Flipping your Classroom... For Parents

 Have you ever looked at your child’s homework assignment and panicked because you had no idea how to complete the work? You are not alone!

A tool that I have used in my classroom to help parents is sometimes referred to as a flipped classroom. In a traditional flipped classroom, the students are given in assignment to complete before they receive instruction. An instructional video is often provided with the assignment. A helpful parent resource involves sending a video of the activity home to parents. For example, when I was student teaching many students were struggling with long division. As a result, many parents were emailing that they were struggling to help their students complete the assignments because parents were also struggling with long division. In response, I created a video that just quickly demonstrated the division process that we used in class. 

Now, you might be asking yourself why can't parents just look up a video online? Aren't there already hundreds of resources available? There are several reasons why it is valuable for you as a teacher to create an instructional video for parents. First, it allows the parents to hear from you directly as the teacher. This forms a connection and encourages them to reach out and partner with you in educating students. Second, we all know that there are hundreds of ways to teach the same thing. Many parents just want to be sure that they are teaching their child in the same format that is being taught in school. This is an extremely common concern that can be easily alleviated by sending home an instructional video. Quick instructional videos build confidence and empower parents to take part in the homework process. Lastly, it is beneficial for you to send and create your own video because then you can fully administrate the video. This means that you don't have to worry about any copyright issues, advertisements, the video being taken down, or anything else that would prevent parents from viewing the instructional tool. 

I would suggest that you always make quick videos that are very clear. A parent does not want to watch a 30-minute demonstration to help their child complete an assignment. You can even record a quick version for parents who just need a quick refresher and then a longer version for parents who might need more of the details. Either way, the video should not be longer than five minutes. If you find that students and parents are often struggling with homework this is a valuable tool that can help you partner with parents.