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Iowa Park High School Teacher Flips Her Classroom Using Shakespeare In Bits After five years of teaching Shakespeare to students who only cared enough to ‘pass the test’ Iowa Park High School English teacher, Brandy Lowery, decided to try something different. When using Shakespeare In Bits the students’ attitudes completely changed; through increasing engagement and caring about the characters the overall grades of the class noticeably improved. Brandy Lowery has been an English teacher in Iowa Park High School for one year and has taught at other schools for five years. Iowa Park High School has 47 teachers teaching 586 students and the English department has a staff of five.This year Brandy taught 41 students in her college preparation classes and had very little time to cover a lot of material. Her work load included no less than two Shakespeare plays in one school year, one of which was Hamlet.This is a daunting task for any teacher, given students’ general unease

about tackling Shakespeare. It’s fair to say that Shakespeare is widely considered to be the most difficult, time consuming and challenging part of the English course. opportunities for professional fulfilment but often, it seems, things don’t work out like that when it comes to teaching Shakespeare. As so many other teachers have found, Shakespeare, with its antiquated origins and challenging language, frequently leads to students putting up mental barriers. Brandy describes her students’ attitudes to Shakespeare as, ‘doing enough to pass the test’. This lack of enthusiasm in her students is one of the main “ The students cared this year. Previously they only cared enough to get through it and finish the play but this year they cared what actually happened to Hamlet. Brandy Lowery reasons that she really wanted to use Shakespeare In Bits. “It is important to capture the student’s attention before they can really engage in learning I wanted to try something new and

I felt that my students would respond well to this platform,” says Brandy. And to Brandy’s delight, this year her students’ response was different; for the first time they cared about the characters. “They wanted to know what happened to Hamlet,” she said. The difference was not her group of students but how her students interacted with the play and its characters. Brandy Lowery Case Study 2 “ Teaching students who have a thirst for knowledge provides great Ms Lowery would routinely provide access to Shakespeare In Bits Live!the online 24/7 serviceto her students and assign some of the reading as homework. One of the main issues she faced was that some of her students did not have access to the internet at home. However, these students got access to Shakespeare In Bits Live! on school computers or in the homes of friends or family members. Each day her students would come to class with their reading assignment done. “This really was great; after a quick pop quiz,

we were ready to begin delving into the works. It saved so much time that could then be spent capturing the students’ attention with debate and conversation.” A normal day in Brandy’s class room started with a quick test on the reading that was assigned as homework. These tests were focused on basic comprehension of the act or scene in question. This was followed by a second reading in the class room with Shakespeare In Bits on the whiteboard; this was a more in-depth reading of the text focusing on themes and characters, and delving into the notes provided throughout every scene in Shakespeare In Bits. After the reading, the rest of the class was spent discussing and debating what they had just read. “I did consider trying to do other things but my class was responding to the format I was using. I felt if it’s not broken don’t fix it It One of the main issues she faced was that some of her students did not have access to the internet at home. However, these students got

access to Shakespeare In Bits Live! on school computers or in the homes of friends or family members. Each day her students would come to class with their reading assignment done. was such a simple formula, I was surprised by how well it worked and how simple it was to incorporate into my class room. There were no massive changes to the structure of my classes, which was also something the students responded to quite positively. It fit in pretty seamlessly with my lessons. Many of my students are looking forward to their next Shakespeare play and looking forward to using Shakespeare In Bits again.” Brandy Lowery Case Study 3 RESULTS The key for Brandy was the 24/7 access to Shakespeare In Bits available to her and her students. This access offered pleasantly surprising results: her students found it much easier to recall information. “They began to put faces to the names, which in previous years they have struggled with; they could also recall important events and scenes

without hesitation.” Another difference between this year and previous years was that it only took her two weeks to finish the play. Though a reduction in teaching time is great an even more desirable outcome would be to see an improvement in results and that is exactly what happened. “The majority of my students normally get Cs in Shakespeare but this year 80% of my class got As or Bs. It also freed up an extra week to concentrate on other aspects of the course. Another great selling point for us was the fact that students who were missing class due to school events or sports could follow along at home.” “It really helped to flip my class room from a traditional book in front of every student and following along, to my students reading at home and learning from each other as well as from me. My class became a hub of learning and caring.” “I think nowadays teachers can no longer place a book in front of students and expect them to pick it up. I think it is a teacher’s job

to find ways of capturing their students’ attention and making them want to learn and want to know what happens to the characters. She completed the play in 2 weeks. One week less than it would generally take her. Not only did it take less time she also found her students grades improved as well. Generally her students would get C’s in Shakespeare but this year 80% of the class got As and Bs. It is our job to remove the attitude of ‘learning just to pass the test’. That is what happened this year: the students’ attention was caught and as a result grades improved.” Brandy Lowery Case Study 4 ADVICE “If any teacher wanted to use Shakespeare In Bits I would give them the following advice: students who don’t have internet at home will find a way to study it, whether it is on a school computer or a computer at a friend’s house. This was one of my biggest concerns but it turned out to be a non-issue.” “I also learned from the students: on the first day we went

to a computer class room and all the students and I logged in and watched the YouTube clip; we then played with the resource to find everything that was offered. The students actually showed me some features I didn’t know about. This was a big help to all of us The last thing I would say is, trust your students to go home and to keep your students prepared.” When asked about her overall experience of using Shakespeare In Bits Brandy says that she would happily recommend the resource to any colleague as it improves her students’ comprehension, recollection and interest in the play: “It was so nice and encouraging to see Shakespeare brought back to life after he has been dead, in “ Assign the reading to homework, test it, recap in more depth and then discuss it with your class. My results really spoke for themselves this year. Brandy Lowery my class room, for so long. Shakespeare remains so relevant today; I think we must find ways of getting our students to engage with this

literary genius and Shakespeare In Bits is the best way to do this that I have seen.” Brandy Lowery Case Study 5 “ read the play you have assigned; also carry out a couple of quizzes