Another big criticism on Flipped Learning in higher education is the ‘lack of bibliography,’ or the lack of what academics say is a body of research on the method’s effectiveness.
Last year, Harvey Mudd College released its “preliminary” first-year study, saying that the College hadn’t yet discovered any improvements in student learning outcomes, but that it was still in its developmental stage.
The study’s instructors also noted that the extensive time needed to record videos, shorten lectures and redesign the class was exhaustive, and some students complained that the course material was too challenging, especially with a shaky internet connection.
“Change is a process,” says Bergmann. “By year three it’s culture.”
As a group of instructors, the FLN recognized a need for research-based practices, and recently released a collection of higher education case studies in collaboration with Pearson.
After presenting case studies from the University of Washington, University of British Columbia, and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, as well as conducting research from dozens of articles on Flipped Learning in higher-ed, the paper lists both the top motivations for faculty to flip their courses, as well as the most common challenges faced.
According to the report, the top motivations for faculty in implementing Flipped Learning are: Improving students’ critical thinking and professional skills, increasing student participation and motivation, and improving students’ team-based skills and peer-to-peer interaction.
The main challenges to implementation include: Course redesign, faculty workload, student buy-in, and student evaluations.
According to the report, Flipped Learning is helping educators to reach their main goals across multiple colleges and universities.
For more on the goals and challenges of Flipped Learning in higher-ed, read FLN and Pearson’s report.
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