DL Spotlight: Flipped Instruction with Jarad Clarke

Jarad Clarke is an Algebra teacher at Haltom High School, and for the past year and a half, Jarad has been using blended learning strategies with his students. We recently had the opportunity sit down with Mr. Clarke and ask him a few questions about his experience with one of the instructional practices he has adopted, flipped instruction. 

Question:  Jarad, what do you like about flipping instruction?

Jarad:   Flipped instruction helps me personalize learning by meeting each student’s needs. If a student has already mastered the material, they will be able to practice more difficult problems or move on to the next topic. If a student needs a lesson to be retaught, then they have the control to do so.

Question: Why did you choose to use Kahn Academy to flip your instruction?

Jarad:   I chose Khan Academy several reasons. First, was because it has content for all of the TEKS that I cover in Algebra I.  Second,  Kahn Academy has high-quality videos that do an excellent job of explaining new concepts. Lastly, I can give students various problems so they will be able to work with each other on different problems to master the mathematical processes.

Question:  You have already implemented several digital tools and strategies, what plans do you have to improve mastery?

Jarad: I have just rearranged my room so that it is more conducive to use one-on-one and small group intervention strategies to give more time to students that need a little extra help grasping new concepts. I am planning to continue to use Khan Academy for flipped instruction and to reteach concepts not yet mastered by students as well as teaching advanced concepts for those students that have demonstrated mastery of the current concept. One thing I plan to do differently next school year is to introduce flipped learning to my students right at the beginning of the school year. Besides Kahn Academy, I have heard several teachers talk about how much they like Quizizz for pre and formative assessments. I am hoping that Quizizz will help me get a quick data snapshot of my student’s understanding of the concepts covered. Over the next couple of months, I am also planning to use Goformative for STAAR review. Goformative will also be used to lead small groups and for full class sessions to practice working towards mastery of process TEKS.