Researchers to Explore Flipped Teaching in STEM Courses

Research team members (front L-R) Chaya Gopalan, Sharon Locke, (back L-R) Georgia Bracey, Julie Fickas and Lynn Bartels

Research team members (front L-R) Chaya Gopalan, Sharon Locke, (back L-R) Georgia Bracey, Julie Fickas and Lynn Bartels

A research project at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is exploring the use of flipped teaching in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses. Supported by a $598,402 grant from the National Science Foundation, the three-year project will help STEM faculty at SIUE and St. Louis Community College implement flipped teaching in their courses and examine both faculty and student experiences with the method.

In the flipped model, students view lecture content outside the classroom (often via online videos), allowing class time to be used for more hands-on, collaborative work — leading to improved student learning and engagement. "We are passionate about finding ways to help students become independent learners and scholars," explained principal investigator Chaya Gopalan, associate professor in SIUE's Schools of Nursing and Education, Health and Human Behavior, in a statement. "This project will provide STEM educators and institutions with critical information about what is needed for broad implementation of flipped courses across different STEM departments and at different types of institutions, including master’s comprehensive and community college. Successful implementation is expected to improve retention and success in STEM, including retention of students who are from historically underrepresented groups."

Planned products of the research project include "a flipped teaching implementation framework, a set of design principles for flipped STEM courses, and new flipped teaching curriculum materials that will be made widely available through free, online STEM education repositories." In addition, Gopalan hopes to encourage the use of the flipped model throughout her institution. "My goal is to find other mechanisms to spread flipped teaching methodology to non-STEM faculty at SIUE in the near future," she said.

Co-PIs of the research project, "Examining Faculty Attitudes and Strategies that Support Successful Flipped Teaching," include SIUE STEM Center Director Sharon Locke, STEM Center Research Assistant Professor Georgia Bracey, SIUE Faculty Development Director and Professor of Psychology Lynn Bartels and St. Louis Community College-Forest Park Acting Provost Julie Fickas.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • two large brackets facing each other with various arrows, circles, and rectangles flowing between them

    1EdTech Partners with DXtera to Support Ed Tech Interoperability

    1EdTech Consortium and DXtera Institute have announced a partnership aimed at improving access to learning data in postsecondary and higher education.

  • Abstract geometric shapes including hexagons, circles, and triangles in blue, silver, and white

    Google Launches Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet

    Google has introduced Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental, a new artificial intelligence model designed to reason through problems before delivering answers, a shift that marks a major leap in AI capability, according to the company.

  •  laptop on a clean desk with digital padlock icon on the screen

    Study: Data Privacy a Top Concern as Orgs Scale Up AI Agents

    As organizations race to integrate AI agents into their cloud operations and business workflows, they face a crucial reality: while enthusiasm is high, major adoption barriers remain, according to a new Cloudera report. Chief among them is the challenge of safeguarding sensitive data.

  • stylized AI code and a neural network symbol, paired with glitching code and a red warning triangle

    New Anthropic AI Models Demonstrate Coding Prowess, Behavior Risks

    Anthropic has released Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4, its most advanced artificial intelligence models to date, boasting a significant leap in autonomous coding capabilities while simultaneously revealing troubling tendencies toward self-preservation that include attempted blackmail.