I hope that everyone has enjoyed their Summer so far! For those of you who do not know me, my name is Steve Hartnett & I teach 8th Grade American History at Elizabeth Forward Middle School. For more information about myself, please check out the About section of this website, or click this link! I wanted to share some information about American History class and provide a preview for the 2017-2018 school year.
I have embedded the 2017-2018 Classroom Syllabus for American History Class below. Please feel free to review the Syllabus at your leisure. If you have any questions or comments about the 2017-2018 Classroom Syllabus, you can send an email to [email protected]. The Syllabus provides a glimpse into Team 8-1 American History Class and some of the topics/activities that are covered throughout the school year! If you look at the 2017-2018 Classroom Syllabus, you will notice that this school year will feature Flipped Learning in American History Class! Flipped Learning or Flipped Classrooms are not a new idea in the realm of education, and I am very excited to showcase this teaching/learning technique. What is Flipped Learning & What are the benefits of Flipped Learning? I will attempt to answer these questions below: Flipped Learning or the Flipped Classroom moves the direct instruction away from the group space/classroom. This normally means that students watch & interact with an instructional video prior to coming to class. When students come to the classroom, they will engage in various types of activities that allow students to practice learned concepts and use higher-order thinking in class (Bergmann & Sams 2015). Shifting the direct instruction/lecture of class with activities has several benefits (Bergmann & Sams 2015):
With that being said, let me provide an example of what American History Class will look like for the upcoming school year. Mr. Jourdan Englert, the American History Teacher for Team 8-2, and I will be creating the video content for students. These videos will be relatively short in length and contain interactive features. All of the videos will be posted on eBackpack, Ed Puzzle, and our YouTube Channels. By using Ed Puzzle, Mr. Englert and I will know who has watched the video and who has not yet viewed the content. When students enter American History Class, a brief review of the video will take place and students can ask questions that they may have. From there, students will be provided choices on how to demonstrate their learning. Each student will have a "road map", where they will decide what activities to participate in. This will allow students who are struggling to grasp the material a chance to work on lower order thinking tasks, while students also providing challenges to students who are ready to perform the higher order thinking activities. I believe that the Flipped Classroom will bring positive change into my classroom. Each student moves at a flexible pace, which allows advanced students to get the challenges they need and provide extra support for struggling students. I also plan on making an XP Board where students will track the "experience points" they earn by completing certain activities. Students will have to earn a certain level of XP to take the exam at the end of each unit. As you can see, the 2017-2018 school year is going to be packed with a plethora of engaging activities for Team 8-1 & Team 8-2 Students! I am really looking forward to a productive and entertaining school year!
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Mr. Steve Hartnett
Mr. Hartnett will update the Room 212 Blog with classroom updates on a regular basis. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @ MrHartnett212 Archives
July 2019
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