Evaluating the effectiveness of the Flipped Classroom is important in furthering our understanding of the use and impact this novel teaching approach may have in a graduate level setting. In order for students to experience success, the Flipped Classroom method requires that students first complete their assigned readings and carefully review the preparatory material (video lectures) prior to attending class [14]. Only then can the students’ learning be maximized during in-class time because the topics covered often build upon one another incrementally and course examinations are heavily dependent on higher order thinking and reasoning skills.
In this study, the overall effectiveness of the Flipped Classroom method of teaching was rated high by students. Its central lure was the fact that pre-class, students were able to work at their own pace while in-class, there was more time to practice and collaboratively participate in applied “homework” related activities and gain better familiarity with potential “test material” by way of the weekly quizzes. In general, students felt they were given a greater number of opportunities to be actively engaged in their own learning and progressively improve their mastery over the course content. As stated in previous studies, the Flipped Classroom is a teaching method that promotes student thinking both inside and outside of the classroom [19].
However, while the in-class practice problem sets and quizzes were found to be valuable to students, the group presentations and video lectures were found to be less so (Table 2). There were a number of well-reasoned explanations for this finding. For the group presentations, some students had a problem with the fact that individual members in any given group were not held accountable for their degree of involvement/contribution because the final mark was a collective group mark. Some students suggested incorporating an evaluation measure for their individual team members in order to allow for increased accountability. In other cases, students commented that they did not particularly enjoy the group presentations because presenting was considered to be an “uncomfortable” and in some instances a “frightening” experience.
Another noteworthy finding was based on the fact that some students reported the video lectures to be limited in several technological aspects. Some of the videos were found to be of poor audio quality, too long in duration, and did not allow for immediate feedback. These findings are not surprising as previous studies have also highlighted the limitations of technology as an important factor in determining the student experience in the Flipped Classroom [15].
A further point of interest was examining whether International students were more likely to find higher value in the pedagogical approach provided by the Flipped Classroom when compared to North American students (Figure 3). One of the key advantages of the Flipped Classroom is that it allows students to move through content and learn at their own individual pace [14]. In our study, this proved to be of significant value to International students, who may experience language barriers and difficulties in comprehension of complex concepts, unlike their North American counterparts.
When given the option to view video lectures outside of class, International students were given in effect the opportunity to ‘pause’ and ‘rewind’ the subject matter at their discretion, which would otherwise not be possible in a traditional lecture setting. As such, if they have difficulties understanding what the instructor is saying or if they are struggling with the fast pace of the course, they can revisit the video lecture or certain parts of it, as many times as they desire, until they are able to comprehend the topics being covered to their satisfaction. This is an important pedagogical consideration for International students for whom English is their second language. The use of the Flipped Classroom can help ‘level the playing field’ and make a significant impact on their ability to overcome language barriers critical to their learning and academic success.
Previous studies have hypothesized that students who performed well academically in a particular course were more likely to positively evaluate their instructor [20,21]. However, the findings from our study indicate that the students’ academic performance did not influence their perception of how effectively the course was taught – the two variables were independent. As such, students in this study exhibited a well-reasoned approach in distinguishing between their individual academic performance and how they valued and assessed the effectiveness of their learning environment in the course (i.e. Flipped Classroom).
Academic performance has many different measures, besides a student’s final grade [22]. It is entirely possible that the overall effectiveness of the Flipped Classroom lies in the fact that it promotes higher order thinking, learning, and mastery of the subject matter on a consistent basis and throughout the course when compared to a traditional lecture format. In a traditional lecture, students usually have the tendency to study more heavily just prior to the midterm and final examinations. On the other hand, in the Flipped Classroom, students are strongly encouraged to study and learn the subject matter more regularly since they get tested on a weekly basis (i.e. by way of quizzes and in-class practice problem sets).
In this study, the Flipped Classroom provided the students and the instructor with multiple educational advantages. From the students’ perspective, it increased flexibility in learning because it allowed them to progress at their own pace (i.e. replay the lecture videos as many times as needed to better understand key concepts) and it increased free class time to practice and master applied skills (i.e. problem-solving activities). Additionally, students were permitted to further their understanding by critically thinking about, actively discussing and more importantly, peer teaching key concepts in a collaborative classroom setting. In this manner, the Flipped Classroom made learning more manageable for students by taking difficult tasks and complex ideas and making them more understandable and accessible.
From the instructor’s perspective, this setting made it easy to engage students and empower them to become active participants in their own learning. The Flipped Classroom not only permitted the instructor to provide the students with a wider breath and deeper understanding of the material covered but having more collaborative activities take place during class helped built cohort comradery and generate much enthusiasm for learning by the students (Table 3). Finally, the Flipped Classroom allowed the instructor to gain advanced, real-time insight into how students learn and quickly identify and better address curriculum content the students found to be most challenging. This insight can be used to better inform decisions with regard to effective curriculum organization, structuring and delivery of future classes.
Limitations
This study does have several limitations. First, no control or comparison groups were used during the time period under investigation so as to concurrently compare the effectiveness of the Flipped Classroom between an “experimental” and a “control” group. However, course data on the course effectiveness ratings had been collected by way of SEEQ evaluations both pre- and post-Flipped Classroom implementation and were used in this study. Second, the instruments developed for the Flipped Classroom survey were newly designed and specifically tailored to this course. Therefore, they lack evidence of reliability and external validity. Finally, the findings of this study may not be generalizable to other graduate level courses and/or higher institution settings.
Challenges
The main challenges that arose from using the Flipped Classroom approach in a graduate level setting were two-fold and included issues due to student comfort level and use of technology. While managing technology was a big issue in our administration of the Flipped Classroom, another equally important aspect of this teaching model is the need to ensure that students are actually stimulated in class and find the learning environment to be safe (without discomfort and fear), supportive and beneficial to their learning.
On the technology front, students found the audio quality of certain videos to be poor. On those occasions, it made it difficult for students to clearly hear the instructor irrespective of how high they adjusted their audio settings (Table 2). They also commented on how some of the video lectures had background noise, which made it difficult for them to easily follow along and fully comprehend the concepts being explained by the instructor. In other instances, students were not pleased with administrative processes that resulted in the delay by a few days of the release time of certain videos. They felt that the lack of timely distribution of the video lectures did not allow them sufficient time to adequately prepare for the quizzes and the in-class practice problems, which were issued on a weekly basis.
Moreover, when they did view the video lectures at home, some students expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that they could not ask questions of the instructor in real-time. The instructor had recommended to students to record their questions during their viewing of the video and bring them to the next tutorial session and/or class as an item for discussion but some students felt that the lag in time did not appropriately facilitate their learning. Also, a few students stated that by the time they arrived to the tutorial session and/or the class, they had forgotten which areas they had difficulties understanding in the videos.
The final concern expressed by some students was the fact that the video lectures were often over an hour long in length, which made it difficult for them to view them in a single seating. Further complicating this issue was the fact that on those occasions when students decided to pause the video and return to it a short time later, many experienced technical difficulties. They were unable to recommence viewing the video from the point where they had previously paused it since the video location had returned to its original starting point.
Future directions
Creating an effective and sustainable learning environment requires constant monitoring and timely adjustments. On the basis of the feedback provided to the research team by our students, we have identified several areas that require further improvement. First, the video lectures need to be significantly modified and a different, more user-friendly recording platform needs to be seriously considered. Second, the videos should be broken down into multiple, shorter video file segments (i.e. 2–3 videos of 20 to 30 minutes length each) so that students are able to give their undivided attention and fully concentrate on the content presented in one sitting. Additionally, the shorter videos will permit students to more easily pause and return to their video as well as allow them to watch each section at different times of the week, depending on their schedule. Third, the audio quality of the videos needs to be dramatically improved by making every effort to remove/eliminate the background noise. Fourth, an online forum needs to be created so as to permit the instructor and/or the TA to directly communicate with the students and address any pertinent questions in a timely manner prior to attending the actual class. Finally, administrative barriers need to be removed and more autonomy afforded to the instructor in order to ensure the timely release of the videos to the students.
Recommendations
In summary, the following recommendations may prove of use and benefit to other instructors who may be contemplating using the Flipped Classroom approach in their own class. First, make certain to create a safe and supportive “blended” learning environment for all your students. Second, provide any IT support required by your students to be able to regularly access and view the video lectures. Third, require students to complete the weekly quiz individually and in-class so as to ensure that each one of them comes to class well prepared and ready to engage in deep learning. Fourth, keep the videos relatively short (no longer than 20–30 minutes) to facilitate the students learning and ensure that they watch them. Fifth, create an online forum so as to permit the students to directly communicate with the instructor and/or the TA and be able to post and receive answers to pertinent questions prior to attending class. Finally, encourage your students to use multi-media aspects in their own class related presentations so they may gain increased comfort, familiarity and confidence in using the technology, and therefore, be more likely to regularly use it within the broader structure of the Flipped Classroom.