Discussions

Your Name and Title:

Arnaldo Ghersi, CEO

School or Organization Name:

Online Educational Solutions, LLC

Co-Presenter Name(s):

Area of the World from Which You Will Present:

Sunrise, Florida, USA

Language in Which You Will Present:

English

Target Audience(s):

Teachers and Principals

Short Session Description (one line):

Spaced Learning platforms offers the data necessary for an easy implementation of the Flipped Classroom Approach 

Full Session Description (as long as you would like):

Abstract

The Flipped Classroom model supported by a Spaced Learning virtual platform, offers a perfect combination of the pedagogical advantages of flipping the class, with the analytical data that empower teachers to secure an individualized learning.  

The Flipped Class

The Flipped Classroom model is not new. But it is a hot. This model has been being used during the last decades in many postgraduate courses around the world. However, the usage of technology is allowing us to think in its implementation at any other level including K-12 and high-schools.

The reason? It works! Results have been shown since the first year of application.

The model proposes that students pre-study the material before s/he arrives to the class. The class time is then used for doing assignments or exercises to enhance students’ comprehension and mastering the learning of the material, with an active participation of students..

Theoretically, the Flipped Class proposes to reach the first two steps (Remembering and Understanding) of the Revised Blooms’ Taxonomy at home, while the rest of the other four steps (Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating) are achieved in class. 

Pre-trained Students, who know about what they are going to talk in class, will participate much more in class, resolving problems, and creating their own knowledge under the supervision of the teacher. The groups will be more homogeneous, allowing a faster progress in the curriculum. Additionally, teachers will have the opportunity to correct the evaluations and feedback immediately to students, paying more attention to students with problems.

The Flipped Classroom represents a good example of Blended Learning; a balance combination between technology and pedagogical instruction. Technology is being used to support the teachers’ job. The teachers, who know the individual weaknesses of their students, can focus to help them pass their individual deficiencies.     

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Thus, Flipped Classroom teachers who have access to a better and more detailed database of the students, will know them better; individually, independently of the number of the students in the class, and they can secure that every student achieves the required level. 

Spaced Learning for BIG data

We at OES have been working developing a platform with an Adaptive Learning methodology known as Spaced Learning. This platform allows tracking every student on every studied object, and reinforces the object at longer intervals of time. Objects with more difficulties are reinforced with higher frequency that those learned or known. The objective is to guarantee that the student learns all the objects, but do not waste time studying objects that s/he knows. In other words, learn more in less time.

The objects are grouped in lessons, but we do not evaluate the lessons but the objects. Every object has its own set of questions; as many as needed to satisfy the requirements to validate that the student have learned it. This avoids a memorization of answers and questions.

Spaced Learning approach uses the Theory of Forgetting Curve by Hermann Ebbinghaus; Ebbinghaus discovered that after iterative reinforcements at longer intervals of time, the slope of the forgetting curve (the speed of forgetting) changes, and asymptotically it tends to a maximum retention of 92% of the content.  

Harvard University has been researching this methodology (Spaced Education) and has concluded that it accelerates knowledge acquisition, increase long-term retention, and that it is neutral to the nature of content.

After Bergmann y Sams adopted Flipping the Classroom some years ago, many other teachers have proved the advantages to have more homogeneous groups with much higher participation in class, which at the end it has transformed to have faster improvements on students-at-risks, and  better outcomes in general.  In general the schools who have adopted this model have improved by 33% the outcomes of the previous years. 

Well, if Teachers under a Flipped Classroom mode use a platform which can let them know the weaknesses and strengths of every student, they will be able to group them in class to be more productive; They know every individual's deficiencies, and they could focus to help every student on their own problems; in other words, they should be able to come back to the individualized education, no matter how many students they have in the class.

In Spaced Learning platforms the lessons are created by grouping Objects. Every Object has its own reagents for evaluation. 

Since Reviews must be taken before taken new Objects, students who present more problems should invest more time to keep updated with the lessons. This gives an individualized approach to the platform; it adapts to the individual pace and rhythm.

The Process is transparent to the student; the student does not need to do anything. The platform recognizes the students email, and it will reinforce him with exactly what he needs the most; this means that the student focus in what s/he needs and does not waste time studying things that he already masters or knew.

The platform records all the activities done by the student:

• Date and time of study session
• Study Time
• Cumulative time and dates.
• Lesson studied
• Objects studied
• Objects learned
• Objects with higher difficulties.

 These parameters allow teachers to know better the status and progress of each individual. It results a simple routine for a teacher, to select and group students according to their level and knowledge.

This BIG data facilitates the implementation of Flipped Classroom

Sapaced Learning Platforms and Flipped Classroom

The results of implementing Flipped Classroom have been proven by many schools; just as an example, let’s look the statements made by Greg Green, the principal at Clintondale High School in Clinton Township, Michigan:

At Clintondale High School, we have been using this education model for the past 18 months. During this time, our attendance rate has increased, our discipline rate decreased, and, most importantly, our failure rate - the number of students failing each class - has gone down significantly.  When we first implemented this model in the ninth grade, our student failure rate dropped by 33% in one year.

In English, the failure rate went from 52% to 19%; in math, 44% to 13%; in science, 41% to 19%; and in social studies, 28% to 9%. In September of 2011, the entire school began using the flipped instruction model, and already the impact is significant. During the first semester of the year, the overall failure rate at the school dropped to 10%. We’ve also seen notable improvement on statewide test scores, proving that students’ understanding of the material is better under this model.

We believe that the improvements obtained by the students under a Flipped Classroom approach are essentially based on these main facts:

• Students use the online materials to study and recovery missed classes
• Students use the materials regularly to review and reinforce alongside the course.
• The materials are being studied at longer intervals of time.
• Teachers can help the students exactly where they need

Every object is created with a set of questions for evaluation; the platform picks randomly different questions every time the objects are been reviewed. This way avoids memorization of the questions and answers; the specialist of the subject should create questions to be sure that knowledge acquisition and understanding have occurred. The questions can be designed for auto-correcting (multiple choices, cognitive questions, etc.) or questions which require teachers’ correction (construction, application, developing, etc.),

The platform allows using different formats to create the objects; since the teachers’ videos used originally by Bergman and Sams, or texts, or graphics, or combinations of them. But every object should have its own set of questions.

The lessons are created to follow the teaching plan, grouping the objects for each lesson. Every lesson has a “starting” and “finishing” date. The student has a calendar of activities since the beginning.  

The architecture of Spaced Learning Platforms is different of most of the virtual platforms in the market: the questions belong to the objects. The questions are not created separated in a questionnaire or exam of the lesson module. After completing every study session, the student must take a quiz for evaluating the studied objects.  The platform evaluates each object independently, and not the lesson as a whole. This makes the process to be much more efficient in the study-time; the student reviews only the objects where s/he presents difficulties, and not the whole lesson.

Spaced Learning Platform provides Reports that easily allows teachers to implement Flipped Classroom.  It is quite simple to know if the student has completed or not the assignment on time; a traffic light system allows verification at a glance.  A column shows the cumulative study time of each individual. Another column shows the grade obtained so far. The grading scale can be adjusted to different criteria.

The large data accumulated by the platform allows creating customized Reports; among them, one of the most popular is “Objects with higher difficulties”. This report shows the studied objects which have presented more problems to be responded correctly. Teachers can use this report to give Remedial Classes focus on these difficult objects.

The fact that the reports are not based in just one test but an iterative process of evaluations at longer intervals of time, gives the teachers a picture of the real situation of the students.

Additionally, the Platform offers options for the student to practice for a test in different modes: Cramming of all studied material, or, Review of Learned Objects, Create MP3 files to hear the lessons, and Print the lessons.

A dedicated “wall” for each course, allow students to socialize in a private area. They can post questions or doubts about the studied material, like a forum, to be answered by other students or by the teacher. Also, they can see their pals participation and progress.

The analytics provided by Spaced Learning platforms allow administrators and directors to compare the progress of groups, classes or schools, at any time; much earlier than a standardized or final test.

Conclusion:

Spaced Learning platforms offer a much effective and efficiency way of the study time to the student, and also provides the necessary data to the teachers, to easily implement the Flipped Classroom mode.   

Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:

http://portal.sliderocket.com/OES/The-Flipped-Classroom-and-Spaced-Learning