Last week, we talked about teaching according to the "big picture". However, this week I feel like I'm truly starting to apply this as I begin to develop my generalizations and guiding questions for my unit. As I sat and analyzed my unit, I began to think that it was too broad and that the questions I was developing were following that same pattern. But isn't that the point? If I am to truly teach according to the "big picture" then I shouldn't ask my students specific questions because then they will never make deep connections within the content. Asking specific questions would almost be like limiting my students rather than letting endless growth transpire! All of this links perfectly with NCPTS Standard 3C, teachers recognize the interconnectedness of content and Standard 4E, teachers help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills because we are encouraging them to make deep connections between all subjects rather than just scraping the surface of individual content areas.
This week during my outside research, I learned about in-flipped classrooms. We all know that flipped classrooms are when learning happens outside the classroom and applying that learning inside the classroom. Well for an in-flipped classroom you let both of those things happen inside the classroom. One set of students watches a pre-recorded video of the teacher's instruction and the other half of students gets to work one on one with the teacher. This would allow for the teacher to more easily differentiate learning for students and to provide personalized supports. This would be an interesting method to try in my own future classroom to see how students responded. Here is the link to the article if you're interested in learning more about in-flipped classrooms: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/flipping-the-non-flippable-classes-jon-bergmann
