Here is my current plan for researching the flipped classroom in the context of 6th grade literacy.

My research questions:

• What are best practices when “flipping” a classroom?
• Why should teachers consider using this teaching method in a literacy classroom?
• How are other teachers at my school already using online videos to leverage technology for effective instruction?

 How I will conduct my research:

Each week, I will post different videos for our weekly writing workshops, based on trends emerging in my students’ writing samples. When students come to class for their writing workshop, the skills they learned through the video will be practiced, with individual and group support.

I will analyze my students’ writing to note progress and growth, as well as conduct informal interviews with students (and their parents) to gauge the effectiveness of this program.

While researching in the classroom, I will also investigate best practice globally and also in my more immediate communities. I will article and share these resources through my blog, as well as an annotated diigo list to share with other educators interested in flipping their classroom.

 How I will evidence my learning:

I will create and install documentation posters in Learning Commons for my Junior School community. I will also document progress through my Cohort 21 blog, and in keeping with my theme of making videos for educational purposes, I hope to archive my learning through a video for the larger education community about how literacy instruction can be differentiated using a flipped classroom approach.

Currently, my school is collectively investigating best practices around differentiation. I hope to share this video about flipping classroom instruction as a precursor to a Monday staff meeting, sparking conversation and dialogue about various differentiation strategies and practices available to teachers to experiment with.