How to Make a Weekly Starter Video Work for Your Class
By Ashley White
Making the flip
With over seven years of experience in online learning, switching to the Flipped Classroom Model is one key ingredient to revolutionizing my online classroom. Visit the Flipped Classroom Model blog to learn the basics of the FCM.
The weekly starter
In a flipped classroom, students start the week by watching a weekly starter video with an assigned quiz since videos are an easy access point for online educators to deliver new information to students. This video can be assigned either Monday of the week or on Friday of the previous week. The podcast, SYS Presents: Adventures in Online Education, outlines how the flipped classroom model uses the idea of “I do, we do, you do” to frame learning targets in the week. The weekly starter video is the “I do” portion that includes the direct instruction for the week and is critical for flipping your class.
What you shouldn’t do
Before we outline how the weekly starter video can work for your class and what to put in the video, let us talk about what teachers should not do. The video is not most effective when it is used as a weekly overview. Though a weekly overview is nice, teachers know that time on task creates learning opportunities for students, so we want students to be working and learning during the weekly starter video and not skipping over it because it is deemed “easy” or “not critical” for being successful in class.
The only other rule for the weekly starter is that it should not be too long. As ambiguous as that sounds, it is important.
If your video is beyond the max suggested video length, I highly recommend re-recording it. Keeping your video short will ensure that students can digest the content.
Content is key
Students should know the learning targets for a given week and you can use these to help prepare content for the weekly starter video.
Here are some guiding questions to help you determine what content to add:
What vocabulary or new ideas will need to be explicitly taught in order for students to master the learning targets?
What misconceptions may students have that can be redirected during the video?
What visuals or quick examples can help make the learning targets concrete?
Teachers may use Google Slides in the video as a visual to show examples and learning targets.
Level up your weekly starter quiz
A weekly starter quiz is a fantastic formative assessment for teachers! If your weekly starter video has examples and direct instruction, students can use the quiz as a way to reflect on and practice the learning targets.
If a teacher’s weekly starter video was pre-teaching regrouping for math and showed some examples, the quiz could possibly give students an additional practice problem to do on a whiteboard at home and upload a photo. The teacher can see what corrections need to be made and which students may need more intervention later in the week.
Quizzes for a weekly starter could be an open response, video response, or a reflection that are directly related to the learning targets. In the online classroom, time is limited with students, so each assessment is important.
Integrate classroom routines
Online teachers who use the flipped classroom model often utilize their weekly starter video as a way to integrate common class routines. Some ways that teachers offer consistency and routine include:
Using the same template all year for slides shown on the weekly starter videos
Utilizing a reflection question in the quiz as a way for students to check in with the teacher on a weekly basis
Having one slide that is a weekly overview or a “must turn in” box (keep this weekly overview very short)
Having a game or fun visual that students have to find in each weekly starter video
Revisit skills again
The weekly starter video is an important foundational part of flipping a classroom, but it is not the only time teachers offer direct instruction. The weekly starter gives students a way to learn new vocabulary and content for the week as well as practice it in the quiz, but also gives students time to process. Typically, the weekly starter video and quiz are the only assignments for the day for this reason.
Later in the week, teachers can integrate short mini-lessons in video form in assignment instructions, assign other practice opportunities, and, depending on the school set up, have students in live class sessions. With a well designed weekly starter video and quiz, most students will be reading to go deeper with the learning targets throughout the week which frees up class time for students to collaborate and engage deeply with learning.
To learn more about the flipped classroom model and how this can be adapted to your unique setting, contact SYS Education.
Ashley has taught for over fourteen years, half being in online education. Ashley’s literacy specialist background helps her understand the need for more differentiation and direct literacy instruction for all students and she works hard to build that into her curriculum. At SYS, she serves other teachers through her instructional coaching and is passionate about supporting teachers in developing the best possible learning experiences for their students.