To Flip or Not in Higher Education: A Tale of Three Instructors

Abstract

A flipped classroom is an instructional model in which students learn basic subject matter knowledge prior to classroom meetings, and then come to classroom for active learning experiences. Previous research has shown that flipped classroom have a positive impact on students’ learning. Most current studies focus on students’ learning experiences in flipped classroom courses. However, this qualitative case study investigated three higher education instructors’ adoption of flipped classroom, with special focus on the adjustments they made and the suggestions they offered to make a successful flipped classroom course. Semistructured interviews and course artifacts were collected from the three instructors. Findings highlighted that they made a main adjustment on allocating a brief period of in-class time to address students’ pre-class learning materials, and they suggested that helping students form good learning habits and integrating resources from other courses and other program activities into flipped classroom instruction can enhance the instructional efficiency. Findings also reveal that instructors look forward to more peer assistance among instructors.