Not all students are the same, and so we shouldn’t teach them the same way. That doesn’t mean you need to differentiate every lesson every day. However, it does mean using strategies that make the information accessible to all students. The flipped classroom model is one strategy you can use to make the basic information more accessible to your English Language Learners and students with learning disabilities.
Students Process Information at Different Speeds
English Language Learners take more time to process the information you are providing them because they first need to transfer it to their first language and then use their first language to gain meaning about it. Students with learning disabilities also need more time to process and comprehend the information. Providing the basic information through the typical lecture and notes via a slide presentation makes it more difficult to obtain the information. Either you are going really slow, and the rest of the class gets bored while waiting for them to copy and process the information on the slide, or you move on, and they have missed some important information.
How the Flipped Classroom Can Help Students
The flipped classroom is a great alternative that will allow all of your students to get the information at the pace that works best for them. They can rewatch the video multiple times to make sure they comprehend the key points of the video. They can pause the video as they write the information into their notes. You could host the video on YouTube so that your English Language Learners can use closed captions in their first language.
Benefits to Students When Using the Flipped Classroom Model
The students gain more confidence because they now come to class with a basic understanding and confidently answer questions and participate in discussions. They have higher self-esteem because they are no longer worried about what other students think of them when they ask the teacher to repeat themselves or go back to the previous slide or slow down. You will find that they will do better in your class because the foundational knowledge of the topic is there.
If you are interested in learning more about implementing the flipped classroom model in your class, check out my flipped classroom getting started series.
