Week 2: Agency

agen·cy

 noun \ˈā-jən(t)-sē\

plural agen·cies

Definition of AGENCY

1

a : the office or function of an agent

b : the relationship between a principal and that person's agent

2

: the capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power : operation

3

: a person or thing through which power is 

exerted or an end is achieved : 

4

: an establishment engaged in doing business for another <an advertising agency>

5

: an administrative division (as of a government) <the agencyfor consumer protection

So far the classroom is barely flipping, I'm really struggling with curriculum pacing mixed with practice, application, and labs. There isn't really "homework" anymore...just work.

Lack of solid design, direction, and structure hurts my chances at a successful flip. By success I mean the biggest thing most teachers I know are curious about. Will the students watch the lessons at home?

Most students continue to do stuff in house...which is not what I hoped for, but it's early.  What this in class practice and experiment with unit pacing has produced is a high amount of student agency. They regularly choose what to do next based on personal progress.  After our initial, inquiry experiment that lets them feel what we are about to get into (example:  inertia olympics), the week then opens up into a list of objectives, with assessments coming mid week or end of week (or both) depending on the size of the idea.

There are early signs that students have the potential to work the system if I could ever figure out how to lead them through it. Their video lessons involve an intro with examples of things they should know or be able to do already. Then reminded that if they do not understand this base idea, to follow a link to the precious lesson.

And it worked...students were regularly making the right decision about what to be doing...which is awesome by the way. When they start a day based on their needs, they respond better to peer and teacher support. They make better decisions about what to work on after the lesson and who to work with.

So far I cannot claim that my students are doing more work, or if they are it isn't noticeable. What I see without a doubt, is student doing more of the right work...and my friday assessment results reflected that. I need to share this with my class and share that this first step...good decision making and self directed progress is a first step. The next move is to utilize home access to increase support time in class and take it to the next level.

More on this topic on my post about a differenciated suprise!