All schools across the globe have implemented initiatives to close the achievement gap within the special education population. Laws and requirements such as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) have required all school districts to have inclusive special education programs for students with disabilities. These requirements have allowed students with disabilities to have the right to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) despite their disability label within their Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). With that being said, the achievement gap amongst students with disabilities and their typically developing peers remains a concern.
Through research, I quickly discovered that there are many studies that have been conducted regarding the flipped classroom model. However, there is a substantial lack of research with regard to the special education population in the flipped classroom model. Therefore, the purpose of my study was to determine which instructional strategy or strategies were most effective in meeting the needs of students with mild/moderate disabilities pertaining to mathematics. Originally, I was going to just compare the traditional classroom versus the flipped classroom. However, due to COVID-19, I decided to expand my research and include data from the remote learning model.
For my research project, I chose students who were in my inclusion and direct classes, a total of twenty-four students. Direct classes are composed of students on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), who require special designed instruction that is slower paced than an inclusion setting. Two dependent variables were used: individual summative assessment scores and a survey. The individual summative assessment scores were taken in three phases: three units from the traditional classroom setting, three units using the flipped classroom, and two units from the remote learning model. For the flipped and remote learning models, I created math instructional videos for the students to watch and utilize. The second dependent variable was a survey that was given following the final classroom model, remote learning, and inquired four questions: 1) Which instructional model did you prefer: traditional classroom, flipped classroom learning, or remote learning? 2) What were the benefits and drawbacks of traditional classroom learning? 3) What were the benefits and drawbacks of flipped classroom learning? 4) What were the benefits and drawbacks of remote learning?
By: Vanessa Rehkopf
Flipped Classroom Podcast
Read Aloud