Introduction
Innovative education: to ‘flip’ the classroom
Evidence on the efficacy of the model
Planning and implementation of the flipped classroom
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Organizing the contents in different units according to the program.
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Offering resources in different formats (textual, graphic, audiovisual, links to webpages, etc.)
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Developing multiple choice question activities that offer opportunity for self-assessment, while that limiting or approving the progression of the student in the course depending on performance.
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Suggesting comprehension activities assessed by the teacher.
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Establishing online forums that function as collaborative spaces of common reflection, where students will share resources, ask and solve questions, or analyze topics at hand related to the course.
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Integral, i.e. that encompasses the work carried out both in and outside the classroom.
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Responsible, i.e. that lets the students carry out part of the assessed activities outside the classroom without the direct guidance of the professor.
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Thoughtful, i.e. that analyzes and synthesizes the information.
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Shared, i.e. that includes co-assessed activities among students, which promote a cooperative and co-responsible learning.
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Competence-related, i.e. that includes theoretical and practical activities that do not rely on the student’s memory, but rather on his/her practical problem-solving skills.
Description and aims of the study
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The opinion of students on whether or not the teaching and learning processes have improved.
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The degree of satisfaction of students in the course.
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The academic performance of students.
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The opinion of professors on the educational process.
Method
Results
Master’s survey | ||||
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1. Professor(s) | Differences with respect to the average | |||
Average | Dept. | School | UdL | |
1. Presents the material clearly and systematically. | 4.58 | 0.93 | 0.81 | 0.70 |
2. Provides resources that facilitate the learning process. | 4.89 | 1.28 | 1.17 | 1.04 |
3. My overall assessment of the professor is satisfactory. | 4.68 | 0.97 | 0.84 | 0.71 |
2. Course – frequently asked questions | Differences with respect to the average | |||
Average | Dept. | School | UdL | |
10. The formative activities were as expected. | 4.21 | 0.79 | 0.65 | 0.57 |
11. The formative activities were open and allowed for participation. | 4.84 | 1.25 | 1.02 | 0.94 |
12. The acquired competencies will be useful for my professional career. | 4.32 | 0.70 | 0.59 | 0.58 |
13. The course followed the scheduled program. | 4.68 | 0.70 | 0.63 | 0.80 |
14. The material provided was adequate and useful for the purpose of the course. | 4.58 | 0.81 | 0.70 | 0.76 |
15. My overall assessment of the course is positive. | 4.63 | 0.97 | 0.82 | 0.78 |
Summary | Course/Group | Dept. | School | UdL |
Number of survey sheets: | 19 | 194 | 155 | 421 |
Participation percentage: | 58 % | 61 % | 64 % | 64 % |
Number of participants (professors/group-class): | 19 | |||
Differences with respect to the average | ||||
Professor(s) (average) | 4.72 | 1.06 | 0.94 | 0.82 |
Course – frequently asked questions (average) | 4.54 | 0.87 | 0.73 | 0.74 |
“The professor has an in-depth knowledge of the contents of the subject and he is able to pass on his training and his teaching skills to students. Additionally, he cares about students and their performances and provides useful material.” (EST1-ENCUDL)
“The contents are well-delimited and structured. The professor uses an innovative methodology and shows enthusiasm in order to motivate students and enhance their performance. We need more teachers like that in the university.” (EST5-ENCUDL)
Dimension 1. Integration of concepts | Strongly agree | Agree | Disagree | Strongly disagree |
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To be able to access the course materials through the Virtual Campus and work on them at my own pace helped me to better integrate the course contents. | 21 (80.8 %) | 4 (15.4 %) | 1 (3.8 %) | 0 (0 %) |
I believe that I better integrated the course concepts because I followed the parameters of a non-traditional formative model. | 18 (69.2 %) | 7 (26.9 %) | 0 (0 %) | 1 (3.8 %) |
Dimension 2. Change in the role of professors and students | Strongly agree | Agree | Disagree | Strongly disagree |
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This model does change the role of the professor (before he/she was an information deliverer and now is a learning facilitator) | 21 (80.8 %) | 5 (19.2 %) | 0 (0 %) | 0 (0 %) |
This model does change the role of the student (before he/she was an information receiver and now he/she builds his/her own knowledge) | 18 (69.2 %) | 8 (30.8 %) | 0 (0 %) | 0 (0 %) |
Dimension 3. Effective integration of the ICTs | Strongly agree | Agree | Disagree | Strongly disagree |
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I believe that this model effectively integrates the ICTs in the learning process. | 14 (53.8 %) | 11 (42.3 %) | 1 (3.8 %) | 0 (0 %) |
Dimension 4. Participation and communication | Strongly agree | Agree | Disagree | Strongly disagree |
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This model favors the active participation of students. | 19 (73.1 %) | 7 (26.9 %) | 0 (0 %) | 0 (0 %) |
This model favors communication between students and professors. | 17 (65.4 %) | 9 (34.6 %) | 0 (0 %) | 0 (0 %) |
This model favors communication among students. | 20 (76.9 %) | 5 (19.2 %) | 1 (3.8 %) | 0 (0 %) |
Dimension 5. Interest in the course | Strongly agree | Agree | Disagree | Strongly disagree |
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When the professor explained how we would be working I became very interested in the course. | 15 (57.7 %) | 11 (42.3 %) | 0 (0 %) | 0 (0 %) |
I would recommend other students to sign up for this course. | 19 (73.1 %) | 7 (26.9 %) | 0 (0 %) | 0 (0 %) |
“I want to specially highlight the professor’s closeness and the quality of his teaching. I believe that others should follow his example of good practice in the methodology of the course and beyond.” (EST6-CUES)
“The methodology of this course allows for: (1) studying at one’s own pace, which reduces students’ pressure and allows them to study in a much more relaxed and motivated way; (2) easy access to the contents of the course; (3) collaborative teamwork; (4) accurate assessment process, which not only makes students learn enough to pass the course, but also and most importantly, it makes them acquire new knowledge and skills; (5) In my opinion, this is a class experience that should be repeated and generalized.” (EST19-CUES)
Final grade | 2013–2014 | 2014–2015 | 2015–2016 |
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Between 5 and 6 | 3 (7.9 %) | 0 (0 %) | 0 (0 %) |
Between 6 and 7 | 3 (7.9 %) | 1 (3.0 %) | 2 (6.6 %) |
Between 7 and 8 | 26 (68.4 %) | 2 (6.0 %) | 5 (16.7 %) |
Between 8 and 9 | 4 (10.5 %) | 14 (42.5 %) | 14 (46.7 %)) |
Between 9 and 10 | 2 (5.3 %) | 16 (48.5 %) | 9 (30 %) |
Average grade | 7.5 | 8.6 | 8.4 |
Total number of students | 38 (100 %) | 33 (100 %) | 30 (100 %) |
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Integration of concepts: students realized that they had to keep reviewing the contents during the course in order for the model to work. However, students criticized that professors overly repeated what students had to read at home. Finally, students highly valued the fact that they had integrated the contents of the course, not only through learning the theory, but also through the practical work carried out.
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The changing role of professors and students: students valued the role changes during the development of the course. Further, students confirmed the fact that by changing roles, the professor becomes a guide, which allows students the opportunity to build their own knowledge. However clear the role changing turns out to be during and at the end of the course, the survey reveals that, at the beginning of the course, students did not understand the method clearly. It is in this sense that students highlighted the importance of building a climate of trust between students and professor.“The first day I was a little bit confused. However, the confusion disappeared as a climate of trust was progressively built.” (EST2-GD)
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Integration of ICTs: students valued that the course contents were available on the virtual campus (in different formats).“It was very useful to have the course materials on the campus, not only in text format, but also in others.” (EST5-GD)
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Participation and communication: students valued working in teams. They even mentioned the possibility of working even more collaboratively by meeting up with other groups or exchanging participants from one group to another.“I would have enjoyed knowing more about what other groups were doing. I also think that the work would have been even better if the groups had met up or exchanged participants.” (EST1-GD)
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Interest in the course: the comments of the survey confirmed an increase of interest in the course, which also indicates that students were motivated to attend class.“Every Thursday I would feel less pressured than other days because I had this course and not others…” (EST1-GD)
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Integration of concepts: in line with the opinions expressed by students, the team of professors pointed out the fact that it was necessary that students read the materials. In fact, they stated that it was easy to tell who of the students had been reviewing the contents and who had not. Additionally, they admitted that it had been a mistake to overly repeat what students had to read for class at home. “Indeed, it seems that overly repeating what students need to do ‘rewards’ those who have not looked at the materials yet, and ‘punishes’ those who have already done it. We will certainly take this consideration into account in future academic years.” (EN-PROF1)
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The changing role of professors and students: professors expressed the difficulties of changing the roles. One reason for this might be that culturally, in Spain and Catalonia, if the professor does not explain the contents in the classroom, they feel as if they did not give a class, even if that is not the case. “The difficult part is to remind myself that I shouldn’t give students the information as if it was a lecture, which is challenging as we’re not used to it.” (EN-PROF1)
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Integration of ICTs: professors consider that the tools that the virtual campus provides are very useful for the development of the model.“I specially value the fact that I can collect and organize the resources in different formats (text, video, etc.) and that I can ‘play around’ with the forum, tests, or announcements. I believe that the virtual campus is a very important tool in order to work in an organized manner.” (EN-PROF2)
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Participation and communication: when lectures are reduced to the minimum and the classroom is organized in small groups, the professor has more time to interact with the students. When trust between students and the professor builds, students relax and feel more confident to ask more questions than if they were listening to a lecture.“The method allows for a relaxed and familiar climate within the classroom. In fact, I think that this is the part I enjoy the most: I can see the students discussing the topics and getting involved with the activities while they ask me many questions.” (EN-PROF2)
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Interest in the course: in line with the opinions expressed by students, the professors observed that students show their enthusiasm to attend the classes. Likewise, the professors noticed that students value the way in which the class is given, and that they also enjoy the practical sessions.“As a professor you come to realize that if you give them the right opportunities, students get more involved. And we appreciate that, and it also makes us very proud.” (EN-PROF1)