Using a flipped classroom for one of the most hated
classes at San Jose State University has produced some interesting results. Midterm
exam results from the course, Engineering Electronics and Circuits, were higher
for students in the class, according to a report in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The university decided to give the flipped format a try
because the class, required for electrical engineering majors, has never had a
very high passing rate. In fact, 40% of the students taking it received a C or
lower last semester.
Instructors turned to the massive online open course
produced by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offered by edX, asking
students in one of the three sections of the class to watch lecture videos on
their own and then use classroom time for discussion, rather than spending most
the the class time on live lectures. The median midterm exam scores for
students in the flipped class were 10 to 11 points higher despite more
difficult questions on the test, according to Khosrow Ghadiri, an adjunct
professor teaching the flipped version of the course.
The final test for the flipped class will come during
finals week when professors plan to give all three sections of the course the
same exam. Along with final test results, the university will survey students
for their views on the flipped format.
“I think, in a way, that’s more important,” said Ping
Hsu, interim dean of engineering. “If students feel this is a better way to
learn, then that says a lot, perhaps more than exam scores.”
While midterm test scores were higher, students have
complained about the pace of the flipped course. They’ve also asked Ghadiri for
more frequent quizzes.
“The flipped classroom receives a lot of resistance
upfront,” said David W. Parent, undergraduate coordinator in the
electrical-engineering department. “What the students didn’t say, but were
effectively saying, was that they had to learn at the rate which the classroom
was going rather than letting it slide and cramming at the last moment.”
