Internet Learning Volume 3, Number 1, Spring 2014 | Page 89

Developing a Community of Practice
place to post videos (such as YouTube), and
he/she has all the equipment and software
needed to get started. In short, the flipped
classroom approach has a low cost of adoption,
making it relatively easy to implement.
In addition to the low cost of adoption,
proponents of this model have provided
testimonials and anecdotal evidence
suggesting a high level of success in the
flipped classroom. Students are more engaged,
better able to address questions requiring
application of content knowledge,
and are more satisfied with the classroom
experience in general (e.g., Mangan, 2013;
Springen, 2013; Satullo, 2013; Flipped
Learning Network, 2012). Such factors
combine to make the flipped classroom
very attractive to teachers, faculty, school
districts, and universities that are under
pressure to initiate changes that increase
student learning in their classrooms.
However, the empirical research
in this area is still relatively sparse. Of the
research that is currently available on the
subject of flipped classrooms, findings have
been mixed: some researchers are reporting
significant learning gains in students
(Tune, Sturek, & Basile, 2013; Mason,
Shuman, & Cook, 2013) and some are reporting
no difference between the flipped
classroom and the traditional model (Winston,
2013). Because of the relative newness
of this specific pedagogical approach
and the subsequent need for more empirical
research focused specifically on the efficacy
of flipped classroom techniques, the
purpose of this research project was to (1)
determine whether there is a difference in
student performance in a flipped classroom
versus a traditional classroom setting and
(2) gauge student perceptions of the flipped
classroom model and its efficacy on their
learning.
Methods
Participants
The classes chosen for the flipped
classroom experiment were two sections
of an undergraduate Principles of Biology
course taught by one of the researchers (n =
99). Of those enrolled, n = 88 completed the
experiment (34% male, n = 30 and 66% female,
n = 58). The comparison group for this
study consisted of two sections of the Principles
of Biology course from the previous fall
semester (n = 89). The comparison group
was 53% male (n = 47) and 47% female (n
= 42). As this course is a general education,
non-majors introductory biology course,
the students were not science majors.
Design
Two sections of the Principles of
Biology course taught in fall 2013 utilized
the flipped instructional design. Results
from learning assessment scores were then
compared to data from the previous fall semester.
In order to ensure the comparison
groups and the flipped groups were similar
in terms of prior knowledge coming into the
course, ACT Science scores were compared
and found to be not significantly different
(F (1,141)
= 0.82, p = 0.3667), suggesting that
student groups between the two years had
similar backgrounds in science, making
them comparable for the purposes of this
research. Furthermore, the same book, content
modules, visuals, assessments, and instructor
were utilized in both the treatment
and comparison groups to ensure a similarity
of experience.
Procedure
The first two modules of the course,
Chemistry of Biology and Biological Mole-
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