The model has been both hailed and criticised around the world. While some say it improves performance, others say it increases students’ workload.Written by Priyanka Sahoo | Mumbai | Published:November 15, 2016 1:32 am
ACROSS THE globe, rigorous research is underway into better classroom teaching models to improve students’ performance and experience. One such proposed model is the Flipped Classroom — where students watch lectures through videos at home and utilise classroom hours in discussion, problem-solving and other activities.
The model has been both hailed and criticised around the world. While some say it improves performance, others say it increases students’ workload. To determine the efficacy of this model, a team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, attempted to implement a flipped method, while constraining the work that a student has to do.
According to the study, 85 percent of the students said that this method was as effective as or more effective than conventional methods. It further found that about 80 percent of the students said that there should be no change in the major components of the course, such as weekly quizzes and mid-semester exams.
The report titled ‘Efficacy of a flipped method in an undergraduate class at IIT Bombay’ also found favourable result in the students’ performance. “A limited comparison of the performance with a control group that did the same course taught by another instructor in the conventional way showed that the flipped classroom students performed better. Students who did well in the weekly quiz, did well consistently throughout the course,” read the report.
A compulsory course, Process Control, was taught to 63 chemical engineering undergraduate students. A set of 36 one-hour videos, recorded in the previous year when the course was delivered through the conventional method by one of the authors of the report, was used as the instructional material.
Students studied three videos every week and discussed them through Moodle, a Learning Management System. The class met one hour a week, to assess understanding through an MCQ and to discuss difficult topics. Big quizzes, mid and end-semester exams, virtual labs, and tutorial sessions were the other components of the course.
The study conducted by professor Kannan Moudgalya of Chemical Engineering and Educational Technology departments and other researchers found that the students both performed well and were satisfied.
The report, however, pointed out that student satisfaction and overall performance alone were not sufficient reasons to convince traditional societies to adopt the flipped method.
“It is also necessary to show that the students go through the lecture material regularly and that learning happens throughout the semester.
This requirement is indeed fulfilled in the current study: this fact is brought out through the weekly quiz and a detailed study of it,” read the report.
Source: Indian Express | 15 November 2016
http://indianexpress.com/article/education/mumbai-paper-clip-students-taught-through-the-flipped-classroom-method-perform-better-are-more-satisfied-4375853/
