By Caitlin Fertal CFertal@News-Herald.com @NHCaitlin

Students in ninth- and 10th-grade biology classes at Wickliffe High School are getting a taste of a flipped classroom.

While the idea is still new, seven-year teacher Marlana Mucciarone has started to introduce lecture videos for her students to watch at home, allowing her more time for individualized instruction during class.

Subject mastery is important for each student to gain, Mucciarone said, noting that with traditional education, oftentimes students advance to the next subject in a class before they are truly ready.

The idea of moving some of the lecture to the home provides time for Mucciarone to work with students individually and help those who may be falling behind, without holding back students who are advancing.

She has done a good deal of research online, learning from other teachers who have already successfully flipped their classrooms, she said.

For now, Mucciarone is still teaching a traditional classroom and adding the video lectures online for students to watch at home. She said she hopes to implement a more solid program next year.

"It frees up more classroom time to focus on their strengths and weaknesses instead of yapping at them all day long with just pounding information down their throats," she said. "(It allows you) to have differentiated instruction within a classroom of 25 to 30 different learners and be able to meet all of their needs instead of shooting for the middle."

Student feedback has been positive so far.

Mucciarone's ninth-grade honors biology class has expressed interest in watching the videos, some multiple times, she said.

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Wickliffe High School biology teacher working toward flipped classroom