A story on the concept of the “flipped” classroom featuring students and a teacher from a math class at Islander Middle School, aired early today, Monday, Nov. 11, on Q13 Fox television.

The link to the video: http://q13fox.com/2013/11/11/mercer-island-students-flipping-for-flipped-classrooms/#axzz2kGXJTBtO

Instead of lecturing during class, Islander Middle School math teacher Donna Johnston records a video lesson for her students to watch at home, then her students spend class time doing ‘homework’ on the lesson the next day. If students have questions while watching the lecture, they can pause or rewind the lesson, or use their iPad to write questions in the margin, Johnston explains. In the Q13 segment, Johnston says she has seen good results. Her students are more confident and scoring better on tests.

In the Mercer Island School District, all 8th graders are issued an iPad. Students can log on to the district’s website and pull up lessons from home.

The idea of a flipped classroom focuses on learning a new concept the night before it is introduced as homework, then doing exercises in the classroom with the teacher during the school day.