Flipped classroom
action research plan
Topic and Purpose of my Research
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The topic of my action research plan is to see if students can successfully learn math using a flipped classroom and their opinion of the method. The purpose behind my innovation plan and the research that will go with it is that my students have struggled with traditional learning methods due to the short, 47 minute, class periods that we have. We don't have time to do activities that allow for discovery and mastery of the content, so I would like to utilize a flipped classroom method to free up some time in class for these types of activities along with blended learning techniques to create the opportunity for deeper learning.
My Research Questions
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What is the impact of using a flipped classroom model in the achievement of secondary mathematics students?
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What are the students' attitudes and engagement within a flipped mathematics classroom?
I chose to have two research questions because the two of them are connected. If students don't have a good attitude and refuse to engage with the elements of the flipped classroom, then achievement will not happen. In research found for my literature review, Zummo and Brown (2020) found that students that didn't engage in the flipped content only had 41% growth in test scores compared to 54% growth in traditional and 71% growth for students who engaged in all the content. This goes to show that there must be buy in by the students in order for this method to be successful.
Reviewing the Literature
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My literature review looked at other action research studies done in mostly math classes in order to see their approaches in finding answers to questions similar to mine. Most of them did determine that flipped classrooms had a positive impact to learning, and that students were more engaged compared to students in a traditional classroom.
Participants and Ethics
Participants will be my freshmen Algebra 1 classes. Before the study starts, parents will be informed of a new method of instruction being utilized in order to hopefully get assistance in making sure their students do what needs to be done at home. The data being used in this action research is not anything beyond normal school practices and will only be discussed with leadership and in PLC meetings.
My Research Design and Measures
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My research will be conducted in a quasi-experimental format where I will choose at least one class to be experimental (flipped), and the others will be the control (traditional). This initial study will be relatively short consisting of one or two units because research has pointed to not jumping fully into a flipped classroom model due to the amount of work it takes to prepare for it. I will be taking a mixed-methods approach due to collecting both quantitative and qualitative data that will be triangulated in order to see how both sides come together for the results.
Quantitative data will consist of the following items:
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A short pre-test will be given at the beginning of each unit to determine a starting point of knowledge for my students.
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A post-test will be given after each unit to determine what learning has taken place. Questions from the pre-test will be included along with others that go further into the material.
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Information will also be gathered on student engagement with flipped lessons by looking at the mini-quizzes at the end of each lesson.
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Student surveys will be given to the experimental group. They will be Likert type questions that ask how well they believed the flipped lesson went and their attitude towards the method.
Qualitative data will mainly be coming from teacher observation written down in a journal or Google doc file to refer back to when analyzing the data. Some data will also come from the student surveys where they will be allowed to write in responses to some of the questions.
Procedures
Permission to conduct the action research will be obtained from the principal prior to the beginning of the study. Parents of students in the chosen class(es) to be flipped will be informed of the trial of a new teaching method in order to obtain support in making sure their student completes the flipped portions of the class. Students will be trained prior to the beginning of the study in how to watch a video and take notes. It’s important for them to know that they can go back and rewatch anything again if needed.
When the study starts, students will be given a pre-test for the unit of study. For each lesson, students will have a flipped activity that must be done. These may be videos, podcasts, articles to read, or presentations to watch. At the end of each flipped lesson, they will be required to take a short quiz. These results will help determine which material may need to be looked at more during class. Students will be expected to take notes during the flipped content as well. In class, students will engage in hands-on activities, collaborative assignments, blended learning, tutorials, or independent practice. The teacher will be making observations based on both flipped and in-class activities in a journal. At the end of the unit, a post-test will be given to all students to determine growth in the material.
Analyzing the Results
All testing data will be compiled using Eduphoria, our district’s platform for student data. Comparisons will be made per student and overall as a class as to the growth achieved between tests. Results overall will be compared between the experimental and control classes to determine which method was more successful in producing the needed learning.
Levels of engagement will be judged based on teacher journal entries, percentage of students who complete mini-quizzes from the flipped lessons, and results from the student surveys.
Reflecting on and Sharing the Data
I will be using the data personally to see how effective the flipped classroom is for my students. If I see good results, then I will make the improvements needed based off of the action research and continue on with flipping the classroom and possibly bring more classes in. I will also be discussing the results with my administration team during PLCs to see if maybe the program could be added into other subjects.
References
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Mertler, C. A. (2020). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators. Thousand Oaks, CA:
SAGE Publications
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Zummo, L. & Brown, B. (2020). The human limitations of flipped science instruction: Exploring students
learning and perceptions of flipped teaching. International Technology and Educations Journal, 4(1),1-14.