Flipping classroom in online courses for working professionals: Challenges and opportunities for student engagement

Samoilova, Evgenia

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URL:	https://madoc.bib.uni-mannheim.de/59076
Weitere URL:	https://survey-data-science.net/sites/default/file...
URN:	urn:nbn:de:bsz:180-madoc-590765
Dokumenttyp:	Bericht
Erscheinungsjahr:	2017
Band/Volume:	2
Ort der Veröffentlichung:	Mannheim
Verlag:	Universität Mannheim
Sprache der Veröffentlichung:	Englisch
Einrichtung:	Fakultät für Sozialwissenschaften > Statistik u. Sozialwissenschaftliche Methodenlehre (Kreuter 2014-2020)
Bereits vorhandene Lizenz:	Creative Commons Namensnennung, nicht kommerziell, Weitergabe unter gleichen Bedingungen 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Fachgebiet:	300 Sozialwissenschaften, Soziologie, Anthropologie 310 Statistik
Abstract:	Until now meta-analysis studies failed to establish significant differences in outcomes between online and traditional classroom learning (Means, Bakia, & Murphy, 2014). Given different purposes, target groups and contexts of use of these two formats, their general comparison is hardly beneficial for further development of the field. Hence, some authors argued for shifting the focus of online learning research to identifying strengths and weaknesses of various online and blended-learning designs given specific objectives, learners and contexts (Fishman & Dede, 2015). In the recent years, the flipped classroom design (also referred to as “inverted instruction” or “inverted classroom”) attracted quite a lot of attention among researchers and practitioners alike (Prober & Khan, 2013). Although there is still some disagreement on what exactly constitutes the flipped classroom (FC), the common denominator of the definition suggests that FB includes rotation between two components: (pre-class) students’ interaction with course materials and the actual in-class interaction (He et al., 2016). The “flipping” in this case stands for substituting traditional in-class lecturing with guided interaction, since lecturing can be done outside of the class for example via providing students with pre-recorded video lectures (Lage, Platt, & Treglia, 2000). Flexibility and engagement are often key variables of interest in FC research (Poon, 2017; Thai, Wever & Walcke, 2017; Hew, 2016). Advantages of flexibility are quite straight forward. When learning materials are offered online and asynchronously, students can engage with the material at any time, at their own pace, and regardless of their location. The aspect of engagement on the other hand requires a more detailed elaboration. Although engagement is often defined in different ways (see Ainley, 2012; Skinner & Pitzer, 2012), this concept is primarily used to refer to one’s interactions with the learning environment (Järvelä & Renninger, 2014). Engagement literature also agrees on differentiating between behavioral, emotional, and cognitive types of engagement (Fredricks et al., 2004). Although FC design is expected to be more engaging due to increased flexibility and possibility of self-paced mastery (e.g. watching video-lectures at one’s own pace), components of the FC design varyin a number of ways with different implications for student engagement. In addition, recent critique of online learning supporting (instead of overcoming) education disparities (Hansen & Reich, 2015;; He et al., 2016), suggests that attaining a desired level of engagement across various subpopulations of online learners is a difficult task. Against this background, understanding the learners, constantly evaluating and tailoring courses accordingly is highly important. This report describes implementation of FC for an international online program (International Program in Survey and Data Science (IPSDS)) designed for working professional in the field of survey and data science. It is structured in five sections. The following section describes relevant characteristics of IPSDS students. Section three discusses main featured of the implemented design and evaluation strategies used to guide further development and change. Sections four presents evaluation results based on the three qualitative intervention studies. Conclusion summarizes the key findings and limitations.