How do you differentiate instruction and support diverse learners in flipped classroom projects?

Flipped my classroom, expecting blooming minds, not a blooming circus. My "choose-your-own-adventure" project spawned cardboard solar panels, Morse code math raps, and interpretive photosynthesis dance moves (thanks, Kevin!). Did everyone learn? Probably not like I planned, but maybe like they were born to: Timmy with sock puppet science, Sarah rapping her way to equations, and Kevin...well, Kevin learned gravity hurts when desks become pirate ships. So, educators, embrace the flipped flop! Let your classroom be a Big Top of learning, where everyone juggles their own understanding, and sock puppets steal the show. Just wear a helmet for Kevin's pirouettes. Trust me.

Especially In-Class Flipped Learning may help teachers start great conversations with students on one-on-one or small groups. In my classes, every student is busy; they either watch a video, or solve the exercise set at the end of each video. Hence I have nothing to do; I don't teach in front of the class, and students work on their own. So, I walk around. I monitor their progress. I answer their questions. I help them identify their mistakes and guide them toward the correct answers. Sometimes we have great mathematical discussions, so that I stop the class and turn it into a class discussion. In-Class Flipping also promotes student agency; they feel that the responsibility of learning is on them, rather than me.

Flipped classrooms create a strong relationship with teachers allowing for students to feel comfortable speaking to them without overstepping the boundaries. They are also beneficial to learning because students create a strong dialogue with their peers improving critical thinking and problem solving skills-- which allows them to work through problems together rather than being told they are "right" or "wrong." It also keeps students extremely engaged especially in a world where so many students are stuck to their phones.

Differentiation is an important aspect of Flipped Classroom. It is not merely an opportunity to address and serve the needs of each student, it is also a requirement for students who need more support than others. When it comes to tasks assigned to students to complete at home, the main problem is that they generally lack guidance, which creates frustration and stress. My humble suggestion is to implement In-Class Flipping, where HW is not a required and frequent activity. When students gradually grow into independent learners, they will feel the need to study at home as well. Certainly, students willing to study at home is much preferable than doing Hw for the sake of grades and/or the fear of being told off in front of others.

Flipped classrooms can be great opportunities to introduce real world learning. The challenges however can impact those who need accommodations. Flipped classrooms are best done in a form of moderation and done with advanced notice from the teacher. For example, putting the schedule on the syllabus or a calendar for students to always see. It is also important to recognize that it takes a while for students who have never been in a flipped classroom to adapt to the new structure so setting rules (ie do not interrupt, no phones, ect.) can be a great way to keep structure for the students.

One step further to PBL is Concept-Based Learning. This is not new, yet it is not widespread across schools. In Concept-Based Learning, there are a number of concepts to visit during the school year. For each concept, there are several activities that serve the learning objectives of each subject. Students work on these activities and achieve the learning objectives within real life context. For example, imagine Year 8 students learning Ocean for one half term. They will learn the subjects of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, as well as Maths. On the other hand, Social Sciences may be involved in the scope of one particular ocean, say Indian Ocean, for example.

It may take a significant amount of time and effort, as well as teamwork when it comes to designing PBL Projects. However, with the help of AI, PBL projects can be designed with less time and effort. The team will only check and modify the outputs of AI as per the needs, which is also less time-consuming. Adding student voice into planning may increase the engagement level of projects.

While implementing my In-Class Flipped Mastery Method, my main concern is Mastery Learning. Hence, if I notice that a student has gaps in their knowledge base, I stop them working on the current content and ask them to work on the content they need to improve. Upon "filling" the gap, student then returns to working on the current content. On the other hand, some students may seem to work on the content on a more advanced level. Upon completing their work on the current content, I ask them to work on a related content from upper years and monitor their progress. This way, significantly less time and effort is wasted, compared to traditional methods.

I believe the main purpose of flipped classrooms is to encourage collaboration and help students develop skills they will use in the real world (or at least get comfortable with the setting). First, make sure that the instructor can see all of the students this allows for the teachers to make sure everyone is adhering to the rules of the classroom and it ensures that the instructor is able to see if students are stuck or need assistance. Second, make sure that instructors know what accommodations need to met to structure the class in the best way possible. At the end of a class taking fifteen minutes to go over what was discussed and recap the information is a great way to ensure that no student is being misinformed.

Apart from the teachers are required to prepare the materials ahead, students themselves are also required to read up on the provided learning materials and finish up the tutorial practice questions before coming to class to have a fruitful discussion with their peers and the lecturer/professor. In this case, in a flipped classroom learning approach, the lecturer/professor will act as the facilitator to facilitate the seminar and on further helping the students to learn better and strengthening/crystallizing the concepts on each topic covered within the module itself.

Obviously teachers need to prepare the proper materials but in addition to that they need to have a plan and stick to it. When a flipped classroom works, it WORKS! Set rules, some of my favorites are, no phones (they can't be visible to me/the instructor), no laptops (unless an accommodation says otherwise), be on time (I had professors lock doors if we didn't inform them we were running late). While these rules can seem "harsh" to some but I have realized that no technology creates more engagement in the class even though students can be annoyed by it. It also increases the retention of the materials being discussed the locked door forces students to be accountable for their education and their communication (this is at the college level).