jgbrame
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jgbrame
ParticipantI have done virtual field trips to many ancient civilizations, where students explored major concepts of geography, religion, achievements, politics, economics, and society. I’ve experimented with having students physically rotate as well as rotating station material between groups. Depending on the class and section, both have positives and drawbacks.
ParticipantWhat does the station rotation model look and sound like in your classroom from the student perspective? What about the teacher perspective?
From the student perspective, they want to know the overall objective and purpose the station activity, what exactly is required at each station and in which order they need to be completed. Additionally, am I’m doing things independently, can I work with a partner, do I turn in my own work, what do I do if I finish a station early, what happens if a station ends and it’s time to rotate and I’m not done. All of these questions come up every time you do a station activity.
From the teacher perspective, you are providing content in a variety of different methods to meet the differing learning styles of all students in the classroom.
ParticipantFor me I think it is the collaboration station – stations work best, in my opinion, when students are engaged with each other and share ideas back and forth, it’s good to learn from peers and hear from different voices in addition to your teacher, when students work together they are learning much more than the desired content
ParticipantGuided reading or text analysis
Close reading of primary sources
Targeted skill instruction
Mini-Socratic seminars or structured discussions
Re-teaching or clarification of challenging concepts
Scaffolded support for ELLs or struggling students
Data-driven check-insParticipantI created a playlist for WWI – this is only a sample and would need to be adjusted based on students needs year-to-year
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BV0B-WkWph8D-KU71RrrRiGSjI4TXlgPm3QtNXnTT_c/edit?tab=t.0
ParticipantAs a history teacher I looked for things relevant to my curriclum.
HyperDocs for World War II / Holocaust: One teacher shares a 14‑slide HyperDoc with multimedia resources, primary‑source links (e.g., Navajo Code Talkers, internment camps), and choices for readings, videos, or interactive webquests that guide students through historical inquiry
https://theteachingfactor.wordpress.com/tag/playlists/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
I’m drawn to it because it blends historical content with choice and multimedia, which keeps students engaged while building deeper historical empathy and understanding. I plan to adapt it for my World History at MUIDS by aligning it with our essential questions (Common Core Curriculum) and using it to launch a student-led inquiry project – currently unsure as to which unit or grade level it will make the most sense for initially. It’s especially useful because it supports differentiation and allows students to explore complex topics at their own pace while still engaging in critical analysis.
ParticipantI’m most excited to try using playlists and hyperdocs to give students more voice and choice in how they engage with content, allowing them to move at their own pace and revisit materials as needed. How I will go about it on the first attempt is yet to be seen, but it is an interesting concept.
These tools seem like they can have a big impact by promoting student ownership, increasing engagement, and supporting differentiation, especially for diverse learners who benefit from visuals, links, and multimedia options embedded directly into their learning paths.
ParticipantA playlist can be viewed by a student in two ways, in my opinion. One, strong students will look for assignments and skip right to them, overlooking valuable reading and formative work that will help develop their critical thinking skills. It’s also likely in todays world they will use AI to help finish the assignment, so they missed doing the reading and their output was finished quickly. Other students can look at a playlist and feel overwhelmed as they are seeing the totality of work instead of it being broken down day-by-day and not seeing what is coming up.
ParticipantWhat are some methods you have used with students who need extra time on classwork?
This is a common theme working aboard with 100% ESL students. In the past, I have adjusted timelines, allowed students to take it home to work, they can work on it during the 8th period activity period, during breaks, or during lunch as needed.
What are some methods you use for those who finish early?
I encourage students who finish early to help their friends (peers) who are not as strong as they are. This does not always work, depends on classroom dynamics and personalities. I also sometimes provide supplemental material to build their knowledge base up and utilize higher level of thinking. This can be tricky though, as some students are not keen on thinking they have more work because they finish early.
ParticipantIn my typical flipped lessons as a history teacher, students are assigned short historical readings and curated videos to watch at home, accompanied by guided notes that help them focus on key concepts, timelines, and cause-and-effect relationships. This approach ensures that when students return to class, they already have a foundation of content knowledge, allowing us to spend more time engaging in class discussions, debates, and collaborative projects. The flipped model supports multiple levels of thinking: students first recall and understand basic information at home (lower-order thinking), then apply, analyze, and evaluate ideas through in-class activities (higher-order thinking). This structure not only deepens their comprehension but also encourages critical thinking and active participation.
Participant2-3 steps you would take to implement a flipped classroom approach in your classroom
Just like with anything, you have to start small and slowly introduce the flipped classroom to students. I would model from start to finish how students can access, watch, and engage in the videos, followed by showing them how it is necessary for them to be successful in future class activities, assignments, and assessments (both formative and summative).
1-2 obstacles or challenges you might encounter when flipping your classroom
The biggest obstacle is time. Students have many different classes, activities, and other personal and family obligations outside of school hours, that it can be unreasonable for me as a teacher to think that a student has the proper time to sit and watch lesson videos on their own. If every teacher does this, students could have added stress and lack of sleep, which will negatively effect academic performance.
ParticipantAt this point, as a partner school, it is not fully clear to teachers how the day-to-day set up on the ASU program will fit in with our regular classroom schedules. Right now, students should have at least 1 study hall a week to work on their work, where I as the teacher can ensure they are making progress and help them along.
Here is an idea as to how I can help them in the first 20 days:
Week 1, students will complete short surveys and introductory activities to help me get to know them and establish routines around using the tracker. Week 2, they’ll begin setting personal learning goals and recording weekly affirmations or takeaways from mini-lessons.
Week 3, students will use the tracker to document connections between their goals and academic progress, supported by brief teacher feedback. Week 4, students will begin choosing how they demonstrate their learning (e.g., video, writing, visuals) and complete self-check-ins, promoting ownership and reflection within the blended model.ParticipantWhat aspects of blended learning are already an active part of your teaching practice?
While we have a traditional classroom set up, our school utilizes Google Classroom. Using this tool, I am able to post announcements, assignments, slides from class, as well as additional resources in order for students to have access to 24/7. During the prior school year we were forced into a week of remote learning, which we used Google Meets to continue learning. I try to incorporate new technologies as much as possible, allow student choice (reasonably) to demonstrate learning, use multiple learning strategies per unit, and encourage students to rely on their peers and themselves for learning as much as they do me.
What is an area or two for which you would need to develop your practice?
I can (and will) regularly analyze student data from online platforms to adjust instruction, seeking feedback from students about their learning experiences, and continuously learning new digital tools to enhance engagement and personalization.
ParticipantAt this point in time it is unclear as to which model of blended learning is going to work best. I work for a partner school of ASU and we have yet to fully implement the blending learning courses. As it stands right now, our students will still take traditional classroom courses and some students (voluntarily) will sign up to take classes via ASU and Canvas to obtain a dual degree. In the past, I have experienced fully online schools as a teacher where students did not really interact with each other, rather, they went through the modules around their own schedules, pending deadlines for assignments, etc. Personally, I think this is how it will end up working for our students. Some students will be taking heavy AP loaded schedules and may have less time to focus (in school) on their online learning, but rather will spend time at home keeping up with assignments. I’m excited to see how this pans out, and stand ready to adapt as students need me to, to ensure their differentiated needs are met.
ParticipantBlended learning is a combo of both traditional teaching methods with digital tools and technology added. In today’s world, our students have no choice but to be proficient in technology and in order for them to reach their potential, integrating tech into the classroom is essential. My initial thoughts is that we have an obligation as teachers to set our students up for success in the modern world, however, figuring out how to teach them to not fully really on tech and AI can be tricky. We want students to use tech and AI to enhance their learning, not do it for them.
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