Ridgefield math teacher flips classroom to improve learning

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Nam Nugyen, a math teacher at View Ridge Middle School, records class lectures for students to watch as homework so they can learn more in class sessions by flipping traditional classroom concepts on their head.

Nguyen introduced the Flipped Classroom concept to his math classes in the 2012-13 school year. Instead of lecturing to students during class time, he records lectures for his students to watch after school as homework while completing a Watch, Summarize, and Question worksheet (WSQ) or “wisk sheet” to help them pay attention. At the beginning of class the next day, Nguyen ensures students watched the video by providing a “starter” or quiz on the material. Following the starter, he guides students through more in-depth practice material while students discuss the concepts they observed the night before.     

Students who failed to watch the video can watch on in-class computers before school, during lunch, or during class when other students work on the day’s activities. In addition, Nguyen provides DVDs of the videos for students without computers or limited internet access at home.

The new approach gives students more time to investigate the coursework thoroughly.

“As a class, we spend more time talking about the math or working together to dive deeper into new material,” said Nguyen. “Flipped Classroom permits me to better differentiate with students by focusing on helping those students who need help while also challenging the more advanced students with more advanced work.”

Nguyen decided to test the Flipped Classroom concept after reading an article provided by Chris Griffith, principal of View Ridge Middle School.  

“I really wanted a better way to be accessible for my students outside of the classroom,” said Nguyen. “Email works great, but it doesn’t allow me to better explain the material.”

After reading the article, Nguyen joined an online forum for teachers to post success stories and ideas for improving techniques where he read about how to use and develop WSQ worksheets for students.

During the 2012-13 school year, Nguyen alternated between using Flipped Classroom and traditional classroom approaches, using Flipped Classroom for bigger and more difficult math concepts.     “Some weeks, we may have two videos while other times we may only have one video for every two weeks,” said Nguyen. “My students determine the pacing of the material, so I create videos for the more challenging curriculum to give students that extra support.”

Throughout the year, Nguyen checked in with students for feedback to ensure the videos remain engaging and useful.     



“I’ve learned that videos should not be longer than 10 minutes to keep students’ attention, though some of mine reach 15 minutes when I add in different examples,” said Nguyen. “For some reason, many students wanted to see me in the video, not just hear me, so I make sure I’m on-camera during the video lectures now.”

Nguyen finds using video shortens lectures by giving students the ability to control the speed without asking questions that may slow the rest of the class.

“What would normally take 45 minutes to present in class can be a 15-minute video as I’m able to get right into the heart of the content,” said Nguyen. “Students can pause, rewind, fast-forward, or stop the videos until they fully understand the objectives presented in the video.”

Students enjoy the new techniques.

“Flipped Classroom makes new math easier to learn,” said Seth Petersen, a seventh grader. “The videos help you answer the questions.”

Maddie Asquith, a seventh-grade classmate, agreed.

“It’s easier to comprehend what we’re learning because we can watch the video again to find answers to our questions,” she said. “I think this technique would work great in other subjects, too.”

In the coming school year, Ridgefield School District’s new Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy will enable students to bring internet-enabled devices into class to use with the district’s wireless access.

“My goal is for students to download my videos onto their own devices to use in class independently, similar to digital notes and pocket teacher editions,” said Nguyen. “Video lessons will better assist students who were absent, new students, or students who need the material repeated again by helping students not present in class to catch up and keep up with the rest of the class.”