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I don't see the Khan videos as being any kind of instructional breakthrough, precisely because they are not interactive. As Catherine pointed out, with weaker or less motivated students, the demonstration moves too fast, is often poorly worded, and repetition or replaying a segment does not necessarily help. It is certainly no way for struggling students to learn new material.
Some middle school kids I worked with last year used the Khan videos to review procedures like multiplication of decimals, finding the lowest common denominator, and so on. They dutifully watched, replayed and tried to do the problem along with Salman Khan, but were easily confused and would not, I think, have been very successful without a teacher (me) being present to step in.
As for the "flipped classroom" -- I say hahahahaha. Maybe in well-to-do areas. No school I have worked in in the last 15 years has had more than 15% of students with internet access at home. So much for those "digital natives."
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
palisadesk on working with Khan videos in middle school
palisades writes:
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7 comments:
I agree with your analysis of the Khan videos. I am a "flipper" and would NEVER use a Khan video in my classroom for instruction - and I can speak for many of my fellow flippers on this as well.
One of the best practices of a well-run flipped classroom is teacher-created content that is engaging, interactive, and connects with the students. Khan Academy as a "flipped classroom" is a huge misconception that is spreading like wildfire ever since the TedX talk earlier this year. A flipped classroom is so much more than video. It is about changing the environment of the classroom to a more dynamic, student-centered place of learning where students are able to connect with and work through the content in a supportive environment.
With that, I have a few questions for you regarding the flipped classroom.
1)It seems like access to technology is your biggest "con" for considering a flipped classroom? Have you looked into alternate ways for students to access the content (i.e. burning DVDs to watch on a TV)?
2) Have you connected with any teachers who are actually flipping and asked them their pros/cons of actually doing it and what benefits they have seen?
Just some food for thought... I enjoy the blog!
Khan Academy as a "flipped classroom" is a huge misconception that is spreading like wildfire ever since the TedX talk earlier this year.
He was a rock star at the "Celebration of Teaching and Learning."
Khan Academy has some great resources, I won't argue that. However, my point is that Khan Academy by itself is NOT a flipped classroom, as many people seem to assume when they have not done true research on the Flipped Classroom. As the author above mentioned, you cannot point students to Khan Academy and tell them "learn" without the proper scaffolding, guidance, and interactive classroom environment our students need.
nice written
So does this mean that the anti-progressives and the progressives might agree on something, namely that Sal Khan and his Academy are hardly a panacea to meaningful mathematics learning or teaching?
Regarding the claim that Khan Academy videos are not interactive, there is currently a prototype of interactive videos available here http://www.khanacademy.org/labs
"meaningful mathematics"
Educational pedagogues do so love their turf; so much so that they redefine math.
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