 Aloha and welcome to Crossroads in Learning. I'm your host, Keisha King, and today I'm really, really excited about my guest who's joining us today. We're going to talk about something that I think should be interesting to all of you, especially if you are parents of school-aged children. Now, I have to ask you, have you heard of Flipping Houses? Of course you can. There's been a reality TV show about Flipping Houses, but just in case you haven't seen it, I want to tell you that Flipping Houses has to do with buying a house that might need a little TLC and fixing it up and then selling it, and hopefully you'll make a profit. Well, we're going to talk about something a little bit different from that today. We're going to talk about the flipped classroom. That's right, the flipped classroom. Now, we're not flipping the teacher upside down. We're not going into the classroom fixing it up and then leaving, but we are doing something a little bit different than traditional education. So joining me today is a former classroom teacher and now real estate agent, Keena Kinsley. Is it Kinsley? It's Nisley. Nisley. You know the silent K just kind of thrills you. Keena Nisley, thank you so much for joining us at Crossroads in Learning. How are you? I'm good. Thanks for having me. It's totally my pleasure. Thank you for being on with us. Now, I know that you want to jump right in and tell us what the flipped classroom is, but before you do that, why don't you tell us a little bit about your background in education? So I taught a math and science for a Dodia School in Heidelberg, Germany for 13 years. Now, what's a Dodio School? It is a Department of Defense. I taught military children who lived on a military base in Germany. It was their 13 years. So I got to touch a lot of children and experience them. And it's a little different there because you're in such a small, tight little community. You see the kids at the shop at, you see them at the commissary, you see the kids everywhere. So they really become family. They're your kids. And I still is kind of cool now that I'm friends with Facebook and on Facebook with a lot of them. That's awesome. So yeah. Okay. So 13 years as an educator working for the Department of Defense and that was in Germany. So did you teach in German? I didn't. I taught in English and all the kids spoke English. Okay. We did have some dual citizens where dad would be, your mom would be an American and they were married to a German. And so that was interesting too, different cultures. Yeah. Yeah. I'm sure there's a lot of learning that would take place in that environment regardless. And so was teaching your first career? It was. It was. I was a mom first and then I needed a job and I wanted to have a job where I could still be with my kids. Okay. It was kind of cute because I still think my older daughter swears I worked part-time. She was always at school while I was at work and then they would come back to the classroom. So she used to tell me, well, you only work part-time, mom. But it was a full-time job. Okay. Wonderful. So now are there schools on the military base about the same as a standard public school anywhere else? They are, in a sense. They do have more funding. So we had more computers, more technology than most public schools just because they do get more funding or they did. Well, I don't know how it works on the military base, but I'm happy to say that or I'm happy that you had the experience to have more technology at your fingertips. So for 13 years you were able to do that. And tell us about what it was like teaching in generals. Let's start with the beginning, your first years as a teacher, before you got into the flipped classroom. Yeah. So I, like I said, I taught math and science. So it was very relatable. You could do a science experiment and then tie it to your math lesson. What I noticed in the first nine or 10 years was especially math. Kids struggle with it because of their parents' struggle, the kids struggled. And I had to come up with a way to help with that, to alleviate some of the pressures or frustration at home because parents can't help with homework, the kids aren't doing well. So I spent a good couple years trying to figure out how do I fix this problem. Well, that's interesting because I can remember when my children were in school, especially by the time they got to middle school, I would want them to do their homework at the kitchen table. And we would do it together. And I have to say, I worked harder in math than in my other subjects. So when my daughter came home and she was telling me, Mom, my teacher said, we have to do it this way. And I'm like, no, it's the same answer, no matter which way you're doing. And that's when the phrase, this is new math. That's when that came out for me and my family. So I understand what you're saying that parents didn't understand maybe the process or the procedure, because they learned differently when they were growing up. Did you find that to be the case? I did. I did. And a lot of parent conferences on this isn't how we did it. I wasn't good at math. It just, you know, it, it carried home to where the parents felt like failures. And then I kind of came off to the kids and the kids are like, well, my parents can't do it. I can't do it. And it just got very hard to keep hearing them say they can't do it. Right. As you noticed, I said, I work harder in math. But when I was a kid, I said it exactly how I felt it is like, I hate math. Can't do it. It's too hard. But I've learned and I'm much better now, of course, but I learned I had a really good teacher, as a matter of fact, who changed everything for me as far as how I viewed math. And now I can say it at the time I had to work harder. And now I've got it. I've got it. So for you, you saw the struggle that your students and their parents were having. And you did what? So I went to in the flipped classroom direction. So my last three years teaching, I was only teaching math. So in my flipped classroom, I recorded videos of myself teaching the concepts. And I had notes I'd want the kids to take from the textbook or a website. So I would put the videos on a website along with where I wanted them to take notes from. And that was their homework. They had to go home, watch the videos of me teaching, which weren't actually my face teaching, although they begged me for that because I have a, do not have the affinity for the camera. It was my hand teaching and doing the math just like I would do on the board. I would do it on white paper and videotape it. So they had to go home, they had to watch the video, they had to take the notes, they had to come back to class the next day. And we would do the homework, we would do the practice problems. And I could walk around the classroom. And I got 24 kids, I could walk around and see that they were doing it correctly or see who was doing it incorrectly and stop them immediately, fix the problem. So they weren't doing 10, 15 problems incorrectly. They were doing one and we fixed it and then they could do the rest correctly. It took so much off the parents because they just had to make sure they watched the videos and they took the notes. Right. And that's what I was going to say. So really, in essence, their homework was to watch the video. Yes. Not necessarily to go home and practice. There was no math being done at home, no practice math being done at home. That was all done in the classroom with me. Okay. So now, how did this work for you? Was that more work that you had to do on the front? Yes. It is very front and loaded. All those videos, all those lessons had to be taped. You had to find if they, if they didn't, I don't believe I was the best teacher in the world. Sometimes people understand the way you're explaining it. So I also had to find second and third options, different videos, purple math, different websites, where they could go and the same concept was covered. So that was a lot of work in the beginning to get all that together. As the years went on, of course, it was kept in a file and I could reload. But as a teacher, I always wanted to change the way things were done and make it more fun. And then as kids, some kids get done faster and some kids get done slower. So I had to have stuff for the kids that were finishing the regular assignment, but I didn't want to punish them. I wanted them to do something that was fun and creative, something they wanted to do that was still related to the concept. And then the kids that didn't quite catch on still had the time to take the quiz, master the concept and then move on to the next concept. You know, I think that's really interesting because as a teacher, I'm assuming that you really want them to gather the concept, not struggle at home with hours of homework or trying to figure it out. Now, I have a question about the videos though, because I understand what you're saying. It's your hand, you're talking them through the process. But how long are these videos? No more than three minutes. I taught seventh graders. So I only get their attention for about three minutes. I can tell from experience. Yes, that is correct. So they were just quick little videos over one concept. Okay. And sometimes I would do two different, you know, two or three different videos explaining the same concept. I was never set on, no, you have to do it this way. Because there are different ways to approach a math problem. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's really important that you acknowledge there are multiple ways to come up with the same answer. Yes. This is one way. And I like the fact that you are willing to look at other approaches, including purple math or anything else that you could find. Yes. However, nowadays, I guess a person could go on YouTube and find a plethora of videos and instructional strategies to help a child. Yes. So it wouldn't necessarily have to be the teacher that did it. I will tell you my students wanted it to be me. I don't know why. And I always got the complaint. Why aren't you on the video? They won it. I think it was a comfort level to you. And it was more credibility for the parents when it was me teaching the concept before I sent them to YouTube or before I sent them onto the onto the internet. Right. Right. That's really good. So you created all of these videos in advance. Yes. How did you get the videos to the students? I had a website on Weebly. Okay. That's still a thing. So they would just go to my website and the units would all be there and they could work at their own pace. I had some that were still in chapter one. Others that were in chapter five. It was all based on their ability and where they they were. And yeah, I just had a website that I paid for out of my pocket and and hosted all the videos there. Okay. I think that's wonderful. I can see where it would be beneficial to a lot of people, especially parents. But what if a person didn't have internet access at home? Yeah. So I did have that also. They would come in. The kids were always honest. I would ask there was no no reprimand if they hadn't watched the videos. Yeah, I would ask who watched the videos last night. If they didn't raise their hand, go watch them. Go watch the videos now. Go take the notes. It just you had to deal with that. You had to accept that that some kids didn't have access or maybe they didn't have time. So and then what was the best is that before the quiz, I would get two or three in every class that was they raise their hands and say, can I go rewatch the videos? Oh my goodness, you're going to study. Yes, go study before you take the quiz. So yeah, they wanted to go get that refresher before. Right. And it was never it was totally okay because they're going to take the quiz and move on or they're going to go. It's called R&R. It was reteach and retake. Nobody wanted to be on R&R. But that's also good because you didn't allow the lack of internet access to be a distraction or something that pulled them away from gaining that or having access to the education they're providing. So that's good. All right. So now they've watched the video. They get to class and the expectation is what they would complete. How many problems? I never had them do more than 10. Okay. By 10 you knew if they had the concept down. So we do the 10 problems. And then again, I always try to have something fun to reinforce the concept. I'm about fun. I love it. I love it. I love it. The best teachers are the ones who can make it fun and also provide the students with the idea of something they can use in the future. Like this is important, especially in math and science. This is important. And this is why you need to know it. And it's going to be fun. Yeah. How to apply it. Yes. Yes. You got to have student buy in. Right. Yes. All right. So now we're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, we're going to talk about how that worked. I want to know what were the results. Did your students actually have success? Was there a greater success rate for the students who were able to watch the video than students who weren't? All of that. And then we're going to talk a little bit about actually flipping houses and what you do now. So we're going to take a one minute break. Thank you for watching Crossroads in Learning. We'll be right back. Alan Yanagida, one of our hosts of our Business in Hawaii talk show on the Think Tech Hawaii. The theme of Business in Hawaii is to share with you stories of local businesses by local people. And our guests share with us their journey to building a successful business right here at home. We are streamed live on Think Tech weekly at 2 p.m. on Thursdays. Thank you so much for watching our show. I am Daylan Yanagida, and we'll look forward to seeing you then. Welcome back to Crossroads in Learning. I am your host, Keisha King, and I'm actually having a lot of fun with my guest Keita today. We're talking about the flipped classroom as she was a teacher in Germany, but she was working with the Department of Defense and she was able to flip her classroom so that her students could gain access to all the education that she was providing in math and science. Now, I do want to mention that I know there was a time when you had to actually be out of the classroom. Did your students miss out on any of the instruction? So yes, I was out for my last year in DoD. I had breast cancer. It's been seven years, so I'm technically a survivor. That's right. All right. Being out that year with all the videos I had already prepared the first two years I was slipping, I could upload from home. I could redo videos from home. I could still redo my website, upload my website. So those students, I was only with them for the first two weeks of school. So I had bonded with them, but I just I couldn't stay. I had chemotherapy to go to, but I was still able to teach them with the website. So they still had me. They did have a sub that came in and walked around and made sure they were doing everything correctly, but I was still able to teach my students via my website. Yeah, so that's one of the advantages of the flipped classroom is that you can actually miss. And first of all, let me just say congratulations on being a seven year cancer survivor. Yes, indeed. But that didn't stop you from making sure that your students got top notch education. Yes. So thank you for that. I think there are a ton of advantages to the flipped classroom, but I want to ask you about the results. Okay, so across the nation and beyond, we always have these tests. Yes. Yes. The assessments to tell us how we're doing. How did you? So DoDia, by standards, always did well. It always, but I mean, we had the benefit of every, you know, every parent in the household had a job, a lot of two parent families. So we were at it, you know, we definitely had an advantage. Our test scores were high. Our kids, I did not let them move on until they had the concept. Getting through the book was not the value. Understanding the concept was the value. So my test scores were above the norm with with this flip classroom and then bringing in the technology. It's where the kids were going. Technology was important. Yeah. I think that's something to be acknowledged now is the fact that technology is everywhere and you cannot say with all of the social media that they have, we we're going way, way back, like my space to start us out, but then from my space to Facebook to Instagram and now even TikTok, which I don't know much about, but it's pretty much the same thing as everything else. So when you go through all of those different types of forms of communication and education, they have more power in their little cell phone than we could ever present in a 45 minute class session. So we might as well embrace it and bring it into the classroom. And it sounds like that's what you did. And here in Hawaii, I know the classrooms are filled with lots of technology, even Google classroom and just a whole plethora of stuff. So we're doing it here in Hawaii. You did it there in Germany. I want to give you some free time just to talk to us a little bit more, whatever you want to say about the flipped classroom. And then we're going to segue into what you're doing now. So yeah, I would recommend that teachers try it. I know now with everything being a little more standardized through the classroom, I know they want the curriculum to align in every classroom. I was the only classroom flipping at my time and I did have the freedom to do that. I would recommend they try it. Try it for six months, try it for a semester and see how it goes for them. All right, sounds good. It doesn't sound like it's really hard if you already have the content. It's really just a matter of creating the video and making sure that students have access to the video both in school and at home. So maybe some teachers will give that a try. I'm hoping so for those who need it or for those who think that their students can benefit from it. So now moving right along, so you somehow went from flipping classrooms to flipping houses? I did. I did. We've been on the island for about seven years. I came and I homeschooled our last child. We have five. The last one is now in college. Congratulations. She started college her junior year of high school and I got my real estate license. So I do love being a real estate agent. It kind of fills that piece of my heart that I miss not teaching. I still get to teach. I still get to educate my clients. I still get to take care of people because that's what's in my heart is what I want to do. Then about two years ago, after I got my real estate license, my husband and I bought into a program where we started to buy houses, rehab them and put them back on the market. So that is here in Hawaii. The price points are a little higher here and it is a lot of work managing contractors, managing timelines, managing permits, managing prices, and then selling the houses. Yeah, but you know what, not to cut you off, but you know, I've heard that things move a little bit slower here in Hawaii. Contractors move a little bit slower too. So you just have to, we build that into our whole time. We know it's not going to, we're not going to do something in two or three months. We definitely plan nine months, nine to 12 months sometimes depending on the project. And we do it, but it is so great to buy a house that is falling down. It needs so much work and we turn it into something beautiful and we make a home for somebody, a home someone can live in. And we're not out to make this huge profit. So we're making them somewhat affordable and something people want to live in, which is it's a good feeling to know you're helping. And then also along the way, you're taking care of contractors, electricians, plumbers, permitting people. You're taking care of families with this rehab. So it's not just us benefiting, oh, we're making all this money. It's, we've supported, you know, five contractors and subs working on this project and their families for six months. That's awesome. So it's not just an investment that you win solely, but it's an investment sounds like for the community. It is, it is. And that's important. That's always buy local and support our island. Yeah. That's very important to all of us here. So I'm glad you guys did it that way. And so now are you still doing it? We are. So we have three projects going now. I'll give you an opportunity to plug what's the name of the company or our company is KJ Homes. But in addition, I'm also a real estate agent who works with investors. I love investors. I have a team at Keller Williams and we do regular buyers, regular sellers. I do love a regular listing here and there, but my passion is definitely taking new investors teaching them. Again, it's that teacher part of my heart, teaching them the process, kind of watching out for them, making sure they don't get into trouble with a deal, helping them connect with contractors, helping them connect with electricians, helping them connect with people who can do the architects who can do the permitting, just building those connections in within my little sphere of clients. And then from that, we get other referrals. So we do have listings that are not rehabs. That's awesome. Thank you for sharing that. Now, explain to me team K2. So it's just, it's Keenan Isley, so I have two Ks. So yeah. I thought so because I'm also two Ks. Keisha King. Keller Williams is great, but they do let us build our own business inside of their business. So you always want to brand and market yourself separately from Keller Williams. So we're team K squared of Keller Williams. So we do run our own little team within the big umbrella of Keller Williams, which is great, which is why I'm at Keller Williams. I do appreciate the fact they let me build my own business. They let me do me and which working with investors, you do have to tend to be a little more creative. Yeah. So once the teacher, always a teacher. You're teaching, you went from teaching students to teaching investors and teaching new investors, especially. Yes. And working with contractors. How do you balance all of that with, you said, five children? Well, they have all grown up. We have our first grandbaby. So I honestly do not think I could keep the pace I keep if I was still raising my kids. Like I mentioned, I did homeschool the last one and I was solely focused on homeschooling her. I ran the homeschool community on the island, lots of classes, lots of field trips, tried to give her the experience she would have had and had she gone to public school. So that was important to me. So she was my focus. I just, I do have a lot of energy. I don't know if you can tell, but so going in, leaving homeschooling because she went to college, real estate was perfect for me in real estate investing. And because it gets me out, it gets me with the community, it gets me with people. And if I had to choose between real estate agent and real estate investor, I would definitely choose real estate agent. Real estate agent over investor. I would. Interesting. So much more people oriented. And being with people is what keeps me going. And I enjoy teaching. I host property tours every other Saturday. I host a meetup once a week where they can all come together. I bring in a speaker and that's just, that's what keeps me going. When's your next meetup? Next Tuesday. I have another investor who's doing a lot of flips on at the Outer Islands coming to talk to the group. Okay. So that's like Tuesday, March 10th. Yes. Okay. At 5.30 at the Keller Williams office. All right. So Keller Williams got a shout out today. Your business got a shout out. Any investors who are interested in it? Well, I think I do want to plug my, where I met you, my beautiful beachfront listing. I do have a 7,000 square foot beachfront listing on every beach road. It is Sandy Beach. You have 43 feet of Sandy Beach access and a durable two bedroom, one bath cottage that sits on the 7,000 square foot lot. It is absolutely, it's just stunning. I love sitting out there. Yeah. I have to tell you, I've seen the property myself. I think it is amazing for under a million dollars. It is. And everything inside looks like it's brand new. Is that right? It's totally. The appliances are less than two years old. Okay. It was, it was built in 1977, but it was specifically built to look like a 1930s beach cottage. I know. And it's so cozy. You just have to see it. It is adorable. So you can contact me. Yeah. Beautiful and I has a little fish sack. So right on the beach. So you have the shade. If you wanted to have a little barbecue on the beach, it's so tranquil, so peaceful and the waves are crashing. It's just amazing. It is amazing. Someone wanted to get in contact with you about that house or anything else that we've discussed today. How can they reach you? You can give me a call or you can email me. Can I, can I say my phone number? You're welcome to say it. This is public. Yes. You can give me a call. It's 808-681-9594. And I'd be happy to set that up. And I have several other listings coming up. If you're interested, I have a few others on the market from Hawaii to Kapolei. So I, I'm all over this island. Well, this is a woman who has been there and done that. She is definitely a teacher at heart. She knows about flipping classrooms and flipping houses. If you want to get in touch with my friend, Keena, you are welcome to do that. She left her number there, but you can also, at the end of this video, just click the contact us button or something like that at the bottom. And we'll be happy to make sure that the two of you connect. I always want to thank you for tuning in to Crossroads in Learning. It is definitely fun having you here watching along. And we'll see you next time at the Crossroads in Learning. Aloha.