Speaker
Description
In a flipped life-sciences classroom, base concepts are presented asynchronously and students spend instruction time actively applying their problem-solving skills with the expert guidance of the teacher. Educational theory suggests that emphasizing application and analysis skills may benefit students, particularly in the advent of Artificial Intelligence as a learning tool for undergraduates. We analyzed the individual exam answers from three classrooms of MAT1332 students, one of which was flipped, to determine how flipped-classroom methods impacted student success. We explored what differences in question format, course sub-topic, final grade and question difficulty could reveal about student achievement on individual questions, and thus each section's methods for approaching the final exam. Students in the flipped classroom found greater success on analytical questions but less success on rote-application questions than the other two sections. Very low-achieving students (<45% final exam grade) and very high-achieving students (>80% final exam grade) were less affected by classroom flipping than mid-range students. Students in the flipped classroom performed worse on early-semester content, suggesting that an adjustment period to a flipped-classroom style may be necessary. Classroom-flipping seems to benefit life-sciences students by equipping them with the problem-solving-focused skills necessary to succeed on a final exam in the sciences. Mid-achieving students appear to see the greatest benefits of a classroom emphasis on problem-solving once they adapt to the novel learning method.
