Pre-class Activities Research Articles

Profiling students via clustering in a flipped clinical skills course using learning analytics

Flipped classrooms have become popular as a student-centered approach in medical education because they allow students to improve higher-order thinking skills and problem-solving applications during in-class activities. However, students are expected to study videos and other class materials before class begins. Learning analytics and unsupervised machine learning algorithms (clustering) can be used to examine the pre-class activities of these students to identify inadequate student preparation before the in-class stage and make appropriate interventions. Furthermore, the students’ profiles, which provide their interaction strategies towards online materials, can be used to design appropriate interventions. This study investigates student profiles in a flipped classroom. The learning management system interactions of 375 medical students are collected and preprocessed. The k-means clustering algorithms examined in this study show a two-cluster structure: ‘high interaction’ and ‘low-interaction.’ These results can be used to help identify low-engaged students and give appropriate feedback.

Towards a fully online flipped classroom model to support student learning outcomes and engagement: A 2-year design-based study

The overarching goal of this design-based research is to develop and evaluate a set of design principles for a fully online flipped classroom to support students' learning outcomes, behavioural, emotional, and cognitive engagement. In a fully online flipped classroom, students are encouraged to complete online pre-class activities asynchronously. But unlike in the conventional flipped approach, students do not subsequently meet face-to-face in classrooms, but rather online synchronously. The testbed involved a conventional flipped class (Cycle 0), a fully online flipped class (Cycle 1), and a refined fully online flipped class (Cycle 2). The results showed that although all three groups of students performed equally well in learning, the refined online flipped model was more effective in supporting students' behavioural engagement in the synchronous online class sessions than the online flipped model. This study contributes to the extant literature by explicating the design principles that support student engagement in fully online flipped learning.

GeoGebra-based flipped learning model: An alternative panacea to improve student’s learning independency in online mathematics learning

Previous studies have tried to improve students' independence in online mathematics learning. However, the Flipped Learning model integrated with GeoGebra is scarce as none of the existing syntaxes accommodate the model. As the existing syntax is based on three phases: pre-class activity, in-class activity, and post-class activity. This research aims to develop GeoGebra-based Flipped Learning syntax to increase students' independence in learning mathematics. The main difference between the existing syntax and the developed one is the integration of GeoGebra in the pre-class activity. The integration is based on previous studies showing that using GeoGebra can improve student’s learning achievements. It research employed the Design-Based Research (DBR) model involving 125 second-year undergraduate students of a private university in Indonesia. The syntax results were obtained from the study, indicating an increase in the average value of student independence in learning mathematics based on learning independence, confidence, level of discipline, sense of responsibility, level of initiative, and self-control. This developed syntax is expected to help teachers streamline online mathematics learning.

Employing Flipped Classroom: A Case Study in Indonesian EFL University Context

The research in flipped classroom is gaining popularity across countries. However, there is very limited research that describes how to implement flipped classroom method in learning. This study aims to describe how to implement the flipped classroom in TELL classes. The research design of this study is case study. Then, the technique of collecting the data through email interviews. After that, the data was analysed by thematic analysis. As the result of this analysis, it was found that the implementation of flipped classroom is divided into three stages such as pre-class activities of flipped classroom, while class activities of flipped classroom, and post-class activities of flipped classroom. Moreover, while implementing flipped classroom there are such challenges that arise and how to overcome them.
 
 Key Words: Flipped Classroom, EFL, Bloom’s Taxonomy, Mastery Learning, Constructivism

A Cross-Institutional Perspective of Pre Laboratory Activities in Undergraduate Chemistry

Pre-laboratory exercises may help reduce cognitive load in the laboratory, boost confidence, develop theoretical understanding and skills, and improve grades on assessment tasks. This study compared pre-laboratory activities at two institutions, Go8-1 and Go8-2, to evaluate which attributes of pre-laboratory activities were perceived by students to best prepare them for laboratory classes. Students were surveyed towards the end of their laboratory course, and were asked a series of Likert-style and open response questions. Factor analysis was used to construct three scales, incorporating items relating to performance and understanding, items relating to affective and personal laboratory experience, and items relating to requiring support with laboratory equipment. No difference between cohorts was observed between the two institutions regarding requiring support with equipment. While Go8-1 students rated performance and understanding more highly than Go8-2 students, the opposite result was observed for affective and personal factors. The factor analysis results and responses to the open response questions indicated that students felt most prepared for laboratory exercises when the pre-class activities touched upon all aspects of the laboratory class. It is recommended that quizzes and video be used in pre-laboratory activities, with these resources covering theory, aims, methods, calculations and data analysis.

A Flipped Classroom Framework for Teaching and Learning of Programming

Programming is a difficult subject that requires high analytical skills to comprehend students. Various strategies are introduced to improve difficulties in learning programming for students. This study examined four flipped classroom frameworks and was triangulated with the findings of document analysis from 44 articles related to flipped classrooms in programming. The articles were coded using five different codes emergent from the research questions. The coding produced 314 quotations related to the research questions. The purposes of the flipped classroom are to prepare students before class, give extra in-class time, and create an active learning environment in the classroom. The flipped classroom was implemented mostly in two phases: pre-class sessions and in-class sessions, with individual and collaborative work activities. Ensuring the participation of students in the activities outside the classroom is the biggest challenge in a flipped classroom, while preparing tools and activities is cumbersome to some lecturers. The pre-class activities focus on the introduction and theoretical topic. The implementation of flipped classrooms reported improving students' skills, competencies, and satisfaction in programming. The potential of exploring analysis and problem-solving activities in pre-class sessions while strengthening students' knowledge in post-class sessions seems to be assured. A flipped classroom framework for programming is proposed. The framework has three phases; pre-class, in-class, and post-class, with suggestions, activities, and motivational elements to complement the conceptual and technical needs in programming using flipped classroom approach.

Pre-class teacher feedback in the flipped classroom: Cognitive or praise feedback is better than mitigating feedback

ABSTRACT The present study examined whether different types of teacher feedback in a university flipped classroom pre-class activity could improve students’ self-regulated learning skills, learning performance, and learning satisfaction. In a repeated measures design (N = 31) the teacher gave a different type of feedback (no feedback vs. cognitive feedback vs. praise feedback vs. mitigating feedback) to questions that students posted on the course discussion platform. At the end of each week the students completed a self-regulated learning questionnaire, learning satisfaction questionnaire, and learning performance test. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that all forms of teacher feedback enhanced students’ learning performance and self-regulated learning skills, especially the cognitive feedback and praise feedback but not their learning satisfaction.

Analyzing the Time-Varying Thermal Perception of Students in Classrooms and Its Influencing Factors from a Case Study in Xi’an, China

Owing to movement in the spatial environment and changes in activity levels, students’ thermal perception is time varying in classrooms throughout different periods of the day. However, previous studies have rarely considered the time-varying thermal perception in different periods of the day, which may cause discomfort for students and lead to energy wastage. Therefore, a study was conducted to investigate the time-varying thermal perception of students and its influencing factors in different classes of the day. In addition, the differences in students’ adaptive behaviors in different periods were also explored. A total of 578 university students were surveyed using questionnaire surveys during the heating season in Xi’an, China. The following results can be obtained: (1) The thermal sensation vote and thermal preference vote values in the afternoon were significantly higher than those in the morning. At the start of the first class in the morning/afternoon, the thermal sensation of the students had the highest sensitivity to outdoor temperature changes. (2) The students’ thermal perception was greatly affected by the preclass activity state at the start of the first class in the morning/afternoon. However, in other periods, the above phenomenon was not obvious. (3) In the afternoon, the frequency of clothing adjustment was greater than that in the morning, and this behavior would significantly affect the students’ thermal sensation. (4) Compared with the current classroom heating strategy, the heating strategy of dynamically adjusting the indoor set temperature according to the time-varying characteristics of the students can theoretically achieve energy savings of 25.6%.

Flipped Classroom Approach in Undergraduate Medical Education: The Need of the Hour

Introduction: In the era of changing medical education system, our teaching methods are not able to cope up with ongoing evolution of medical education. There is a definite need of introducing newer techniques of teaching-learning methods to improve the learning process to higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. Aim: To explore the perceptions and attitudes of final year undergraduate medical students and teachers in paediatrics towards Flipped Classroom (FCR) model. Materials and Methods: The present prospective observational study was conducted at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences Sevagram, a rural tertiary care institute of central Maharashtra, India from December 2020 to November 2021. The full class strength of 100 undergraduate final year medical students and all eight faculty members participated to conduct FCR sessions on Paediatric infectious diseases. Prereading study material in the form of videos and reading materials was provided for asynchronous learning, while classroom time was spent on solving problem-based questions based on “think-pair-share” with the faculty as facilitators. Student and faculty feedback was recorded via a five-point Likert’s scale. Consequently, small-group discussions were carried out to know the students’ reflections. The data was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0 software. Results: The students showed overall encouraging response to the flipped classroom method with active participation. Eighty two students (82%) were happy about the content of the reading material and time spent on preclass activity. More than 75% of students agreed it to be more interactive with peers and teachers and that it enhanced active learning with development of interest in the given subjects. Seventy-five students (75%) gave positive responses towards the utility of flipped model for future classes as it helped in self directed learning. The faculty members also enjoyed this activity, though they found it time-consuming. Conclusion: FCR is an effective way to motivate and enhance active and self-directed learning. Unlike didactic lectures, it helps the students in conceptual understanding of the subject and makes the teaching-learning experience enjoyable.

ChemSims: using simulations and screencasts to help students develop particle-level understanding of equilibrium in an online environment before and during COVID

Equilibrium is a challenging concept for many, largely because developing a deep conceptual understanding of equilibrium requires someone to be able to connect the motions and interactions of particles that cannot be physically observed with macroscopic observations. Particle level chemistry animations and simulations can support student connections of particle motion with macroscopic observations, but for topics such as equilibrium additional visuals such as graphs are typically present which add additional complexity. Helping students make sense of such visuals requires careful scaffolding to draw their attention to important features and help them make connections between representations (e.g., particle motion and graphical representations). Further, as students enter our classrooms with varying levels of background understanding, they may require more or less time working with such simulations or animations to develop the desired level of conceptual understanding. This paper describes the development and testing of activities that use the PhET simulation “Reactions and Rates” to introduce the concept of equilibrium as a student preclass activity either in the form of directly using the simulation or guided by an instructor through a screencast. The pre-post analysis of the two most recent implementations of these activities indicates that students show improved understanding of the core ideas underlying equilibrium regardless of instructor, institution, or type of instructional environment (face to face or remote). We also observed that students were more readily able to provide particle level explanations of changes in equilibrium systems as they respond to stresses (such as changes to concentration and temperature) if they have had prior course instruction on collision theory. Lastly, we observed that student answers to explain how an equilibrium will respond to an applied stress more often focus on either initial responses or longer-term stability of concentrations, not on both key aspects.

Facilitating decision making in authentic contexts: an SVVR-based experiential flipped learning approach for professional training

ABSTRACT Facilitating decision making in authentic contexts is an important educational objective of professional training. To enable learners to have more opportunities to practice in authentic contexts under the guidance of instructors, the flipped learning mode of shifting the lectures to be the pre-class activity with the presentation of digital media has gradually been receiving attention. However, the conventional flipped learning mostly uses videos to present teaching content. In such a learning environment with one-way information and lack of experience, it is not easy for most learners to experience the actual situation encountered in the nursing procedure, which affects their judgment and performance when dealing with actual scenarios. To solve this problem, the present study adopted spherical video-based virtual reality (SVVR) to provide an experiential learning mode in flipped learning. To verify the effects of this teaching mode, this study conducted an experiment in a blood transfusion safety training course. The experimental group used the SVVR-based experiential flipped learning (SVVR-EFL) mode, while the control group used the conventional flipped learning mode. The results showed that using the SVVR-EFL mode not only enhanced new nursing staff’s learning achievement, but also increased their decision-making performance, meta-cognition tendency, problem-solving tendency and classroom engagement.

The Effects of the Gamified Flipped Classroom Method on Petroleum Engineering Students' Pre-class Online Behavioural Engagement and Achievement

The flipped learning is a widely-used teaching method that increases the interaction between the instructor and the students by changing the in-class instructional time and the out-of-class practices. In this method, if students come to the class without studying the pre-course materials, this might lead to failures in its application. Besides, the gamified flipped learning environment was obtained by integrating the gamification elements in the pre-class phase of the flipped learning. The effects of teaching in this environment on students’ online behaviors and achievements were investigated. The participants were fourth-year undergraduate petroleum and natural gas engineering students enrolled in a natural gas engineering course. A true-experimental design was used in the study. Data were collected from a natural gas concept test, weekly quizzes, and data logs from Moodle. The research results indicated that teaching in the gamified flipped learning method showed a significant increase in the students’ participation in the pre-class activities of the flipped learning compared to the control group. Moreover, there was a significant increase in the achievement levels of the experimental group as compared to the control group. Based on these findings, the use of gamification elements in the pre-class phase of the flipped learning method can have a positive effect on the pre-course online behavior engagements of students. Furthermore, it was determined that it has a positive effect on the achievements of students who completed the method.

Enhancing the performance of students in chemistry through flipped classroom with peer instruction teaching strategy

This study examines the implementation of flipped classroom with peer instruction teaching strategy to Grade 7 public high school students in Laguna, Philippines. To analyze the effect of flipped classroom with peer instruction on Chemistry achievement, a two-group quasi-experimental pretest-posttest research design was used. In addition, student perception and participation were conducted using a post-implementation survey. In the flipped classroom with peer instruction, the students were introduced to the lesson using the science courseware developed by the Department of Science and Technology and YouTube videos as pre-class activities. The in-class activity was focused on answering concept questions through peer instruction. Findings show that the two groups of students significantly increased their Chemistry achievement after the implementation of the teaching strategies. However, the students in the flipped classroom with peer instruction had higher Chemistry achievement, high level of participation, and wide acceptance of the teaching strategy than the control group. With this teaching strategy, the students were able to complete their assigned tasks on time, show cooperative and supportive attitude during classroom discussion and activities, share ideas in class, and show respect for the opinion of others. On the contrary, students in the traditional classroom with peer instruction setup performed poorly on these aspects of classroom participation.

The flipped classroom approach in an English for specific purposes (ESP) course: A quasi-experimental study on learners’ self-efficacy, study process, and learning performances

The flipped classroom approach has been extensively adopted in STEM disciplines, while little empirical evidence has been found in language teaching and learning, especially in the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) context. This quasi-experimental study aimed to explore how the flipped classroom approach affected non-English majors’ self-efficacy, study process, and learning performance in English learning. An 18-week semester-long flipped approach with pre-class materials and in-class interactive activities was implemented in a university ESP class in Taiwan. The results showed that the experimental group attained significantly higher self-efficacy, and outperformed the control group on the examinations. Moreover, the flipped approach promoted learners’ higher-level skills and enabled them to scrutinize new ideas critically and connect them to their existing cognitive structures, and make numerous associations between ideas.

The Application of a Case-Based Social Media-Assisted Teaching Method in Cariology Education：Comparative Study.

BackgroundCurrent cariology education based on the traditional teaching method faces a lot of challenges. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented disruption in medical education and health care systems worldwide. Innovation in the teaching mode of cariology education is required to change the situation.ObjectiveThe goal of the research was to evaluate the application effects of a case-based social media–assisted teaching method in cariology education.MethodsDental students of class 2019 were enrolled into the experimental group, while students of class 2018 served as control. A case-based social media–assisted teaching method was used in the experimental group, which included preclass activity via social media, additional discussion and practice process record in class, and questions and answers on the platform after class. The traditional teaching method, which consisted of conventional preparation before class, traditional lectures and demonstrations followed by students practice in class, and questions and answers step after class, was used in the control group. The teaching materials were the same in both groups. At the end of the program, students from both groups took cavity preparation skill evaluation tests. Questionnaires were tested on the case-based social media–assisted teaching group students anonymously. All data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software (version 22.0, IBM Corp).ResultsThe mean student cavity preparation skill evaluation scores was 82.51 (SD 6.82) in the experimental group and 77.19 (SD 5.98) in the control group (P<.05). The questionnaire response rate was 100%. Of those, 94.3% (100/106) of the students recommended the case-based social media–assisted teaching method in cariology education. The majority of the participants agreed that it helped them memorize the theoretical knowledge of cariology, facilitated in-depth discussion, improved their enthusiasm and initiative in learning, and enhanced the relationship between teachers and students (104/106, 98.1%). They also recognized that the classroom atmosphere was active (94/106, 88.7%).ConclusionsThe case-based social media–assisted teaching method was beneficial in terms of learning, as demonstrated by the statistically significant improvement of the cavity preparation skill evaluation scores and satisfaction from attending students. This method could be used to supplement the teaching of cariology.

English

BACKGROUND Higher education including medical education has been shifting towards more active and learner centric strategies. The flipped classroom (FCR) is basically student centered where as traditional teaching is teacher centered. Educationists and researchers have been debating about the pros of flipped classroom for over a decade and it is believed that flipping the classroom helps in inculcating the habit of self learning among the learners, leading to refinement of their analysis and synthesis skills. There are very limited data available regarding FCR teaching method especially surgery subject. Hence, this study was planned to introduce flipped class room among medical undergraduates in surgery. METHODS A prospective and observational study of 110 student selected out of 115 was carried out. Topics were selected from common surgical topics – cholelithiasis (2 classes) and appendicitis (1 class). Pre class activities were intimated digitally. In class and post class activities, student and teacher perceptions were measured and evaluated using standard statistical techniques. RESULTS 58 : 52 (Male : Female) students were included. Among them, 70 agreed &amp; 10 strongly agreed that proper and clear instructions were provided, pre-class reading materials and similarly 80 agreed &amp; 16 strongly agreed that adequate reading material was provided. 60 agreed that it was useful method in understanding and 10 strongly agreed that they learnt better but 36 felt neutral. Regarding faculty perception on if they would prefer flipped classroom over other teaching method: 12 agreed, 4 strongly agreed and 4 were neutral. Students suggested less text, more videos, and the use of FCR for selected topics. CONCLUSIONS Flipped classroom is an innovative method for medical education and should be incorporated in the curriculum. More studies, newer performance indicators and methods of implementation are needed to fine tune its technique and mode of delivery. KEYWORDS Flipped Classroom, Medical Education

Technology-Enhanced Active Learning with Flipped Classroom on Otolaryngology Education

Objective: To determine the learning outcomes in otolaryngology education, comparing the traditional lecture-based classroom with the flipped classroom combined with a case-based approach. Materials and Methods: The participants were fourth year medical students and divided into two groups, the traditional classroom group and the flipped classroom group. The topic “vertigo” was chosen for the content of the present study. The traditional groups were assigned to attend a didactic lecture. The flipped group were assigned to watch the video lecture and answer the quizzes on the online application “Edpuzzle”, and they used time during the in-class activity for case-based discussion and role playing involving the doctor-patient interaction. All participants completed a questionnaire, and the final assessment scores. Results: Two hundred thirty-nine medical students were enrolled. Some 113 students participated in the traditional group, and 126 students participated in the flipped group. The knowledge assessment in the flipped group had significantly higher scores than those from the traditional group (p=0.042 and &lt;0.001 respectively). Objective structured clinical examination scores and the score of some items in the questionnaires were also significantly higher in the flipped group than in the traditional group (p&lt;0.001). Conclusion: The implementation of the flipped classroom consists of pre-class activities using an instructor-developed video and a free online application, combined with a case-based approach during the in-class activity appears to be more effective in terms of medical students gaining knowledge and skills on otolaryngology education compared with the traditional instruction method. Keywords: Flipped classroom; Otolaryngology; Vertigo; Technology; Active learning

An Investigation of Learners’ Perception of an Online Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) Training Model

Developing students’ Intercultural communicative competence (ICC) has been viewed as the English as a foreign language teachers’ responsibility in the globalized world, especially after the birth of COVID-19 pandemic. Amidst the flourishing development of ICC cultivation studies, a noted absence is on the study of how to actualize ICC in the online teaching based English language teaching. This study, by presenting a pedagogical case, explores the application of the online ICC training model, and focuses on how the online teaching can be established at the four teaching stages, namely, attitude development, knowledge construction, skills practice, and reflection. Attitude development is a pre-class activity to motivate students’ learning curiosity. In the stage of knowledge construction, various kinds of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are selected as teaching resources for students to learn the key concepts and theories for the course. Skills practice requires students to make full use of WeChat or Bulletin Board System (BBS) to have online intercultural encounter, in this process students practice both their linguistic and intercultural communicative competence. The last stage provides chances for both students and teacher to rethink about their learning and teaching and move to the new circle of teaching stages. An eight-weeks’ action research with a class of second-grade English Majors in a Chinese university has been conducted. Questionnaire and interview are the main methods for data collection, combined with teacher and students’ reflective journals. The results of both quantitative and qualitative evaluation show that adopting online-teaching may serve as an effective way to develop students’ ICC during epidemic and in the future.

USING FLIPPED CLASSROOM FOR TEACHING PROCEDURAL SKILL IN RESIDENCY SPECIALLY DERMATOLOGY–A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Objective: To review the available literature investigating effectiveness of flipped classroom (FC) in context to teaching of procedural skills in residency in various medical fields especially in dermatology.&#x0D; Study Design: Systematic review.&#x0D; Place and Duration of Study: Flipped classroom meeting out inclusion criteria published in 9 years from 2012 to 2020.&#x0D; Methodology: Flipped classroom meeting out inclusion criteria published in 9 years from 2012 to 2020 were reviewed by the authors and co-authors as per their feasibility and discussion done by video conferencing by mobile software apps.&#x0D; Results: To review of 25 full-text articles. Strategic organization of course material, wise choice of pre-class activities, usage of Virtual learning environment, class time utilization tailored to learners needs, adherence to timelines, proper training of staff and proper evaluation; are required for successful implementation of flipped classroom. Students had positive perceptions about this technique.&#x0D; Conclusion: Flipped classroom is an effective teaching method for procedural skills training in post graduate medical training.

Promoting Student Engagement and Preparation in Flipped Learning’s Pre-Class Activities – A Systematic Review

Flipped learning is an instructional model with core features of pre-class learning followed by in-class practice of knowledge through active and collaborative learning. However, non-compliance with pre-class activities is a commonly cited challenge in flipped learning, where a lack of student engagement leads to insufficient pre-class preparation, diminishing flipped learning’s intended benefits significantly as the students will then not participate well in the in-class activities. It lends consideration to the potential obstacles and solutions in increasing students’ engagement in pre-class learning, paving the way to pre-class learning compliance to achieve the full potential of flipped learning in improving students’ learning outcomes. This study uses systematic literature review with qualitative content analysis to identify three main areas, namely technological, pedagogical, and student perceptions, to instill optimal conditions to promote pre-class engagement and preparation.