The flipped classroom during the remote period of COVID: student perceptions compared to pre-COVID times

Abstract

In this study, flipped instruction in an undergraduate engineering course in the ‘COVID’ online, remote environment was conducted and compared to onsite flipped instruction (i.e. pre-COVID) to explore potential changes in student perceptions. Student perceptions were gathered via survey instruments and investigated further through instructor interviews. This analysis was done at three universities and made possible by extensive research with the flipped classroom at these three schools as part of a previous NSF-funded study between 2014 and 2016. Results gathered in the online remote setting suggest positive changes in student perceptions of flipped instruction compared to the onsite environment, including the decreased perception of the ‘load’ imposed by the flipped classroom and the ‘effort‘’ required. Some desirable outcomes remained unchanged in the remote setting. The recent and emerging literature has suggested the remote, online environment dictated by the pandemic may be beneficial for flipped teaching and learning. These and other findings from conducting flipped classrooms at three engineering schools in the online environment are presented, including perceptions of the classroom environment (via the College and University Environment Inventory), benefits and drawbacks identified, student motivation levels, and perceived learning.