Climbing Pyramid Bloom's with the FLIP Pillars: Creating

CC Image courtesy of New Blooms Pyramid by Andrea Hernandez on Flickr

My final blog post of the "Climbing Pyramid Bloom's with the FLIP Pillars" series will culminate with the "creating" level. After evaluating the FLIP pillars in my last post, I thought a helpful challenge would be to create my own pillars but keep the F.L.I.P. acronym. Below is my attempt as a novice "flipper."

F: 

Freedom - when I flipped part of my class, I felt instant freedom. By offloading direct instruction, I was free to do all of the things I value in a science class: inquiry, problem-based learning, interdisciplinary projects, reflection and mastery. Flipping frees up class time, allows for the freedom to shift to student centered instruction and will gives the freedom to make future unforeseen changes.

L:  

Leveraging technology -  this flipped class movement stemmed from a significant advance in technology. The ability to record and share video lessons can be seen as a prerequisite and an important entry point to the flipped classroom. (Although one could theoretically “flip” without the video.)  Screencasting videos, randomized testing features of learning management systems and collaborative documents are important technologies of the flipped classroom.  

I:  

Independent & individualized learning -  a flipped teacher values the individual student. The flipped class can allow for student “voice and choice.” Whether students pause and rewind videos from their mobile devices on the bus in the morning or from their home computers at night, content is always available. Students can demonstrate their learning through projects geared to their learning style. Whatever the case, the individual student is at the heart of this paradigm.

P:

Personal relationships - the instant switch that occurred after flipping was that I spent a lot more time with each individual student. Flipping the class can lead to stronger personal relationships with students because there is more time for one on one interactions.