Sunday, February 26, 2012

My Flipped Classroom Action Research Plan


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

2 comments:

  1. 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!

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    1. Thanks for everything you have done, and are doing, to help educators with the Flip!

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