjoy my students’ quirkiness, their, at first glance, shyness, and watching them blossom into young adults. I have also been met with the realization that their definition of hard work and perseverance is different than mine.

I was introduced to the topic of classroom flipping in September and once I received an iPad I ran with it full force. I removed all paper homework assignments and signed everyone up edmodo.com and started posting videos on my website and edmodo.com. It turns out that regardless of how I assign homework, via textbook, worksheet, or video, it was going to be a battle for my students to complete the assignments. The average turn in rate for homework assignments would yield about 40% completion. Of my 190 students that seemed pretty normal compared to my colleagues. Once I started assigning video homework that number dropped, I would get comments like “Why can’t we just get regular homework?” or the ever so popular “I do not have internet.” And so I scaled my assignments to make sure the assignments did not drop the average of the class too much and I chalked it up as a learning experience.

And then second semester rolled around and I attacked with better know how and even more reassurance that I was doing right by my students. I adjusted my videos to one video per week that covered two topics, and one questionnaire per week. I even gave students an alternative, albeit lengthier, paper assignment. The results were BETTER and then not so great. It has been exactly 4 weeks into the new semester and here are some numbers of homework completed on time:

1st week – 96 students

2nd week- 117 students

3rd week- 60 students

4th week- 87 students

So what have I learned? Well taking into account that weeks 3 and 4 were shorter weeks I understand there should have been a little drop in completion but only 60 students? Another thing I noticed is that in weeks 1 and 2 I used computers in my classroom to work on another assignment and when students finished they then went onto our website and completed the assignment. But the most encouraging thing is that students are not fighting me on the homework anymore it has become part of my classroom norm. My students ask if the video will be up at the beginning of the week. They have accepted that I will not budge on the video homework assignment and it is more than reasonable to expect them to finish the assignment. I have and will continue to increase the length of each video and the questionnaires have and will continue to become more rigorous.

So was 117 students a fluke or can that be normal? Or can it get even better? I say that accessibility is part of the issue. Students want the material as easy as possible. If pulling out a computer is more cumbersome than pulling out a book they would rather attempt the paper assignment, if they will complete the assignment at all. I would like them to have the same determination I have and not quit because it is too inconvenient, I want them to care as much as I do. But in their minds they are trying and they are caring. So we meet at 50% and hopefully with time I get more than but I have already learned so much and it has been a wonderful learning experience.

-Eduardo Rivera

I've accepted the fact that the "no homework" wave has swept through the popular modes of media and influenced the minds of the best and most influential people in education.  After all, if there is high quality instruction taking place during the course of the school day, do the kids really need to go home and spend dubious amounts of time practicing something that they already know.  If they don't know the material, is the homework going to make them understand it if there's another 6-10 problems that they still don't understand?  Homework has become a 4-letter word that we associate with poor teaching and lack of preparation.  If your students need to go home with an assignment, you just aren't planning right.

Maybe it's because I'm tainted/skewed/washed by the middle school math mentality, mainly California's version of Algebra 1.  Maybe it's because I have 51 minutes from the time the students sit down in their chairs for the day to the time that they leave my room.  Maybe it's because math is hard (no, that can't be it... could it?).  Maybe it's because I have 21 complex standards that are tested on the state exam in April.  Whatever my dramatic excuse is, I just can't get everything done in a single class period in time for them to move on, complete the short-cycle assessment required by the district, follow up with a re-teach and post-test, and follow that up with a district-issued benchmark exam, and prepare for the state test - unless there's some sort of homework.

As a proven example, we can look at the unit that my students are currently learning about - solving systems of linear equations (SOLE) using the elimination and substitution method.  To give you a peek into my classroom structure, we do a warm-up to get our minds into the proper frame for the day, go through the lesson, and get into about 3 problems. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, three whole problems from start to finish.  That may earn a "what in the world is he doing during the 51 minutes of class" type of reaction, but consider the learning that needs to take place.  In order for students to comprehend this brand new concept, they need a five-step process memorized and demonstrated slowly a number of times.  With that being said, there are a number of variations of those problems that the students will see.  Three is never enough.  Never.  Ever.  But we must keep calm and teach on.  District benchmarks are coming.  CST exams are coming.  Just keep going.

Unfortunately, to compensate for the fact that the students just don't have enough time to practice this new concept during class, they have something that we like to call "homework" that the progressive education minds tend to oppose.  I'm ok with their opinion, and will certainly listen to a rebuttal, but my students need time to practice what was learned.  Without the freedom to teach at a pace that my students would actually benefit from, homework is the only way that they can get any sort of routine memorized for the 5 steps used during the substitution or elimination methods for SOLE (or most of the California Algebra 1 standards, for that matter).

One of the major arguments against homework is that you send the student home without the expert.  The teacher is no longer in the student's environment to assist with the problems, thereby compounding and creating a phobia of the standard.  Introduce a little thing called technology and that issue is resolved immediately.  Recently, I gave the students a homework assignment (oops, sorry).  They struggled.  Here's how we helped each other:

Just in case you didn't believe me, here it is.  Above, you can see screenshots of interactions that are happening on Edmodo on a regular basis, as well as a student-created explanation for one of the... homework problems.  We are continuing the conversation past the 51 minutes allotted during class and deepening the understanding.  This is something we couldn't do otherwise.  We also have students helping each other that aren't necessarily BFF's during the school day.  We have created a culture in this class that we will do whatever we can to help each other out.  Yes, the students know that they can count on me for help.  However, it is also obvious that the students can count on each other as well.

This allows me to ask the next question - is this really homework in the traditional sense if I'm still available?  

The students know that they can do a number of things to ask for help:

Google Voice me
Get onto Edmodo and ask me there
Email
Go to my website for flip videos or further support

When it comes down to it, it is about removing the opportunities for objections.  Homework has been dubbed a teaching faux pas because of its very nature to send the students off into a disconnected realm while they mull their responses and curse their instructors.  With a connected classroom, there is no objection possible - I am as available as you want me to be.  If, for some reason I am not available, your classmates are.

I'm certainly not trying to sway the naysayers of homework distribution to my side of the spectrum, nor am I attempting to influence the assigning of more homework for the sake of more homework.  However, there is a place for extra practice, as long as there is support that is available.  As long as I am able to support my students outside of the classroom at the drop of a hat, I will assign homework to allow them the time to practice what they have learned.  Indeed, I will keep calm and teach on.

John Stevens
@appsintheclass
@jstevens009
[email protected]
mrstevens.weebly.com