Flipping for Teaching

Thanks to the college students in Dr. Oliver Dreon’s instructional technology class, fourth and sixth graders in Penn Manor School District experienced a “flipped classroom” this spring.

“In the past, teachers gave instruction in the classroom and then students went home to practice what they had learned in the form of homework. That traditional model has been turned on its head to create a flipped classroom, where students get their instruction on their own at home through videos and handouts. Then, in the classroom, teachers interact with the students and help them apply it,” explained Dreon.

The Millersville students spent this past semester creating videos, which were delivered on April 24 to the teachers in Penn Manor who are involved in the classroom. The teachers used the videos and the flipped classroom concept in their classrooms. Dreon’s class will receive evaluations from the teachers and this summer will analyze how the program worked and make recommendations for its future.

Lauren Kriebel is a junior early childhood and special education major at Millersville who was in Dreon’s course. She is also the recipient of the Nolt Family Scholarship and will use the scholarship to analyze the flipped classroom. “The great thing about this class was getting to work directly with the fourth and sixth graders and their teachers,” said Kriebel. “We listened to them and got their feedback every step of the way. As part of our class, we will evaluate how the instructional videos did, and I will also have an independent study to help determine how we move forward.”

The flipped classroom concept has been used in other parts of the country, but it is usually done in math or science. The Millersville project involved literacy and reading.  Dr. Jennifer Shettel, elementary and early childhood education, was a consultant on the project, making sure the Millersville students focused on appropriate literacy strategies in their videos. “This was a great fusion of technology with literacy,” said Shettel.

Videos were created with technology available in the Digital Learning Studio in Stayer Hall.  “For my group’s video, I played the role of a news anchor, and we had a breaking news story about archeologists finding mummified soldiers in China,” said Kriebel. “We also found a mummified video, and we had one of our group members voice the part of the emperor.”