1

Running head: EFFECTIVENESS OF THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM

Problem Introduction and Rationale

I am constantly looking for ways to be more innovative in my practice, so I reflect

from time to time on what I can do to better myself as a teacher. Part of bettering myself

as an educator is to find ways to improve my students AP test scores. In order to do this, I

knew I needed to incorporate more inquiry, laboratory activities, cooperative learning,

and AP exam preparation into my AP Physics C course, but I was struggling to find

enough days in the year to do so. I had heard of the flipped classroom model, where

lecture days were replaced with these kinds of activities, and was curious to learn more.

After immersing myself in the available literature on its application in the classroom from

7th grade to the undergraduate level, I decided that I would like to implement the flipped

classroom model in my AP Physics classroom with the goal of improving the average AP

test score of my students.

I am looking to determine the effectiveness of the flipped classroom pedagogical

model on student achievement, specifically in the AP Physics C classroom. The flipped

classroom model should provide more time for inquiry laboratories and cooperative

learning, which according to Tomory, A., & Watson (2015), “although many [science]

teachers indicate that they would like to add more inquiry into their class- rooms, few are

succeeding in this desire” (p. 876). Tomory, A., & Watson (2015), suggest that allowing

students to engage in inquiry will help them “develop a deeper understanding of the

content” (p. 876), however, “the issue of balancing inquiry activities and content

coverage within the allotted time constraints has shown to be an issue within both

Advanced Placement and Dual Credit courses” (p.877). This study is important because
 2
Running head: EFFECTIVENESS OF THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM

flipping the classroom could be the key to striking that balance, which in turn could

increase student achievement on the AP Physics C exam.

Literature Review

Introduction

In AP Physics C, there is a lot of content to be covered before the AP Physics C

exam. Because of this, each and every day in the classroom needs to be used as

effectively as possible. With more and more emphasis on inquiry in the science

classroom, and an unchanging amount of content to learn, something needs to change.

Enter the flipped classroom model; where lectures take place at home via online video

and class time can be used for more inquiry, cooperative learning, etc. I did not find a

study about specifically applying it to AP Physics C, but I found a plethora of literature

supporting the effectiveness of the flipped classroom in both student performance and

student perception. On the contrary, I did come across a few drawbacks to the flipped

classroom as well.

Increasing student performance

Many studies have been conducted to support the effectiveness of the flipped

classroom in terms of an increase in student performance. Wasserman, Quint, Norris, &

Carr (2017) collected both student performance data and information on student

perceptions in their mixed methods study of students in Calculus III classes in subsequent

semesters at the same university. Specifically, the researchers examined if flipping the

classroom impacted student performance on conceptual and procedural problems.A t-test

shows that flipped classroom students performed better than traditional students on

conceptual questions, and no significant difference on procedural questions. The higher

 3
Running head: EFFECTIVENESS OF THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM

performance on conceptual questions can be explained by the flipped classroom model

affording more time to work on concepts with professor because procedural content was

delivered in the videos. Kim, Park, Jang, & Nam (2017) collected a mix of qualitative

and quantitative data on the impact the flipped classroom has on second language

learners. They randomly selected two out of four sections of the same course that

included international students at the same university, and the aim of the study was to see

the impact on communication skills in the second language. The authors conclude that the

second language learners that had the flipped classroom experience exhibited higher-

order thinking and higher cognitive processing skills. This is likely influenced by the

students in the flipped classroom having more time to practice discussions in the second

language. In their mostly quantitative study Song, & Kapur (2017) examined which

pedagogical model of the flipped classroom is more effective, having already reviewed

literature supporting its effectiveness. The two models examined were traditional and

productive failure flipped classroom model, and the participants were two seventh grade

classrooms. The two seventh grade classes containing 25 students, participated in 5

double lessons delivered over a two week period. One class had the lessons delivered in

the flipped classroom style, the other in the productive failure model. While both groups

saw improvement in their mathematics knowledge for problems involving polynomials,

showing the videos after students have the chance to work through an inquiry model

serves to reinforce the material, rather than introducing the material first. Strayer, Hart &

Bleiler-Baxter (2016) used a case study about the implementation of the flipped

classroom in a pre-calculus class to draw conclusions. They gleaned that using “think

time” outside of class frees up time for in-depth investigations to support learning. The
 4
Running head: EFFECTIVENESS OF THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM

initial submission of thought occurring digitally and at home (e.g. submitting a response

to a question online) ensures all students ideas are heard by the teacher, making it easier

to formatively assess. The case study illustrates that flipping the classroom allows

students to make deeper connections with the content, thus increasing achievement. The

purpose of the article written by Tomory & Watson (2015) was to illustrate how

switching to the flipped classroom model could be the solution to help advanced science

teachers incorporate more inquiry into the classroom. This article contained no research

of their own, but they conclude from their sources that the lack of rigor, lack of student

preparedness, and lack of time for inquiry to be implemented can be remedied by

implementing the flipped classroom model.

Improving student perception

Increasing Blair, Maharaj, & Primus (2016) conducted a mixed methods study in

which they collected both student performance data and student perceptions, as well as

lecturer reflection. The purpose of the study was to see if flipping the classroom improves

exam performance and student perception in the engineering class. The study took place

in a undergraduate engineering course over two academic years, the first year being

traditional lecture style and the second year incorporating the flipped classroom. This

study reported more positive responses in multiple categories, such as usefulness of

online resources, in the year that the flipped classroom was implemented. No categories

in the survey taken by the students indicated a more negative perception than the

traditional year. In their mixed methods study, Wasserman, Quint, Norris, & Carr (2017)

found that students in the flipped Calculus III classroom rated classroom communication

more positively than those in traditional classroom. Tawfik, & Lilly (2015) conducted a
 5
Running head: EFFECTIVENESS OF THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM

qualitative study with the purpose of determining student perception of project based

learning in a flipped classroom and the impact it had on self-directed learning. The study

was done with 24 undergraduate students ages 19-21 in a psychological statistics course.

Interviews with the participants revealed that an overarching theme was that students

were confident in applying statistics to psychology, citing the ability to access videos at

their leisure as a reason why. Lo (2017) conducted a qualitative action-research study to

determine student attitudes and engagement levels in a flipped classroom, and to discover

what can be done to improve those levels. In total, 130 8th grade students and four math

teachers participated in the study. Based on a survey of the students, the response to the

flipped classroom was positive. A conclusion drawn from the literature review by

Rotellar & Cain (2016) is that students statistically prefer the flipped classroom model

once they experience a course that has successfully implemented it. The authors drew this

conclusion by reviewing primary research studies.

Drawbacks

One thing that was discovered during implementation of the flipped classroom is

that attendance can drop. Blair, Maharaj, & Primus (2016) discovered this during the

implementation of the flipped classroom in their undergraduate engineering course. They

saw a drop correlation between the exam score and attendance because some students are

able to perform well just by watching the lecture online. This issue is more prevalent at

the collegiate level than high school, due to much stricter attendance policies. The article

by Pienta (2016) was solely aimed at exposing issues with the flipped classroom. One

challenge is motivation. The author suggests that students may not see a benefit to watch

videos or read notes ahead of time if there are no rewards for doing so. This lack of
 6
Running head: EFFECTIVENESS OF THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM

motivation can lead to frustration experienced by the instructor. Another issue brought up

is that tenured instructors may have an aversion to change, so the process of even

implementing the new model may be hindered. Finally, students have preconceived

notions about how school should be. If students do not change their habits even with

suggestions from professors, they may experience frustration when the expected level of

success is not achieved. Pienta (2016) recognizes that there is benefit to the flipped

classroom but states that these issues could hinder its success.

Summary

Overall, studies show that flipping the classroom can increase student

performance and positively impact perception of a course. With the added time to work

on concepts as opposed to procedures with the instructor, students gain deeper conceptual

understanding and thus perform better. Students also enjoy being able to rewatch videos

to reinforce concepts, and they enjoy being able to communicate with the instructor more

during class when lectures are eliminated. While there are drawbacks, the evidence in

support of the flipped classroom is overwhelmingly positive.

Methodology

Design

This quantitative, quasi-experimental, causal-comparative study will be conducted

to determine if flipping the AP Physics C classroom is effective in increasing student

achievement as evidenced by comparing two years of SLO test data. According to

(Johnson & Christensen 2017), a causal-comparative study is one where the research

examines a categorical independent variable and its effect on a quantitative dependent

variable to see if a relationship is present (p.43). Due to a limited number of AP Physics

 7
Running head: EFFECTIVENESS OF THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM

C classes, a true experimental design with random assignment is not possible. Instead,

data from the 2016-17 year will be compared to data from the 2017-18 year.

Participants

The study will compare data from the 2016-17 AP Physics C class at Strongsville

High School with data from the current AP Physics C class at Strongsville High School.

The 34 students from the 2016-17 AP Physics C class will serve as the control group, as

they did not receive flipped classroom instruction. The 16 students in the 2017-18 class

will be the experimental group, which is the group experiencing the flipped classroom.

Due to only having one section of AP Physics C, it is not possible to incorporate random

assignment. The sample is a convenience sample because the sample is my student

population.The AP Physics C students will be participating, however, test data that was

not collected for the purpose of this study will be used. Data will be anonymized, and the

study is more concerned with overall growth.

Instrumentation

The independent variable is going to be the type of instruction the students

receive, either traditional or flipped classroom. This is a categorical variable, and it is

nominal. The dependent variable is going to be the amount of growth made by the class.

Because the groups are different and not necessarily equal, the percentage of growth will

be examined as opposed to raw test scores. This will be measured via the SLO test,

comprised of 15 multiple choice questions and 2 free-response questions. There is a

multiple choice answer key that was carefully loaded into gradecam, and students

respond on a bubble sheet that gradecam will scan and grade. There are strict scoring
 8
Running head: EFFECTIVENESS OF THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM

guidelines set by the College Board for grading the free response questions, which will be

followed exactly to avoid any bias.

Procedure

In the 2016-17 school year, the 34 students enrolled in AP Physics C were given

the SLO pre-test. Throughout the year, this group was taught using the traditional

classroom approach. In April of 2017, the students took the SLO post test. In the 2017-18

school year, the 16 students enrolled in AP Physics C took the same SLO pre test.

Throughout the year, these students will be taught with the flipped classroom pedagogical

model. At approximately the same date in April of 2018, the flipped classroom group will

take the same SLO post test. The data will be looked at as a whole, so student names will

be removed and averages will be the source of data for determining a relationship.

Causality between achievement and the pedagogical model may not be inferrable, due to

potential inequalities between the groups, or any confounding variables such as more

teaching experience on the teacher’s part.

Results

In both years, 100% of students met their growth targets. While it did not affect

the data, this year, the growth targets were set 5% higher. This was a district decision, so

it was incorporated into this study. While I cannot conclude that the flipped classroom is

a better method for instructing AP Physics C students, I can say that it was an effective

method in helping students achieve their growth targets.

Limitations
 9
Running head: EFFECTIVENESS OF THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM

While every effort to maintain validity was taken, some limitations were

unavoidable. This study cannot be considered research because the sample was not

random. Another limiting factor is that I now have one more year of teaching experience,

so I am more confident in my content than the previous year. The SLO growth targets are

also not measuring my ultimate goal. I eventually want to extend this study to use AP

Exam results, but I am completing my degree prior to this year’s administration of the AP

Physics C exam.

References

Blair, E., Maharaj, C., & Primus, S. (2016). Performance and perception in the flipped

classroom. Education and Information Technologies, 21(6), 1465-1482.

doi:10.1007/s10639-015-9393-5

Kim, J., Park, H., Jang, M., & Nam, H. (2017). Exploring flipped classroom effects on

second language learners’ cognitive processing. Foreign Language Annals, 50(2), 260-

284. doi:10.1111/flan.12260

Lo, C. K. (2017). Examining the flipped classroom through action research. Mathematics

Teacher, 110(8),624-627. doi:10.5951/mathteacher.110.8.0624

Pienta, NJ. "A "Flipped Classroom" Reality Check." Journal of Chemical Education, vol.

93, no. 1, 2016, pp. 1-2.

Rotellar, C., & Cain, J. (2016). Research, perspectives, and recommendations on

implementing the flipped classroom. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education,

80(2), 1.
 10
Running head: EFFECTIVENESS OF THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM

Song, Y., & Kapur, M. (2017). How to flip the classroom – “Productive failure or

traditional flipped classroom” pedagogical design? Journal of Educational

Technology & Society, 20(1), 292-305.

Strayer, J. F., Hart, J. B., & Bleiler-Baxter, S. K. (2016). Kick-starting discussions with

the flipped classroom. Mathematics Teacher, 109(9), 662-668.

doi:10.5951/mathteacher.109.9.0662

Tawfik, A. A., & Lilly, C. (2015). Using a flipped classroom approach to support

problem-based learning. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 20(3), 299-315.

doi:10.1007/s10758 015-9262-8

Tomory, A., & Watson, S. L. (2015). Flipped classrooms for advanced science courses.

Journal of Science Education and Technology, 24(6), 875-887.

doi:10.1007/s10956-015-9570-8

Wasserman, N. H., Quint, C., Norris, S. A., & Carr, T. (2017). Exploring flipped

classroom instruction in calculus III. International Journal of Science and

Mathematics Education, 15(3), 545-568.doi:10.1007/s10763-015-9704-8