Mrs. Scioli, Leesville social studies teacher, flipped the paradigm of the classroom last year in her US History class. Scioli had her students watch Youtube lectures and take notes at home, so in class they could focus on activities and applying knowledge gained from homework. Scioli plans to expand the class flip in the future.
Scioli said there were many motivations for the class flip. With the change to two US History classes this year Scioli said that she knew there would be textbook shortages, so continuing the class flip is a way to prevent any conflict. Also with the advent of the Common Core, this will allow her more time in class to work on Common Core activities such as practice tests.
In the beginning, she didn’t expect the students to enjoy it due to the low production quality, as she was limited to an iPhone and laptop. “However, they thought it was awesome. I could see they were desperate for an alternative way of learning,” Scioli said. She believes the positive response is as a result of more class time spent interacting rather than sitting and listening to lectures.
“I felt more comfortable knowing I could review the information as much as I needed,” said Akhil Ramlakan, a student in her class last year. “I was more confident in what I knew as it was reinforced the next day in class.” Ramlakan thought the change was a success in emphasizing critical thinking and that all the students enjoyed it.
Scioli looks forward to continuing the class flip as she said many apps have came out that focus on educational media. For this reason Scioli, Mr. Hunt, and Mr. Caggia have applied for a $3000 grant that will go towards three iPads for the class.
Scioli plans to use the iPads in this year to allow more creative classes utilizing media and tech not commonly known to the classroom. That combined with the flipped class is meant to lead to a creative, productive, and explorative classroom environment.
Scioli’s class flip is original to Leesville and has set a precedent for future classes to adopt at Leesville.
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