ENGAGEMENT WITH THE INVERTED CLASSROOM APPROACH: STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS AND IMPACT ON LEARNING OUTCOMES

Abstract

The focus of this paper is to take a closer look at this question of engagement with the inverted classroom approach and specifically address the following two research questions: 1) Do students with different degrees of engagement with the inverted classroom approach exhibit different academic characteristics?, and 2) How does the degree of engagement affect the learning of the course material?To assess these questions, the students preferred learning styles (ILS), their self-efficacy, and their academic performance prior to the course were assessed. As well, the students’ engagement with the approach was assessed through their lecture attendance and pre-class video viewing, and their learning was quantified through pre/post concept tests, in-class pop quizzes, and the final course grade.Using k-means clustering with the pre-class viewing and lecture attendance data, the cohort was divided into three groups: high, medium, and low degrees of engagement with the teaching approach. Some differences were noted in terms of the groups’ learning styles and prior academic performance, but no differences were found with their self-efficacy scores. Students in the high engagement group did significantly better than their peers in the other two groups, with final course mark averages of Mhigh = 81.8%, Mmedium = 74.0%, Mlow = 63.5%, F(2,323) = 67.4, p < .001. When prior academic performance and learning styles were controlled for, in comparison to the low engagement group, being part of the medium or high engagement group was a significant positive predictor for the final course grade, with medium = 0.168, p < .01, high = 0.349, p < .001.Since the inverted classroom approach requires a major shift in student attitudes and behaviors towards their learning, these results show that the degree of engagement with the process is an important metric to consider.