Recently, the International Center for Leadership in Education, ICLE, held its 20th Annual Model Schools Conference in Orlando, FL. I have been a featured speaker for 8 years now and for the past 3, I’ve focused on the Flipped Class instructional model.
“Flipping the Class” is one of the most exciting Next Practices. In a flipped class, the lecture is delivered outside class time in videos students view as homework. Class time is used to apply the lecture content in problem-solving, project-based activities, with one-to-one or small group tutoring by the teacher. Students can watch the short lectures whenever they wish, as many times as they need, to grasp the content and come to class ready to work on collaborative projects.
Three years ago only a handful of people in my sessions had even heard of the concept. Last year, there was clearly more awareness and interest. This year each session was standing room only and the follow up has been amazing. I’ve heard from so many teachers through this blog and elsewhere that they’re going to begin flipping this coming year.
I hope that more of you will use this blog to stay in contact and share your experience with others. The list of resources is growing faster than our ability to keep up! It is an exciting time to be a teacher. With the new Common Core Standards and their focus on the application of knowledge, the project-based, problem-solving focus of the flipped class is the right model at the right time!
About Jim Warford
Jim Warford is the author of, The Chemistry of Culture: Strategies You Can Use to Create a Culture of Learning. For 15 years Jim Warford was Senior Advisor and Keynote Speaker for the International Center for Leadership in Education. Jim is an author, speaker, Leadership and Instructional Coach. He was named in March 2003 as Florida’s first Chancellor of K12 Public Schools. He stepped down in September, 2005 to become Executive Director of the Florida Association of School Administrators, representing over 10,000 Florida school leaders. As a Senior Advisor for the International Center for Leadership in Education, he works with states, districts and schools to provide coaching and executive training and support to school leaders and their staffs.
As Florida’s Chancellor, he led the creation and state-wide implementation of Florida’s Continuous Improvement Model, FCIM, which resulted in that state’s dramatic gains in student achievement and an 80% reduction in the number low-performing schools. FCIM remains Florida’s required intervention for all low-performing schools.
As Superintendent of the Marion County, Florida Public Schools, he first implemented the Continuous Improvement Model district-wide. As a result, school grades went from three “F”, eight “D” and only one “A” school in 1999 to twenty “A”, 16 “B” and no “F” schools in 2003. Under his leadership the high school dropout rate was cut in half.
He taught applied technology courses at the high school level for 17 years and created a Computer Graphics/Video Production program that won many national and state awards. He was named Vanguard High School Teacher of the Year three separate times.
Jim Warford 