Embracing the flipped classroom: the planning and execution of a faculty workshop.

A great deal of interest has emerged recently in the flipped classroom (FC), a student-centered teaching approach. After attending a presentation by the first author on the FC, a faculty member of a medical school in Mexico arranged for a 3-day workshop for 13 faculty members. The goal of the workshop was to train faculty to use the FC strategy in their classrooms to increase student engagement in learning. The workshop was in the FC style, where the participants would assume the role of students. Pre- and posttraining surveys were administered to examine participants' current teaching practices and to evaluate their perceptions of the FC. The participants overwhelmingly reported the need to change their lecture-based teaching, as it was not engaging students. Their large class size, lack of technology, training, and uncertainty of the effectiveness of new teaching methods had hindered participants from changing their teaching technique. The on-site training not only allowed the entire department to work closely and discuss the new teaching approach, but also reinforced the idea of changing their teaching strategy and embracing FC teaching method. After the workshop, participants reported being determined to use the FC strategy in their classrooms and felt more prepared to do so. The post-survey results indicated that participants valued the FC training in the flipped style and wanted more of the hands-on activities. In conclusion, the 3-day faculty workshop on the FC was successful, since every participant was motivated to use this teaching method.

The effect of flipped teaching combined with modified team-based learning on student performance in physiology.

Flipped classroom is a hybrid educational format that shifts guided teaching out of class, thus allowing class time for student-centered learning. Although this innovative teaching format is gaining attention, there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of flipped teaching on student performance. We compared student performance and student attitudes toward flipped teaching with that of traditional lectures using a partial flipped study design. Flipped teaching expected students to have completed preclass material, such as assigned reading, instructor-prepared lecture video(s), and PowerPoint slides. In-class activities included the review of difficult topics, a modified team-based learning (TBL) session, and an individual assessment. In the unflipped teaching format, students were given PowerPoint slides and reading assignment before their scheduled lectures. The class time consisted of podium-style lecture, which was captured in real time and was made available for students to use as needed. Comparison of student performance between flipped and unflipped teaching showed that flipped teaching improved student performance by 17.5%. This was true of students in both the upper and lower half of the class. A survey conducted during this study indicated that 65% of the students changed the way they normally studied, and 69% of the students believed that they were more prepared for class with flipped learning than in the unflipped class. These findings suggest that flipped teaching, combined with TBL, is more effective than the traditional lecture.