Sixth Form College

BTEC College of the Year 2018

Flipped learning and metacognitionA case study from Biology A-level

Tanja Hofmanntanja.hofmann@suffolkone.ac.uk

Sixth Form College

BTEC College of the Year 2018

The challenge1) Enhanced skills requirement in ‘new’

Biology A-level specification2) Content heavy – limited time in

lessons!3) Students come with little resilience

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Workshop outline• Introduction to ‘flipped learning’ and ‘metacognition’

• Advantages of these approaches• Examples of application in A-level Biology• Impact on student learning and progress

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

What is ‘flipped learning’?

• Some of the content that was traditionally classworkbecomes homework

• Homework is no longer solely used to assess previous learning but for students to gain new knowledge and understanding independently

• ‘Flipping’ needs structured preparation, consistency and skills teaching to give students the tools to be effective

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Why ‘flip’?

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Why ‘flip’ - II?

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

CreateGenerating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing thingsDesigning, constructing, planning, producing, inventing.EvaluateJustifying a decision or course of actionChecking, hypothesising, critiquing, experimenting, judgingAnalyseBreaking information into parts to explore understandings and relationshipsComparing, organising, deconstructing, interrogating, findingApplyUsing information in another familiar situationImplementing, carrying out, using, executing

UnderstandExplaining ideas or conceptsInterpreting, summarising, paraphrasing, classifying, explainingRememberRecalling informationRecognising, listing, describing, retrieving, naming, finding

Why ‘flip’?• It frees up TIME in class!

• It allows you to change the focus of the lesson from delivering ‘easy’ content to higher skills development and differentiation

• It develops students into independent learners

Flipped homework content‘easy stuff’C/D grade?

Class focus ‘hard stuff’A*/A /B grade?

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Skills development

• What are the skills your students need to develop into successful learners in general?

• What are the skills they need to attain highly in examinations in your subject?

Critical thinking

Analysis & evaluation

Application of knowledge(new context)

Mathematical skills

Problem-solving

Persistence

Evaluation

Comprehension

Resilience

Independent learning

Confidence

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Practical issues – ‘flipped’ learning

• What if students do not complete the homework?

• What if students do not ‘get it’?

Will it be lots of work?

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Programme of work structure

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What is metacognition?

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Evidence of impactMetacognition • EEF teaching & learning toolkits

• EEF guidance report

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Metacognitive skills cycle PlanningWhat is the nature of the task?What is my goal?What kind of information and strategies do I need?How much time and resources do I need?

MonitoringDo I have a clear understanding of what I am doing?Does the task make sense to me?Am I reaching my goals?Do I need to make changes?EvaluatingHave I reached my goal?What worked?What didn’t work?Would I do things differently the next time?

Activate prior knowledge –strategies of how to approach the task

Self test understanding and progress

Self evaluate effectiveness of strategies

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Time for metacognitive skills• Tell students about metacognition and model the

processes in your own work – in class

• Teach students about the types of strategies they can use to learn & study – in class and homework

• Help students to learn to regulate their thinking as they work on a task and to self evaluate – in class and homework

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Effective use of time• At home - provide students with tools to learn ‘easy’ content• In class - focus on assessment for learning, differentiated

activities to hone metacognitive & higher order thinking skills (needed to access higher grades in examinations!)

Resources and strategies• At home:

• Study booklets (including activities using, e.g. textbook, handouts, electronic resources) to structure students ‘flipped’ independent ‘easy’ homework

• In class:• ‘Tracker’ tests to check homework completion and understanding• Activities and modelling of metacognitive and ‘higher’ skills• Exam-wrappers to evaluate and develop metacognitive skills

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Study booklets

RECALL

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Study booklets

RECALL

RECALL -describe a process

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Study booklets

Teaching support material for ‘flipped’ work • use what is out there (2:56)• or make your own?

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Tracker tests – Monitoring - self testing

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Progress tracker

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Exam technique and skills‘Easy’ recall content

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Modelling exam technique and skills

‘Hard’ skills based questions

Planning -activate prior knowledge

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Modelling exam technique and skills

‘Hard’ skills based questions

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Class activitydifferentiation/ monitor

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Class activity – differentiation/monitor

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Class activitydifferentiation/ monitor

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Assessments –• Regular topic based exam paper assessments

• Apply knowledge and skills

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Exam wrappers Evaluation –self evaluation of effectiveness

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

Reflections• Feedback from students:

• Great to know in advance what topics will be covered in lessons

• Booklets are a great revision resource• Too much work/too hard

• Feedback from teachers:• More time for exam practice and skills development• Students have better problem-solving skills and resilience

Sixth Form College

BTEC College of the Year 2018

Evidence of impactFlipped learning & metacognition 2018/19 – Year 12 Biology

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mock1

8 9 10 11 12 13 Mock2

Fig. 1. Mean grade difference compared to control group relative to ALPS in fifteen standardised A-level Biology assessments

Double intervention group

Assessment

Mea

n pr

ogre

ss g

rade

diff

eren

ce

Single intervention group: Green bars (intervention topic assessment)Orange bars (non-intervention topic assessment)Grey bar (all topics combined)

• Year 12 - On average 1/3 grade greater progress towardsALPS grade

• General outcomes – Year 13, 25% above NA (A*-C), 24% (A*-B)

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BTEC College of the Year 2018

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