La Crosse math teachers evolving out, then into the classroom

Ketelhut, Novak utilize YouTube and classroom time

Technology is changing the way children learn.

Two math teachers in the La Crosse School District have started teaching in a flipped-classroom concept, where lessons are put on YouTube and the learning and understanding begins the next day.

The benefit is the pace at which each student learns. Traditional classroom only have one speed.

“The struggling students, they were just constantly lost, constantly asking if you could slow down and explain that again,” Longfellow Middle School math teacher Randy Ketelhut explained of a traditional style. “On the other hand, the advanced students, they were the ones who were incredibly bored, because they got it right away.”

With the flipped-classroom, students can work more in a group setting, getting one-on-one help but not just from the teacher.

“Students who struggle more can turn to the leaders in the group and get help from them,” Ketelhut said. “And the part that the kids enjoy most about it, it’s more of an active process, instead of just passively sitting and listening and writing everything down.”

Ketelhut says the concept has created more constructive time in the classroom, and the videos can also be used for review before tests.

La Crosse Schools superintendent Randy Nelson commended both Ketelhut and Lincoln Middle School’s Kim Novak for their hard work and dedication, to try and reach students.