Flipped classrooms, where students view video lectures
online at home and use class time to discuss the content with the instructor, are
growing in popularity on college campuses. New research indicates that the
model is much more than a passing educational fad.
The study from the University of North Carolina Chapel
Hill reported that students performed 5% better on a final exam than their
peers who didn’t learn in a flipped-classroom setting. The three-year study
surveyed more than 300 students taking a pharmacy course taught by Russell
Mumper, who helped write the report published in the journal Academic Medicine.
It took Mumper 60 hours to record 25 videos
using lecture-capture technology from Echo360. The effort allowed him to spend
the majority of classroom time discussing the material and dispensing career
advice.
“When we asked students before the course, 75% said
they preferred a traditional method,” Mumper eCampus News. “At the end of the course, 86% said they now preferred the
flipped format. We flipped their preference.”
Nine out of 10 students in the survey said their
learning was enhanced and 93% said their understanding of key concepts
improved. In addition, nearly all respondents reported the model helped them
develop skills that would be used in their careers.
“The main event in education is still, and will
continue to be, in the classroom,” said Fred Singer, CEO of Echo360. “With the
flipped model, we’re seeing excitement return to the classroom as students and
their teachers are both engaging in more active learning that demands
everyone’s full-time attention.”
