Research: Using Active Learning More Important than Flipping the Classroom
An active learning approach produces the same student learning outcomes in
both flipped and nonflipped classrooms, according to new research from Brigham Young University (BYU).
In the flipped classroom model, students watch video lectures outside of
class time and participate in active learning activities during class time. The
approach has been growing in popularity, so researchers at BYU decided to test
its effectiveness.
They created two freshman biology classes, one that used the flipped model
and one that didn't. Otherwise, the classes were nearly identical. They had the
same instructor, lectures, assignments and activities. There were 55 students in
one class and 53 in the other. They were taught one after another at the same
time of day. And they used the same level of active learning in and out of the
classroom, according to information from BYU. At the end of the semester, the
exam results of both groups of students were equivalent.
The researchers concluded that the flipped classroom doesn't produce higher
student learning outcomes than a nonflipped classroom when both use an active
learning approach. Whether instructors flip their classrooms or not, the key to
improving learning outcomes is to involve students actively in the learning
process, constructing their own knowledge rather than just passively listening
to lectures.
"If you're not using a model with active learning already, then the flipped
classroom is certainly a viable alternative," said Tyler Kummer, one of the
authors of the study, in a prepared statement. "But if you are, you're already
going to be seeing the learning advantages in your course."
The study was conducted by Jamie Jensen, a professor of biology and
discipline-based educational researcher at BYU; Tyler Kummer, a biology PhD
student at BYU; and Patricia Godoy from Universidade Potiguar in Brazil.
The full study, "Improvements from a Flipped Classroom May Simply Be the
Fruits of Active Learning," was published in the March issue of CBE-Life Sciences Education.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].