Perceptions of student engagement in the flipped classroom: a case study

ABSTRACT

One of the blended learning strategies that researchers and educators commonly use in higher education is Flipped Classroom. The purpose of this case study was to explore how both professors and students perceive student engagement in flipped classrooms. Three college professors who implemented flipped classrooms and their 14 students participated in the study. Three individual faculty interviews and three student focus group interviewers were conducted. Five components of the utilization-focused evaluation model were used in the data coding. The findings revealed both positive and negative opinions depending on how they implemented the flipped classroom including the engagement of students and the environment. Faculty participants who fully implemented the flipped model had positive opinions about the implementation and student engagement, finding the model helped increase student performance and grades. In addition, the majority of student participants liked the challenges offered by the flipped classroom, which increased their engagement.     

An action research study designed to implement student negotiation to improve speaking classroom practice in Turkey

This paper reports the second stage of an action research study designed to improve the effectiveness of speaking classes through negotiating the lesson contents with students. The data were collected through interviews, questionnaires and observations as a way of eliciting students’ views. The research, conducted in an English language teaching department at a university in Turkey, comprised eight weekly-based interventions that involved planning, action, observation, and reflection, in which students were given a voice and classroom activities were designed accordingly. Student negotiation allowed for the identification of both structural and affective factors influencing the quality of speaking classes. The teacher’s roles in activities, the number of students in group work activities, the level of control in speaking activities, and the role of input were found to be issues worth considering in designing speaking classes. Issues such as finding the activity ‘interesting’ and ‘useful’, ‘feeling comfortable’ and ‘being competitive’ also influenced the effectiveness of activities. Involving students in this action research study promoted positive attitudes towards classes since students reported feeling valued and important.     

Application of flipped classroom pedagogy to the human gross anatomy laboratory: Student preferences and learning outcomes

To improve student preparedness for anatomy laboratory dissection, the dental gross anatomy laboratory was transformed using flipped classroom pedagogy. Instead of spending class time explaining the procedures and anatomical structures for each laboratory, students were provided online materials to prepare for laboratory on their own. Eliminating in‐class preparation provided the opportunity to end each period with integrative group activities that connected laboratory and lecture material and explored clinical correlations. Materials provided for prelaboratory preparation included: custom‐made, three‐dimensional (3D) anatomy videos, abbreviated dissection instructions, key atlas figures, and dissection videos. Data from three years of the course (n = 241 students) allowed for analysis of students' preferences for these materials and detailed tracking of usage of 3D anatomy videos. Students reported spending an average of 27:22 (±17:56) minutes preparing for laboratory, similar to the 30 minutes previously allocated for in‐class dissection preparation. The 3D anatomy videos and key atlas figures were rated the most helpful resources. Scores on laboratory examinations were compared for the three years before the curriculum change (2011–2013; n = 242) and three years after (2014–2016; n = 241). There was no change in average grades on the first and second laboratory examinations. However, on the final semi‐cumulative laboratory examination, scores were significantly higher in the post‐flip classes (P = 0.04). These results demonstrate an effective model for applying flipped classroom pedagogy to the gross anatomy laboratory and illustrate a meaningful role for 3D anatomy visualizations in a dissection‐based course. Anat Sci Educ 11: 385–396. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Digital natives and digital media in the college classroom: assignment design and impacts on student learning

The use of multimodal learning techniques is becoming more widespread, however, the pedagogical discourse surrounding its implementation into classroom and course design is complicated as these technologies are either demonized or viewed as the panacea for curriculum ills. Educators are faced with unique challenges when investigating how to experiment with the best ways to produce classroom experiences that use digital media. This case study examines the implementation challenges and learning outcomes related to such an experiment by reviewing and assessing the use of digital media in a health communication course, specifically through the development of documentaries. Creating an effective assignment requires addressing the development of technical skills along with course content and providing guidance and feedback throughout a semester-long project. Creating an effective assignment is pointless without sufficient learning outcomes. Because this assignment engaged students with both the course content and digital media, their learning experiences were enhanced and improved their group collaboration, critical thinking and media literacy skills.     

浅谈在课堂教学中如何激发英语学习兴趣

兴趣是最好的老师,学生对英语学习的主动性和积极性在很大程度上是由兴趣决定的。在课堂教学中,教师要坚持通过设计教学游戏、创设情境、小组合作、创造成功机会等方法吸引学生,激发他们学习英语的兴趣。     

Research trends of flipped classroom studies for medical courses: a review of journal publications from 2008 to 2017 based on the technology-enhanced learning model

ABSTRACT

Medical education is a domain with fast-changing knowledge and attention to knowledge application and higher order thinking; therefore, how to implement effective teaching is a crucial issue. Based on the technology-based learning model, this study provides a multi-dimensional analysis of published papers on the flipped classroom in medical education from the SCOPUS database, including the form of the learning materials, learning system or player, learning strategies, educational technology, application domains, research issues, participants, and research methods. Based on the results, the application of flipped classrooms in medical education has grown rapidly over the past decade, with the number growing dramatically from 7 papers in 2014, to 16 papers in 2015, and 22 papers in 2016. It was found that a great number of studies adopted instructional videos uploaded on online learning systems or used existing online videos to conduct before-class teaching in the before-class stage of the flipped classroom; moreover, most studies involved no online discussion in the before-class stage. As for learning strategies in the in-class stage, the most frequently adopted strategies were issue discussion, practicing or doing exercises, and problem-based learning. This implies that most studies mainly emphasized basic knowledge understanding and skills training, while little attention was paid to developing learners’ higher order thinking skills. In addition, the majority of studies explored students’ learning interest/satisfaction, learning experience, and performance on the cognitive aspect, while little research was found to investigate their preparation degree or cognitive loading. Based on the review results, this study provides the research trends and potential research issues of flipped medical education to serve as a reference for researchers, instructors, and decision makers.     

探讨交流:驾驭交际语言课堂活动的有效形式

语言最本质的社会功能是交际功能，培养学生的实际言语交际能力，是外语教学的出发点和归宿。因此，强调以学生为中心的交际教学法近年来在高校外语教学中得到大力提倡。探讨交流作为交际英语教学课堂的主要教学模式之一，对学习者个体学习行为的发展和言语交际能力的培养，都有积极的作用。教无定法，学无止境，本文试从传统英语教学与交际英语教学的比较中，来认识探讨交流在英语教学中的积极作用，以提高英语语言教学的实际效益。     

What academic language and learning advisers bring to the scholarship of teaching and learning: problems and possibilities for dialogue with the disciplines

Higher education policy is seeking, in the interest of ‘quality assurance’, to reward teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). Academic language and learning (ALL) advisers, who work closely with students to improve their performance in their courses of study, have much to contribute to SoTL. ALL advisers who adopt an ‘academic literacies’ approach share with lecturers in the disciplines an engagement with issues of ‘‐ography’ (i.e. writing in and for a discourse community)—including the relationships between epistemology, form, and language—yet, misconceptions about ALL advisers’ work can prevent discipline lecturers from consulting them when thinking about questions of teaching and learning in their own field. This paper discusses ALL advisers’ access to insights into students’ experiences of learning and of being taught, with relevance both for particular disciplines and for academic culture across the disciplines; their contributions to SoTL; the difficulties they encounter in trying to communicate across the borders of the disciplines; and ways of improving this situation in the context of the new emphasis on encouraging improvement in the quality of teaching.     

Effectiveness of cooperative learning (jigsaw II) method in teaching English as a foreign language to engineering students (Case of Firat University,Turkey)

The present study compares the effects of the cooperative jigsaw II method and traditional teacher-centred teaching method on improving vocabulary knowledge and active–passive voice in English as a foreign language for engineering students and the students' attitudes towards learning English. Jigsaw is a cooperative learning model that involves small groups of 5–6 students teaching each other subject matter with success dependent upon student cooperation. Sixty-six engineering students participated in the study and a pre-test–post-test control group experimental design was employed. The students were randomly assigned into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group used cooperative Jigsaw II as an instruction method while the control group used traditional teacher-centred instruction. The groups were administered an achievement test, as a pre-, post- and delayed post-test. The results revealed statistically significant differences in favour of the experimental group on the dependent variables of improving vocabulary knowledge and learning active–passive voice in English. The attitude scale results showed that the cooperative learning experience had a significant positive effect on engineering students' attitudes towards learning English and promoted better interactions among students as well.     

The Storyline approach: promoting learning through cooperation in the second language classroom

In the Storyline approach, a fictive world is created in the classroom, with learners working in small groups, taking on the role of characters in a story. The story develops as they work on a range of tasks which integrate the practical and theoretical content of the curriculum. This article reports on a study based on the syllabus for English, in which a class of Swedish 11–13-year-olds took on the roles of families who had moved into a new street in England, and highlights the role played by cooperative group work in the second learning process.     

(Re)affirming identities: implementing a play-based approach to learning in the early years of schooling

Learning through play has traditionally been a central tenet in early childhood education, however, in recent times primary schools have begun to consider the benefits of introducing a play-based approach into early years classrooms to support young children’s learning, especially in the areas of language and literacy. This study focuses on the introduction of a play-based approach to a Foundation classroom (first year of formal schooling) in one Catholic primary school in Victoria, Australia. Taking a qualitative approach, drawing on interpretivist theory, data collection methods included group interviews with two Foundation teachers and their Early Years Coordinator at different points during the year, and two classroom observation sessions. This paper considers some of the challenges these teachers experienced and how they interpret and make sense of their work and the consequences this has for their identities as teachers. The data highlight tensions for these teachers that relate to issues of accountability and legitimisation.     

A Discussion on the Role of First Language (Chinese) Positive Transfer in Second Language (English) Lexical Acquisition and Related Pedagogical Suggestions

Language transfer is one of the central questions in second language acquisition (SLA) study. It claims that learners’ the native language (NL) or first language (L1) will make great impacts, either promoting or hindering, on their second language (L2) acquisition, i.e. positive transfer and negative transfer. The issue has been widely concerned and researched in such relative fields as language education and psychological study during the past years. It is far beyond the scope of this paper to discuss it thoroughly since the scope of L1 influence is so wide that it affects almost all linguistic subsystems. Instead, this paper aims to focus on how the Chinese language facilitates Chinese learners’ English lexical acquisition. Some suggestions on how to make use of the positive aspects is provided at the end of the paper for practical purpose.     

让语言学习回归真实世界--美国整体语言教学案例分析

别具风格的整体语言教室 ,是充满让学生使用语言的情景的特殊环境 ;与生活世界紧密相连的语言学习 ,使整体语言教学帮助学生通过课程去感知和理解自己的世界 ;英语教学与其他学科的统整 ,让语言作为一种媒介 ,一种载体 ,在利用语言探究其它学科知识的过程中 ,使语言技能得到发展     

The effectiveness of the student response system (SRS) in English grammar learning in a flipped English as a foreign language (EFL) class

ABSTRACT

Flipped classes are well-known for reversing the typical in-class lecture and out-of-class homework structure by instructing students to learn by themselves from on-line learning materials and inviting them to ask questions based on their individual difficulties in class. Many attempts at integrating this teaching method into English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms have proven to be beneficial to students’ learning achievement and motivation. However, there is little research on how to organize interactive, engaging and effective in-class activities for an EFL flipped classroom. In this study, a student response system (SRS) is proposed to support teachers in organizing in-class activities in a flipped class. To investigate the effectiveness of this approach, a quasi-experiment was conducted in an EFL classroom in an engineering school. The experimental group used the SRS to do in-class activities while the control group followed the conventional method. The results showed that the use of the SRS increased students’ learning motivation and self-efficacy in learning English grammar and improved their participation and engagement in the in-class activities of the flipped learning process. Furthermore, the questionnaire results showed that students accepted the SRS as an instructional method in an EFL flipped class. However, the use of the SRS was not effective in improving students’ grammar learning achievement.     

翻转课堂：英语专业基础课个性化教学设计策略

该文探讨了利用Blackboard网络学堂实施翻转课堂的形式,实现在英语专业基础课程《基础英语》的个性化教学的具体策略,提出应通过课程设计,给予学生在学习材料选择、学习时间安排和一定程度上学习进度安排的自由。在过程评估阶段,应重点鼓励对学生的个人进步和同学协作,从而实现英语教学的个性化、协作化。     

Ecological and intercultural citizenship in the primary English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom: an online project in Argentina

This article describes an online intercultural citizenship project concerning the environment in the primary English-language classroom carried out in 2013/2014 between Argentina and Denmark. It is part of a network of projects coordinated by Michael Byram that involves teachers and researchers in Europe, the US and East Asia. The project is framed within the theory of intercultural citizenship in the foreign-language classroom and it is the only study set in the primary school context. Furthermore, developments in Latin America in this field are scarce and the study intends to fill an empirical gap. Although the comparative perspective is ingrained in the project, the article describes mainly the Argentinian standpoint.

At the same time, and more generally (beyond language education), it will be argued, and shown, that the project can also be framed within the notion of ecological citizenship, understood as a new form of citizenship that presents new challenges to educators. While the notion of citizenship in formal education usually assumes nationalist and patriotic mindsets, in this project ecological citizenship offers a new framework that introduces an international, transnational or global perspective. Furthermore, citizenship education tends to be reserved to secondary civics and social studies classrooms and in this sense the focus on the primary school context and on the foreign-language classroom is innovative in this project.     

谈《大学英语》(全新版)《综合教程》课后练习的处理方法

《大学英语》(全新版)《综合教程》是一套具有新颖练习形式的教材,文章结合教学实践,对《大学英语》(全新版)《综合教程》课后练习的处理方法进行了探讨,采用折中主义的课堂教学方法,以学生为中心,又充分发挥教师的作用,发挥课后练习的积极作用,从而提高学生的综合语言应用能力。     

Assessing the impact of learning environments: How to use student ratings of classroom or school characteristics in multilevel modeling

In educational research, characteristics of the learning environment (e.g., social climate, instructional quality, goal orientation) are often assessed via student reports, and their associations with outcome variables such as school achievement or student motivation then tested. However, studying the effects of the learning environment presents a series of methodological challenges. This article discusses three crucial elements in research that uses student reports to gauge the impact of the learning environment on student outcomes. First, from a conceptual point of view, it is argued that ratings aggregated at the relevant level (e.g., class or school level), and not individual student ratings, are of primary interest in these studies. Second, the reliability of aggregated student ratings must be routinely assessed before these perceptions are related to outcome variables. Third, researchers conducting multilevel analyses need to make very clear which centering option was chosen for the predictor variables. This article shows that conclusions about the impact of learning environments can be substantially affected by the choice of a specific centering option for the individual student ratings.     

No student left behind: a collaborative and competitive game-based learning environment to reduce the achievement gap of EFL students in Taiwan

How to close the achievement gap in the classroom so that no student is left behind becomes one of the most important issues nowadays. This study aims to construct a collaborative and competitive game-based learning environment to improve English proficiencies and reduce the achievement gap for disadvantaged students. The Wireless Crossword Fan-Tan Game (WiCFG) system was implemented to provide teachers with an innovative approach to guide students’ learning through a positive involvement with the uses of tablet PCs. The experiment was conducted in an elementary school in Taiwan to investigate whether this approach would facilitate students’ learning effectiveness and interactions. Thirty sixth-grade students were randomly assigned into a control group and an experimental group. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from surveys, interviews, observations and video-recordings. The results indicate that integration of the WiCFG system in the collaborative and competitive game-based learning environment leads students to a better interaction between different levels of students. This innovative approach might have the potential to close the achievement gap for disadvantaged students. Moreover, some principles of the classroom strategy are suggested as guidelines.     

The function and integration of components of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in classroom teaching: a case study of business English teachers

While pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has been studied across a wide range of research areas, including science, language teaching and mathematics, there is limited research on the role of PCK in business English (BE) teaching, an important teaching area of English for Specific Purposes. Informed by the conceptual framework of the PCK model for BE teaching, this study examined how four BE teachers integrated the PCK components in their actual classroom teaching in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context in China. The analysis of multiple sources of data including classroom observation, semi-structured interviews and teaching materials, identified the different patterns and ways in which the four PCK components (i.e. knowledge of the purposes of BE teaching, knowledge of instructional strategies for BE teaching, knowledge of students’ understanding of BE, and knowledge of the BE curriculum) functioned and were integrated in BE teaching. Implications for BE teaching practice and suggestions for future research on PCK in BE teaching are presented in the paper.