Exploring Faculty and Student Experiences in the Flipped Classrooms

Min Kyu Kim (University of Southern California)So Mi Kim (University of Georgia - Athens)Otto Khera (University of Southern California)

Exploring Faculty and Student Experiences in the Flipped Classrooms

Background| 2

Need To Solve the Real-World Problems• Problems are featured in uncertain and complex contexts. • Learners needs to be active and responsible for their learning.• What kind of learning environments? .

Transformation of Teaching and Learning • Student-Centered & Active Learning• Technology integration focused on the middle area / “blended”

environment

F2F OnlineBLENDED

What is a “Flipped Classroom”?

Source: http://www.washington.edu/teaching/teaching-resources/flipping-the-classroom/

Our “Open” Concept of a Flipped ClassroomThe “Flipped Classroom” is defined as a rearrangement of student-centered learning activities by means of “flipping” conventional or existing events, both inside and outside of the classroom and supported by digital technologies.

Flipped Classrooms| 2

GoalsTo investigate:(a) Different ways of flipping across disciplines(b) How [effectively] technologies facilitated flipping classroom events

The Guiding Research Questions• How do instructors interpret and apply “flipping” the classroom for their

course taught?• How is technology applied and integrated into the flipped activities across

courses?• What are the student’s perceptions of the flipped classroom’s value?• What patterns emerge amongst the participating instructors?• What recommendations emerge for the design of Flipped Classrooms?

Research Questions| 2

Flipped ClassroomsWidely different methods of flipping in ENG, SOC, and HUM classes

Case Study| 2

Table 1. Flipped Classrooms

Flipped Events

Case Study| 2

Discipline Out of Classroom In Classroom

ENGINEERING

Online YouTube Lecture Online QuizAnnotation (Comment)

Lecture on the Selected AnnotationsWhole Group DiscussionSmall Group Problem Solving

SOCIOLOGY

Online YouTube Lecture Links to Online Resources Online Collaboration (via Google Docs, Google Hangout.)

Lecture on the Weekly TopicsSmall Group Discussion in Project Groups

HUMANITIES

Reviews on Student in-class Discussions (e.g., Google Hangout Records)

Small Group Discussion without the Presence of the Instructor

Participants3 instructors and 115 students enrolled in the three classes in the Fall 2012

Research Methods| 2

Table 2. Demographics

Student SurveyComposed with four parts: (a) Teaching Orientation; (b) Revised Community of Inquiry (COI); (c) Use of Technology; and (d) Open-ended Questions.

Research Methods| 2

Table 3. Sub-domains of the Revised Community of Inquiry

Faculty Reflection• The Inverted Classroom events by using specific instances• How they implemented the designed events• How their students engaged in the events

Student Interviews• Based on a Semi-Structured Interview Protocol • Two Students (High/Low Performed) in the ENG class

Data Collection and Analysis • During the semester, meetings with the instructors (8 times) • At the end of the semester: the survey, interviews, and reflections• Mixed Methods: Variable Analysis, Contents Analysis w/ RCOI Coding

Scheme as well as w/ theme-building approach (for design principles), Legitimate peripheral participation as a metaphor to analyze the instructors’ progression

Research Methods| 2

Overall SatisfactionTeaching Presence (3.18); Social Presence (3.08); Cognitive Presence (2.94); and Learner Presence (2.90). (4-level Likert Scale used)

Student Perception| 2

Design Framework Inferred from Correlations

Student Perception| 2

Highly Engaged in Higher-Order Thinking When: (a) students receive appropriate guides and supports from the instructors; (b) their learning is more regulated by self and/or other students.

Teacher! We need youStudents sought (a) greater facilitation in group activities and discussions; (b) more guidance and feedback from the instructor; and (c) to be motivated to explore diverse issues [explicitly] by the instructor.

Design and Facilitation to Enhance Collaboration • Low and insignificant correlation was revealed (r=0.27 b/t Teaching

Orientation and Social Presence)• Student-centered events per se were not related to building student

relationship.• Elaborated strategies and facilitation appeared to be crucial

Student Perception| 2

Instructors’ Learning TrajectoryAll valued the Flipped Classrooms (e.g., student engagement & problem solving), but had differing learning stages.

Instructors’ Participation| 2

Engineering Instructor: Inbound >>> Insider

Sociology Instructor: Peripheral >>> Inbound

Humanity Instructor: Legitimate Peripheral*(Creative approach)

The ENG instructor, who had prior flipped classroom experience (inbound trajectory), actively reflected on his classroom assignments and continually refined his strategies to enhance student engagement (insider trajectory).

Flipped Classroom| 2

Design Experiments:When the first ~4 videos were sent, students were asked to view the videos, provide comments/questions, and complete the quiz posted on Blackboard. Points earned on the quiz were added to homework grades and comments/questions were voluntary. Since submitting comments/questions was voluntary, very few of them were received. Furthermore, since most students answered the quiz corrections correctly, I would simply move the next chunk of material in the class. To foster more of interaction and connection between out-of-class and in-class activities, I required students to submit questions/comments on YouTube by giving them points on homework assignments. This drastically boosted the number of questions posted on YouTube and I used those as a springboard for the next lecture. I did this for about 1 or 2 lecture periods and students seemed to be more interested in the lecture (based on my perception alone).

Flipped Classroom| 2

The SOC instructor underwent trial and error, and her students complained about the lack of time to do the assignment and an inappropriate level of guidance. However, she recognized the problems from the lessons and developed improved implementations for future classes (moving from peripheral participation to the inbound trajectory).

Learning by experience:I plan to continue this project and tweak it along the way. The first thing that I plan to do is have the process a bit more structured, especially on finding data to address their questions. I may also narrow the assignment but so that students can focus on issues in more depth. My biggest concern, as noted above, was that I would have liked to spend more time working directly with each group. I saw that as a key strength of the inverted classroom project: what they typically do on their own can now be done in class with more guidance. Hopefully with a smaller class this semester that will happen.

The HUM instructor was classified as in the legitimate peripheral participation because he simply took a new approach: experimenting a self/co-regulated learning event without his presence in the class. It is hard to define a stage in case someone is new to a topic (e.g., Flipped Classrooms) but has general expertise in a domain (e.g., teaching).

Flipped Classroom| 2

Creative approach: I would stress a note taker for the group, a historian even. One student whose job is to observe the peer-to-peer interactions and the group as a whole. This student could relay information back to the class come discussion time of his/her observations and key points of discussion the group came up with the further discuss with the class. It would even be interesting if this student was dubbed a "silent observer" so that in each group there is a student designated by the instructor to observe the group without the group knowing who exactly is responsible for this job (A student’s comment).

1. Provide an opportunity for students to gain first exposure prior to class(Source: Vanderbilt Center for Teaching)

Design Principles| 2

I watched online videos and looked up things on the Internet if I didn't understand; I would look up information if I didn't originally understand what he was lecturing on YouTube; In watching the videos, I can pause them, or rewind when I missed something to need time to take notes (ENG students).

I used the USC online library resource and PowerPoint along with the Internet to complete the inverted classroom project (a SOC student).

2. Provide an incentive for students to prepare for class (Source: Vanderbilt Center for Teaching) Online discussions (e.g., YouTube comments) with low-stakes grading appear to have motivated many students to engage the learning activities/assignments and problem solving.

Design Principles| 2

When the first ~4 videos were sent, students were asked to view the videos, provide comments/questions, and complete the quiz posted on Blackboard. Points earned on the quiz were added to homework grades (ENG instructor).

To foster more of interaction and connection between out-of-class and in-class activities, I required students to submit questions/comments on YouTube by giving them points on homework assignments. This drastically boosted the number of questions posted on YouTube and I used those as a springboard for the next lecture (ENG instructor).

This would work if all students actually watched the videos before class so that everyone is on the same page (a ENG student).

3. Provide a mechanism to assess student understanding (Source: Vanderbilt Center for Teaching) Low-stakes quizzes and other forms of formative assessment appeared to be effective in helping to prepare students for in-class activities.

Design Principles| 2

Throughout the semester, students generally appreciate having the videos and having more time to work on problems in class. Most students seem to watch the videos once as I asked them to, but would usually not watch them again for review. Short quizzes (3-5 multiple choice questions) were created on Blackboard for them to answer. Questions were intentionally made simple. Most (~85%) students were able to correctly answer all questions (ENG instructor).

4. Provide clear connections between in-class and out-of-class activities Online content and activities should directly support and connect with the associated in-class activities.

Design Principles| 2

To foster even more interaction the last lecture period in this module, I still required students to post questions on YouTube, but in class I had students self-assemble into groups and had them answer each other’s questions that were posed on YouTube. Groups were then asked to post their answer back onto YouTube in a reply. I met with each group for about 5 minutes to help answer any questions that the group could not. Based again on my perception alone, this approach was much more interactive and provided a closer integration between out-of-class and in-class activities.The main issue encountered was to find ways to better integrate/coordinate the out-of-class work with the in-class work. Towards the end, I think I found a reasonable solution by 1) requiring students to post questions/comments and 2) spending time in class having the students (as opposed to me) answer each other’s questions (ENG instructor).

5. Provide clearly defined and well-structured guidanceStudents required clearly defined and well-structured guidance and scaffolding on flipped classroom activities.

Design Principles| 2

The project would be more clearly outline at the beginning of the class, so we understood the steps we should be taken / the paper should have more clear, different sections. I did not understand the whole concept well enough at the beginning (a SOC student).

There should have been more specific goals for each day of in class work to focus the groups' discussions (a ENG student).

Even though the concept of the "inverted classroom" project and the deadlines for the project and the fact that we were to use class time to work on specific things were clear, what the actual project should have looked like when we were done was not (a SOC student).

I would like to get informed of more clear deadlines and more technological support (a HUM student).

6. Provide proper time for students to carry out the assignments In-class activities should be designed with appropriate time to apply the knowledge, information, and skills class students acquire out of class.

Design Principles| 2

Out of class:Time Constraints - more time outside of lecture is necessary in order for this to be beneficial - it is difficult to ensure that everyone can have access to internet to watch the videos before lecture (a ENG student).The timing of when the videos were posted was occasionally not at an ideal time (a ENG student).

In class:More time to ask questions and discuss the content (a ENG student).As related to the assigned group presentation, giving us at least 4 full class meetings to meet with our groups and work on our parts would be necessary. Otherwise, there is no point in giving us any time at all in class as the time provided does not allow for any progress to be made (a SOC student).

7. Provide facilitation and guidance for building a learning communityEspecially since group work continues to be a universal challenge, there should be well-prepared facilitation and guidance for student collaboration. In-class group work appears to be difficult for many students (i.e. group dynamics, roles and levels of participation, and satisfaction with grading schema).

Design Principles| 2

Social anxiety - The initial peer interactions could have been facilitated so that there were icebreakers. Students should be encouraged the share their opinions freely. This proved to be difficult in the first few interactions regarding the first assignment (a HUM student).

I didn't really enjoy this project because I felt like my teammates and I weren't exactly on the same page, but it was very difficult to all get us on the same level. There was a pretty unequal distribution of work, and the project is set up so that it's really hard to have equal participation (for example, some sections of the paper are a lot easier to answer than others) (a SOC student).

8. Provide prompt and adaptive feedback on group and project workStudents needed greater and prompt feedback for various reasons including improved group work and/or to connect the in-class problem-solving activities with the out-of-class preparation.

Design Principles| 2

I watched online videos and looked up things on the Internet if I didn't understand; I would look up information if I didn't originally understand what he was lecturing on YouTube; In watching the videos, I can pause them, or rewind when I missed something to need time to take notes (ENG students).

I used the USC online library resource and PowerPoint along with the Internet to complete the inverted classroom project (a SOC student).

9. Provide technologies familiar and easy to accessIt appeared to worth using familiar and easy to access technologies and establishing acceptable standards for the development and delivery of online content. For example, a student in the ENG class said “The videos should be shorter and on a specific topic with more enthusiasm.” In the SOC class, a student observed some of the disengaged students clearly tuned out from their group members during the in-class activities, spent even more time on technological distractions than usual.

Design Principles| 2