Now that I have introduced my students to the Flipped Classroom model and have collected some baseline data I will begin to roll out my research plan.
This study will focus on student
motivation using the Flipped Classroom model.
It will take place in a Biology classroom, during the spring semester,
at Scottsbluff High School. This school
is located in Scottsbluff, Nebraska which is the largest city in western Nebraska
with 15,039 residents. It is a low to
moderate income community with a poverty rate of 54%. It is a regional trade center located within
an agricultural community.
Most of the students taking
Biology are in 10th grade or “advanced” 9th graders. There are a few 11th and 12th
grade students in some of the sections due to school transfer or past failure. This study will focus on two sections of
Practical Biology and four sections of General Biology. The classes meet for 90 minutes every other
day on an A/B block schedule. All
together there will be 129 students that data will be collected from.
Data collection for this study will
mainly focus on how well students respond to watching video lectures outside of
the class as homework. All Biology
students in this study have a digital classroom account on Edmodo (www.edmodo.com) where video lectures are
posted and accessible 24 hours a day 7 days a week. To accommodate students
without internet or computer access outside of school, videos are made
available on USB Flash drives or put onto DVD’s for students to check out and
take home. The homework lectures will be
assigned one week in advance of the due date so students can make arrangements
to use school computers before school, during homeroom, at lunch or after
school. Student access should not be a
factor that will affect the results of this study.
As students watch each video
lecture they will fill out a modified Cornell notes worksheet and return it to
class on its due date. Students that do not complete the assignment as homework
will have to miss out on the peer teaching groups and activity stations while
they watch the video and take the missing notes during class. No credit will be awarded to students that
did not complete the assignment as homework even though all students will be
required to have notes over the material.
Grades are not a motivating factor for all students, but according to a study done on using grades as
motivation for learning, grades could be classified as either an external and
internal motivating force (Sebart & Krek, 2002).The number of students that watch the videos will be assessed by the return rate of their notes worksheet. The notes will also be rated on a scale of one to three: 1 = minimal amount of effort 2 = average effort 3= full effort. A rubric will be developed in order to consistently analyze the notes and assign a rating. This likert scale will be used to track improvement in independent note taking skills as the study progresses. Perhaps motivation to watch the videos will stem from confidence in completing the assignment.
The third type of data being collecting
will focus on student opinions about the Flipped Classroom. Students will be asked to fill out Google
form surveys so they can provide feedback as to what they like and dislike
about the Flipped Classroom model. Interviews
with random students from each class will also be conducted.
These data sources should show
trends in student motivation for watching video lectures as homework. Some themes to look for during analysis include:
extrinsic versus intrinsic motivating factors, note taking skills, confidence
and change in student opinions.
Each week as data is assessed, it
will be posted on www.myflippedclassroomexperience.blogspot.com.
This public blog will act as a research journal while providing a way for other
educators to offer suggestions and guidance.
This research project started in
January 2012 with a slow introduction to students and modeling of how to watch
and take notes from a video lecture.
Beginning in mid-February students are being assigned one homework video
a week. This will continue for the
duration of the study which is scheduled to end in April.
References
Sebart, M., & Krek, J. (n.d.). Should Grades be a
Motivation for Learning?. ERIC PDF Download. Retrieved February 23,
2012, from http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED470664
I'm really looking forward to seeing your Action Research Plan come to fruition! Please let me know if there is any more info I can provide. :) I'll look forward to reading the updates!
ReplyDeleteThanks for everything you have done, and are doing, to help educators with the Flip!
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