Effectiveness of a Flipped Classroom Approach when Teaching Lab-Based Techniques

Abstract

To investigate whether student-centered learning (SCL) leads to greater learning gains than lecture, a flipped classroom approach was implemented in a master-level biochemistry course as well as a first-year medical school course at a US medical school for a unit on laboratory techniques, a topic previously taught by instructor-led lecture. Seventy-nine master’s students and 137 first-year medical students were enrolled in the respective courses and participated in this study during the fall 2014 term. Students’ learning was quantitatively assessed by multiple-choice questions (MCQs). Findings show that students’ performance on MCQs for this topic was better that students’ performance on MCQs based on material taught by instructor-led lecture, indicating that SCL was more effective for this topic than instructor-centered approaches. Student attitudes toward SCL were assessed by an optional, anonymous survey and a required reflection. Master’s students’ survey responses and free-response reflections supported their positive attitudes toward SCL. Medical students’ survey responses and free-response reflections were mixed, ranging from strongly positive to strongly negative, indicating their perceptions of learning strategy efficacy – that is, how effectively the learning strategies analyzed in this study promote higher-order thinking skills and knowledge retention – are not necessarily aligned with their performance on summative assessments. These data indicate that, within this context, a blended learning approach is more effective than instructor-led lecture. These data contribute to the research indicating that SCL approaches through blended learning lead to increased learning gains and support SCL approaches as effective, empirically validated teaching practices.