Laura Brogdon is a very special Math Teacher. It’s not only the love, support and appreciation from her students, parents and colleagues that sets her apart, but also her innovative teaching technique, which she calls the “flipped” classroom. What this means is that the work she and her students do in class and the work they do at home is reversed. Her students watch lessons at home on video and they do the work that would normally classify as homework in class.
The rationale is that in this type of arrangement, students have the opportunity to work in pairs and ask for explanations from Brogdon when they struggle with something. The method is particularly welcomed by parents who may not be home or able to help their child with their geometry homework. The “flipped” classroom has turned out to be very popular with students, as well as very successful, which is evidenced by their improved test scores.
Brogdon claims it works for students of all levels, since they can watch the material at home, at their own pace and as many times as they need to, in order to properly comprehend the lesson. This cuts down on time spent repeating things in class and allows for more time for explanations on homework.
Due to the overwhelmingly positive feedback on her teaching method, Brogdon was presented with the Educating Excellence Award from Perceptive Software and the University of Kansas School of Engineering. She was nominated by her students and their parents, as well as administrators and fellow educators.
It is important to recognize the efforts and outstanding results obtained by brilliant educators like Brogdon, a Math Teacher who has managed to take a difficult subject like geometry and make it a little bit easier for her students to understand. She said her students really seem to enjoy her method and show much more enthusiasm in class.