The Latest Trends in Education

Flipped Classrooms

The main idea behind a flipped classroom is that students do their lesson at home and their homework at school.  Lessons come in the format of recorded lectures and examples that students may watch as many times as needed to understand the concepts presented.  Then students come prepared to class with the lesson in mind to do their homework.  This allows the teacher to assist and guide students as necessary as they complete their work, solving the common issue of not having proper help when encountering difficulties completing homework at home.  The prerecorded lectures can be created by the teacher or resources like the Khan Academy can be used.

Mathematics, science, and social sciences are leading the surge of flipped classrooms more so than English & Language Arts classes. 

Flat Classrooms

Imagine a classroom with no walls.  There would be no obstacles preventing students from seeing and being a part of the outside world.  This is the main idea behind flat classrooms: by removing barriers students can interact and learn from the world.  According to the Flat Classroom Project, the aim of this new approach hopes to create "internationally-aware schools [that] embrace a holistic and constructivist educational approach to work collaboratively with others around the world in order to create students who are competitive and globally-minded."  In other words by utilizing current technology, classrooms around the world can work together to help build students' academic knowledge while also building cultural and global knowledge.

Daily 5 and CAFE

The Daily 5 and CAFE (Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, Extend Vocabulary) are quickly being implemented in elementary reading and language arts classes, and Daily 5 Math is recently catching on as well.  The main idea behind Daily 5 is to not only build proficient students but independent students too.  Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, creators of the Daily 5, state that it is "more than a management system or a curriculum framework - it is a structure that helps students develop the daily habits of reading, writing, and working independently that will lead to a lifetime of literacy independence."

To do this, the Daily 5 uses literacy centers that students rotate to, and at each center students are empowered by different choices to practice various literacy skills (as determined by the teacher).

Other Trends?

What other trends are you hearing about?  What other trends are you using?  Do you have a flipped or a flat classroom?  Do you use Daily 5/CAFE?  Please share your experiences in the comments section below.