Evaluation of a Flipped Classroom Teachers Training Course Assessment Through Latent Trait Theory Analysis

Abstract

Assessment of an educational program/course, based on quantitative data, is attempted in this study, by using the final deliverables of the trainees and assess them according to a predefined set of items connected to the desired Learning Outcomes and a predefined scale for each item. The statistical analysis of the items’ grades, first using factor analysis and then using an Item Response Theory model, gives an indication of the Learning Outcomes’ degree of achievement and consequently guides the training designers to modify training strategies for a potential next cycle of the training program/course. For this study, a teacher training course on flipped classroom methodology, has been used and the above concept was tested. Our analysis using Item Response Theory, revealed the Learning Outcomes partially or not at all achieved showing very good agreement with trainers’ intuitive observations. For the future, the use of such a quantitative assessment could involve Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) tools to assess the relations among learning outcomes, prior knowledge and teaching practices and temporal analysis during training course execution using not only final data but also data from intermediate phases.