Assistant Principal's Message

Flipped Classrooms

Educational researchers including Geoff Masters and John Hattie say that one of the most significant factors for learning is what knowledge and understanding the student already brings into the classroom.  This means that students will be able to pick up more complex concepts if they already have a base understanding or at least are familiar with some of the language. This sounds good in practice but how do students gain that pre-understanding that is so helpful to learning growth? Students that read widely have an advantage. It is likely that they will have come across at some stage similar topics, concepts, and language that could be beneficial to the learning of new concepts. Watch the news, documentaries and read newspapers. Even online versions of these can lead to more questions and curiosity about the world around us. Many teachers also facilitate this pre-knowledge by shifting the paradigm regarding home learning. Teachers may ask students to do some reading, watch a clip or do some research on a particular topic before it is presented in class. When students are in class they are able to discuss concepts more thoroughly leading to deeper learning. This is what is known as a "Flipped Classroom".  Students are also able to flip their own classrooms. Students who are on Google Classrooms with their teacher are very likely to see what topics are coming up and are able to do some pre-reading or research before that topic hits the classroom. In Maths HOT MATHS aligns well with O'Connor's maths programs and with the tutorials it presents, students can be a little ahead and flip the classroom.

Our HSC students for 2020 have just been armed with their scope and sequences and assessment schedules for their courses and as a result, can take a long view to what lies ahead. The College also subscribes to an online tutoring service called HSC Hub. This service covers most subjects in the HSC and enables students to be ahead of the game in terms of knowledge and understanding. Take advantage of what the researchers say and.............flip a classroom!