In this study conducted by Kaushal Kumar Bhagat, Cheng-Nan Chang, and Chun-Yen Chang, the flipped classroom model is put under the microscope context of high school trigonometry courses. The paper begins by explaining that the study included 82 high school students and analyzed its effects on different groups of students based on ability. One group of 41 students was taught trigonometry using traditional teaching methods while the other used the flipped classroom model. The researchers used the Mathematics Achievement Tests (MAT) and the Course Interest Survey (CIS) to assess both student achievement and interest in the course. The findings of the research were that the flipped classroom did have a significantly positive impact on both learning and motivation in the flipped classroom, and had an especially significant positive impact on the low-achieving students. (Bhagat, 2016, pg. 134)
Next, the paper explains that the flipped classrooms in the study were designed according to some principles of the Mayer's cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML). Those principles were the multimedia principle, which says that students learn better from words and pictures than words alone, the modality principle, which says that students learn better from narration rather than on-screen text, and the individual differences principle, which says that all design principles have a greater impact on low-performing students (Mayer, 2001). The paper then explains the rationale and design of the study. It explains that the students were all high schoolers ages 14 to 15, and that the experimental and control groups were both 41 students in size. However, male and female distribution in these groups was not consistent. The experimental group had 28 males and 13 females, and the control group had 24 male and 17 females. The students were categorized, based on previous summative test scores, as high, average, and low performing students. Both groups were taught the same trigonometry concepts, and both groups were given a pretest and a posttest (Bhagat, 2016, pg. 136). Next, the paper explains the procedure of the study. The study was conducted in a timeframe of six weeks, which did not include the pretest being administered to the students two weeks prior. The units of study for the research were introduction to trigonometry, trigonometric identities, and trigonometric ratios. Students in the control group received instruction in the classroom in lecture format for thirty to forty minutes of a fifty-minute class period with the rest of the time being used for problem solving. Students in the control groups were then expected to complete homework problems from their textbooks before the next class. Students in the experimental group watched videos that were fifteen to twenty minutes in length and prerecorded and uploaded prior to the start of the week. The experimental group spent class time working on and discussing problems from the text. Students who needed remedial assistance were given face-to-face support. Following the six-week study, students were given the MAT and CIS to assess learning and motivation in the course (Bhagat, 2016, pg. 137). Finally, the results of the study are explore. The conclusion of the researchers was that high and low performing students did about the same in the control and experimental group. However, the lower-performing students had a significant increase in learning in the experimental group. The researchers suggest that this is due to more time with teachers than would have been received in the control group (Bhagat, 2016, pg. 140). My Thoughts This study applied very well to my current interests and position as a high school mathematics teacher. It is interesting that the high and average performing students had the same outcome in each group while low-performing students had significant gains. I can understand the reasoning the researchers used to explain this: more face-to-face time with the instructor. I don't think a six week timeframe is enough to make any decisive statements about flipped classrooms, and I don't think an experimental group of 41 students is enough to make conclusions either. However, the study does suggest that this model is at least worth more investigating in my position. The control group was taught using "traditional teaching methods," which could mean different things to different people. I am curious what the study's outcome would have been if the control group was taught using an inquiry-based approach because that is how the classes at my school are generally taught. References Bhagat, K. K., Chang, C. C., & Chang, C.Y. (2016). The Impact of the Flipped Classroom on Mathematics Concept Learning in High School. Educational Technology & Society, 19 (3), 134-142. Mayer, R. E. (2001). Multimedia Learning. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
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Hello and welcome to my blog, which I will use to document my journey doing research in my final year in Western's MA in Education program. I have not yet pinned down exactly what my research will cover, but I do have several topics of interest. The difficulty in choosing a topic is balancing what I really want to learn more about and what can be reasonably expected to be completed in the short timeframe of the course. Some possible research topics include:
I want to be sure to choose a meaningful topic I can apply to my current situation, so I will need some more time in deciding which I choose. UPDATE: I have chosen to research none of the topics above. Instead I will be researching the effects of a flipped classroom on student learning in a high school mathematics setting. |
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March 2017
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