To Flip or not to Flip? That is the question What is 1 plus 1? The answer will be 2. How about 2 plus 2? The answer will be 4. These questions may seem “too basic” for us, it may even be a joke for someone else. But if you think about it deeply, you would have thought that you would have never known anything about addition or subtraction without your “awesome math teacher” back in elementary school. This was made possible through the Public Education that we have acquired. Public education is often neglected in this world today.
Its long time presence usually makes people forget its true value. Seeing the big picture, public education has played an important role in the lives of the citizens here in the United States: it provides free education that will be required to further the educational aspirations and employment opportunities of our rising youth, and it also helps them differentiate what is right from wrong. Generally, public education equips a student with the basic knowledge and understanding of academic subjects such as: math, science, etc.
In addition to that, it also prepares the student for the rigors of living an independent life after high school. To get an education, whether it may be public or private, is one of the most crucial parts of being developed as a person. It equips the students with the right skills that will they will need when they go on to live on their own, and it also helps them further their lives to be a great and successful one. Being in High School is the final step on to adulthood.
It is considered as one of the most important part of our lives, and what we do in the final years of High School can often determine how well we are going to be in college going on to adulthood. I’m currently a junior at Newark Memorial High School in Newark, California. Newark Memorial High School is a big school that harbors young adults and teenager residing here in Newark. Newark Memorial’s population is very diverse, according to the statistics reported in Ed-Data. org, Hispanics/ Latinos make up 49. 6% of its population, with Caucasians/ Whites making up 16. 4%, Asians 12. %, Filipinos 10. 6%, and other ethnicities making up the complete enrollment.
In addition to that, almost half of the students’ families’ population is eligible for Free/Reduced Price Lunch, with 42. 1% of the students’ population being in Free/Reduced Lunch. This tells us that almost half of the population of the students may be required to work, for their families are making less than $45,000 a year which is somewhat low to be living here in California. The graduation rate in Newark Memorial is 92. 9% with people of two or more races being the lowest–having an 80% graduation rate.
On the other hand, the education system here in Newark Memorial High School is comprised of diverse teaching styles (Traditional, Flipped, Art Integration, etc. ) With traditional classrooms being taught in a normal “teacher-to-student” setting (the teacher discusses the respective lessons they have in class to students), and flipped classrooms being taught in an atypical, “video-to-student” kind of way (the teacher provides an online source for students, where the students can watch the lesson discussions online, rather than the lessons being discussed during class).
Although in my opinion, the Flipped Classroom style of teaching here in Newark Memorial may be deemed as inadequate and may not help students in learning the lessons that will be covered. The Flipped Classroom style of teaching “flips” how traditional classrooms are approached. With homework assignments and knowledge-nurturing activities being done in the classroom, and lectures being watched online at home.
One of the main reasons that the Flipped Classroom style of teaching may seem to be ineffective here at Newark Memorial High School is that teachers have to spend extra work time to make video lessons, hich may result into virtual lessons not corresponding with the topic that the teacher wants to teach. According to the article, “”‘Flipped classrooms’ may not have any impact on learning” Atteberry stated that, “Professors, too, had to spend considerably more time making and editing the videos and crafting engaging, hands-on sessions for their classes … “(The professors’) lives might be easier and their students might be happier if they just do a traditional class. (Atteberry)
This just shows how teachers or professors might find it difficult to construct web lectures, which may result to contrasting topics that their web lectures might contain. In addition to that, the Flipped Classroom style of teaching relies too much on the setting and subjects–this means that the flipped classroom style of teaching may not be relevant on subjects or lessons that require further discussion among peers, or the respective teachers. And for that reason, it may deem to not be effective in all subjects. Correspondingly, it also depends on how the schools run it.
According to the article, “Study Assesses Effectiveness of Flipped Classroom Approach” Granata stated that “At a public high school in Louisiana… students scored an average of 80. 8 on the end-of-the-period test… Stacey Roshan as Bullis School in Maryland… proportion of students who scored a 4 or 5 on the AP exam. ” (Granata) This shows that Flipped Classroom Style of teaching really varies on how the school runs it, and it may seem to be an unreliable method of teaching style unless the teachers are experienced, and the school’s administration greatly supports it.
Moreover, flipped classrooms may be argued to be successful due to its aspect of utilizing a student’s independent thinking skill through the use of web lectures to facilitate their own learning, however, the usage of web lectures may also make a huge impact in terms of the drawbacks that the teachers may experience. As it was stated in the web article “Flipped classrooms’ may not have any impact on learning” published in USA Today by Emily Atteberry, she stated that “Professors, too, had to spend considerably ore time making and editing the videos and crafting engaging, hands-on sessions for their classes” (Atteberry).
This simply means that the usage of the flipped classroom style of teaching may be ineffective for teachers, too–for they will be required to do additional work in order for them to impart the lessons that they have for their respective students. Furthermore, the success of the flipped classroom style of teaching is also solely based on various schools’ preferences and how they run it.
As it was stated earlier, “At a public high school in Louisiana… students scored an average of 80. 8 on the end-of-the-period test… Stacey Roshan as Bullis School in Maryland… proportion of students who scored a 4 or 5 on the AP exam” (Granata). This means that school preferences and approach towards the flipped classroom style of teaching may differ among schools. Granata clearly stated and provided statistics on how the Flipped Classroom style of teaching can vary based on a school’s educational policy and preferences.
This indicates that Newark Memorial High School’s approach towards flipped classrooms may be poor, and would probably not be successful at all. For NMHS had always been accustomed and successful in using the traditional style of teaching, and changing it to the flipped classroom style of teaching may require months, or even years of practice and training among its administration. There is no doubt that 1 plus 1 is not as easy as 2 times 2, there are processes in which our education will progress into a better one. And how we learn greatly affects that progress.
If a method of teaching may suggest to be inappropriate on how the students used to understand lessons, the only solution will be to go back to the old style of teaching in which students find easier. Based on the students performances and concerns regarding the usage of Flipped Classroom here in Newark Memorial, the Flipped Classroom style of teaching fairly received a below standard satisfactory rate among students. Students here in Newark Memorial were in dissent of “Flipping the Classroom,” for it has not been a great experience for them in many ifferent aspects.
This included the video lectures not corresponding to what the topic the teacher wants to teach, and that it may be incompatible with certain subjects. However, what does not work for Newark Memorial might work for American High School, and what might not work for American High School might work for James Logan High School. In other words, the Flipped Classroom style of teaching can be successful, but it all relies on how the school administration runs it.
