This is my first year flipping my class and I had vowed to not lecture this year. I have done small five minute lectures, but I was not willing to do a period long lecture. Well, recently I caved in. It is really not my fault. I have been sick with pneumonia and I have not been able to make any new videos. The nice thing about the videos was that while I was sick the videos I had previously made kept my students from falling behind.
Anyway, while I was sick I couldn't make any new videos. I really had no other option so I figured I would fall back on my old friend PowerPoint. Oh my gosh...what a nightmare! I hated every second of it. I know I am not a bad lecturer. In fact, I have had many former students tell me that they enjoy my lectures. Regardless, I had so many heads on the desk and so many students day dreaming within the first ten minutes and I was counting the minutes when I would shut up.
This was the first time I had a student put his head down on his desk all year. No matter how interesting you can be most students are going to start losing interest at some point. Heck, I remember falling a sleep in my college lectures. I love chemistry but I was so over exhausted there was no way I was going to stay awake.
I enjoy the challenge of creating the videos. I try to keep them between 10-15 minutes in length. This really helps me to stay focused and to the point. Often, in class I would get sidetracked or a student's question would lead me down a totally new path.
After my lecture, I couldn't believe that I use to teach this way everyday. It was exhausting in a totally unproductive way to teach. The flipped class is also very exhausting but at the end of the day you feel more accomplished. After lecturing the entire period, I have no idea who knows what. At the end of the day, in a flipped class, I have a great idea of who knows what because I had the time to talk to my students and answer their questions. I feel like I have a better understanding of how well students are doing.
I hope I never have to lecture again!
Thanks,
Dan
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