Implementing an Exclusively On‐line Flipped Classroom Model in Optometry During the Pandemic

Abstract

The flipped classroom model has become increasingly popular in health professions education as it has been proposed to improve student learning. This model involves a blended learning approach with synchronous and asynchronous instruction, where asynchronous learning takes place at the students’ own pace on-line and prior to on-site synchronous sessions. However, whether or not this model is effective in a completely on-line platform has not yet been evaluated. This year, the pandemic that forced an exclusive on-line instruction in educational programs, including health professions, put to test the efficacy of this model when the in-person interaction was missing. This study shows the impact of exclusively on-line flipped model in student learning as well as student perceptions in Optometry. A total of 66 students were enrolled in a Systemic Pathology course with a flipped instruction and compared to the same course offered the previous year with a traditional on-site synchronous lecture format (n= 55). In the traditional lecture-based cohort, students attended the didactic lecture and additional work was not requested. In the flipped classroom cohort, students were asked to watch the pre-recorded lectures or videos before the on-site synchronous session. In addition, during the synchronous session time, they worked in groups on a case based on the topics assigned in the pre-recorded lectures, via an on-line platform and then discussed with the rest of the class. The flipped classroom cohort was asked to complete a feedback questionnaire after the course instruction ended and a total of 27 responses were acquired. Student learning was assessed in both cohorts with several quizzes, midterms and a final exam. We found that the two groups obtained similar scores in the quizzes, midterms, final exam, and course average, even when analyzed by gender. The students that completed the questionnaire perceived that they learned better concepts when actively working on them during the group work, which was not reflected in their grades; however not every student assigned to a group actively participated in their group. In conclusion, despite the transition of the flipped blended model into an exclusively on-line model, the flipped classroom teaching strategy did not seem to impact the student performance in the course.