When the AP board changed its expectations for student assessment on the AP Biology exam, Brandon Herder did a flip. He flipped his classroom.

If you aren’t familiar, a flipped classroom looks different than a traditional classroom. The teacher no longer stands in front of the class leading a discussion, but instead moves content that can be front-loaded at home. I wrote about it in more detail in a recent post hereIn Herder’s case, the AP Biology teacher at the Cannon School in Concord, North Carolina switched up his curriculum, giving students ways to get in deep with the material they were studying. Gone were the days of simple regurgitation of a lot of facts. Students are expected to demonstrate higher-level, critical thinking. They need to solve complicated problems, showing how they are synthesizing concepts into new ideas.

We talk about Herder’s flipped science class in today’s episode.

Links Mentioned in this Episode

• Haiku Learning (Digital Learning Platform
• Brandon Herder’s Vimeo Page
• Camtasia Screen Capture Software
• Blue Yeti Microphones
• Wacom Graphics Tablets

Teach for 2020 is a podcast where teachers have conversations about the tools they use in the process of great teaching. Each episode the host, a middle school teacher, talks to a different educator about the role of technology in their classroom, and how it enhances the learning process. These educators will come from a variety of cities and school districts, and each will have something unique to share.

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