Table 4. End of course survey questions used to measure student opinion of personal gains during the course
Growth I feel I improved my ability to think beyond the basics I feel I improved my ability to work with others I feel I improved my ability to solve problems
I feel I improved in my ability to be a more independent learner
Student responses over five semesters are summarized in aggregate form in figure 3.
Figure 3. Results summarized from Table 4 questions. The solid point is the average percentage of students who responded, “agree” or “strongly agree” to the corresponding question. The vertical bar spans the range of responses over
five semesters.
in their best interest. One simple technique is to always refer to the videos as
“lectures” whether it is “online lectures” or “video lectures” or other vernacular.
Keeping the term “lecture” in the title insures students that they are not missing out on an all too familiar teaching strategy. Another technique that alleviates some of the pushback from students is to share with them some examples from the growing body of scientific evidence that their grades will be better and that their learning will be deeper and last longer in the active learning, flipped classroom model (26). These small things can help prevent misunderstandings and provide motivation down the road. Additionally simply stating, “we learn by doing” helps launch activities on a positive note.
With the growing number of responsibilities that students take on during the course of a semester, it is important to respect the amount of time students work on each of their courses. The flipped classroom model with online lectures ensures that the students will be exposed to 165 minutes every week (3 x 55 minute class periods) of quality, active, efficient learning that once was used to deliver lecture.
In this model, questions that do arise can be addressed immediately either by asking a classmate or the instructor. This immediacy helps to maintain focus during a problem solving session and prevents wasted time in frustration (27). In addition to this efficiency it also creates an environment for informal discussions, allowing students to conjecture and imagine and bring things together from other classes or research that might be important to their studies as a whole. One of things that struggling students fail to do is to regularly attend office hours. The flipped classroom model creates office hours within the classroom, allowing a vehicle for communication between student and instructor. Additionally the more informal style allows the instructor to get to know students more personally and lowers the potential intimidation factor for dropping in during office hours. This personal interaction also allows for deeper, more meaningful content in letters of recommendation requested by the students.
As faculty, we know that exam writing is both an art and a science. In good faith, we write exams that are at the appropriate level for our students; our goal is to be challenging and creative, but fair. It was under this assumption that the initial analysis of the aggregate exam-score analysis before and after flipping the classroom was so disappointing. The students should have done better according to the research (24,26,28–33). It was honestly unintentional that the exams became more challenging after flipping the class. Each exam was crafted knowing the student’s skills and abilities with the perception that the students were prepared and had practiced (with coaching) answering the more difficult questions. Only after the fact were the exams analyzed and determined to contain a higher percentage of the Bloom’s level 3 questions.
This serendipitous result speaks to addressing two of the essential learning outcomes as outlined by the Association of American Colleges and Universities in their LEAP campaign (34). The presence of questions at all three levels allows a student to demonstrate their knowledge of the physical and natural world. This content assessment is an essential portion of the course and is not sacrificed by having an active learning environment. What perhaps is more significant and speaks to the measurement of the second essential learning outcome where the demonstrated success on the more difficult exams shows how the students are
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able to leverage their gains in an active learning environment giving them the confidence and opportunity to be successful. What we see are students developing and working towards mastery of their intellectual skills honing and refining them, particularly with respect to inquiry and analysis and critical and creative thinking.
Despite the growing use of technology in society, the most valued interactions for learning as perceived by the students were due to direct human interactions.
The percentage of students agreeing to statements about working in groups and the instructor’s interventions during class were greater than those agreeing to the efficacy of video lectures or even reading the textbook to their learning. This is continued evidence that the flipped classroom strategy optimizes interactions the students find most favorable for their learning.
Finally, a large part of the active learning classroom centers on working in teams and teamwork falls under the AAC&U’spractical skillsessential learning outcomes. The key feature for a successful team is quality and effective oral communication. Regardless of a student’s vocation, speaking clearly and listening to understand are skills that are needed and need to be practiced. This tenet of the liberal arts curriculum is accomplished in the flipped classroom without sacrificing the course content. The self-reported data speak to the efficacy of the course design. While many of the St. Olaf students need little coaching on how to be a team player or effective communicator, an overwhelming majority admitted to improving critical thinking, teamwork and problem solving as part of their experience in the flipped classroom.
Conclusion
This chapter has illustrated the efficacy of the flipped classroom in the context of an upper-level liberal arts biochemistry course. Following the “good enough” philosophy allowed video lectures to be created and disseminated easily and efficiently with a low activation energy. Pairing video lectures with high impact practices in the classroom preserved content and allowed for students to thrive in an environment where the expectation was to work at a higher cognitive level as measured by exam data. Finally, the flipped classroom promoted outcomes that are in-line with the essential learning outcomes of a liberal arts education specifically, inquiry, critical thinking, oral communication and teamwork supported by student self-report data.
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