11 February 2019
What? This week, following 4 days of flipped preparation linked to lessons on developing ideas in creative writing, I decided to give my boys a writing task. Because my inquiry was built around boosting academic performance, developing ideas moves students from achieving the criteria towards being more convincing and perceptive (skills required for Merit and Excellence in writing). Each flipped learning activity exposed the class to a short text with one or two clearly identifiable ideas. The flipped task was to watch/read the text and identify what they thought was the most prominent idea as well as justify how they came to that answer. The next day's lesson started with small group discussions around the ideas that were identified and then whole class discussions exploring each idea in greater depth. These were plotted visually on the board as subheadings to the idea, with further elaborations and evidence attached, going deeper and deeper into the ideas.
So what? The most important and interesting aspect observed was how each day, the group and class discussions were on task and most of the class was engaged in the conversations. I observed that each groups' members felt confident enough to share what they had observed about the text because they had watched/read it and came to class feeling knowledgable and prepared. This openness to the learning then lent itself naturally to task-related discussions and deeper thinking. More boys than the 'usual ones' who share every day were prepared to share beyond their small groups which was great. I did notice that if the flipped learning involved reading a text as opposed to watching a video, there was less enthusiasm amongst them the next day. Student voice at the end of the week revealed that if they had to read something, it was seen as too much effort and less than half the class did the reading. They admitted to finding out from a friend (who had done the reading) the next day just before class what the reading was about because they didn't want to get into trouble for not doing their homework. 90% watched the videos, however, and this was directly reflected in the excitement to share and work the next day.
This can be explained in that although what the two different text types (visual and written) were exposing them to and getting them to think about was the same in essence, (in fact you could argue that the ideas in the written texts were richer due to the natural development and description that text type lends itself to), the boys perceived watching a short excerpt of a popular TV series as entertainment rather than hard work, which reading felt like. Some also said that being able to visualise things was easier. This could be because so much of their time as youngsters is spent analysing and interpreting visual texts in the various form of technology they interact with on a daily basis. Boys explained that reading is a chore unless they have specifically chosen the text themselves. "Visual images are acknowledged as becoming increasingly important in the reception and creation of contemporary texts" (Avgerinou 2009: & Felton 2008). In 1994, W. J. T Mitchell used the term pictorial turn to suggest that western philosophy was adopting a more visual understanding of the world. "Visual images can appear to offer immediate access to ideas, experiences, and feelings." (Callow, J. 2010).
Now what? For the rest of my flipped learning sessions, I plan to do away with the written text component (unless it is supplementary to the primary visual text). I will leave the readings for in-class activities once prior knowledge has been established through the flipped learning and in-depth class discussion. I will still use and rely on written texts, but with a different focus and purpose in mind. Written texts will serve to model expectations to the students of what their own writing should look like rather than be used to introduce ideas. Written texts will be used as a tool to annotate ideas, concepts, techniques etc.
This reminds me of the mindset of the early majority who, only once something has been proven as necessary and important, will they adopt a new approach or initiative. The visual text will establish the importance and create buy-in in a way that requires little personal investment (effort).
This has been a very eye-opening week!
References:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281069822_I'm_way_more_interested_Using_visual_texts_to_engage_students_from_low_SES_backgrounds
Finlay, L. (2009). Reflecting on reflective practice. Practice-based Professional Learning Centre, Open University. Retrieved from http ://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/sites/www.open.ac.uk.opencetl/files/files/ecms/web-content/Finlay-(2008)-Reflecting-on-reflective-practice-PBPL-paper-52.pdf
Evidence of small group discussions based on visual text 'Brown Brother' - Youtube video
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