Flip

me

Mrs. Burton
Photo Taken By David Burton

My Teaching Philosophy

I believe that all students can learn, but not all students learn in the same way. I also believe that the activities that take place in the classroom must prepare students for real-world situations. High school students need to be challenged, but they also need to be motivated which means that high school classes must have a balance between appropriate rigor and fun and exciting activities. Today's high school student is not the same student as he or she was ten or even five years ago. I have found that the key to student success is maintaining a fast-paced, technology enhanced classroom where cooperative learning and effective teacher input is the foundation. Inquiry-based learning paired with 21st century learning results in students who are better prepared for college and careers.

My Story

I am currently a French teacher at Francis Howell Central High School. The 2013-2014 school year will mark my 14th year teaching. I am an avid "tech-lover", and I am always discovering new ways of using technology with my students in order to reinforce the material. In 2011, I came across the YouTube Video created by Aaron Sams and Jonathan Bergmann. Instantly, I was intrigued. Immediately, I began brainstorming ways that I could begin to flip my French 2 students. With such a large curriculum to cover, and students of varying ability, the flipped concept seemed to be a way help my students to succeed. I started slowly and made several mistakes along the way (see the article that I wrote for Administrator's Magazine), but eventually I perfected the routine and started to see positive results. Students who had never taken any interest in doing school work, were coming to class prepared! They loved that they could watch the videos with their phones and were excited to do their homework. I had found something that worked!

Let Me Help

After three semesters of flipped teaching, I feel that I have successfully implemented a teaching method that works. My students come to class confident, they spend their time with me engaged in meaningful real-world practice activities. All the while, their assessment scores have improved.

As the first flipped teacher in the Francis Howell School district and an out-spoken advocate of flipped teaching, I have provided hours of professional development to help teachers in my district to also successfully create a flipped classroom. It is my willingness to try something new and my dedication to helping others that helped me to earn the recognition of becoming Francis Howell School District's Teacher of the Year. My story has been featured in several newspapers and magazines, and because of that I have helped teachers across the country to "flip"

I would love to answer your questions: SEND ME AN EMAIL


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