Evaluation of the flipped classroom at the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine

Abstract

The utilisation of video based materials prior to a teaching session with active problem solving during forms the basis of the novel flipped classroom instruction. Our study evaluated the use of this format during the teaching of rheumatology to third year medical students. 87/106 students evaluated this format through the use of a strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) Likert scale and provided mean scores of 3.7 to 4.1 for statements allied to better understanding, preparedness, peer and teacher interaction, peer to peer problem solving, motivation, usefulness, achievement of learning outcomes and a desire for future classes to be delivered in this way.From a qualitative perspective, students commented that this format allowed for active engagement, discussion, consolidation of knowledge, immediate feedback, application of theory to real life patient problems and the ability to watch and revisit the video material as necessary. Potential downsides included the lack of an electronic voting system, the perceived heavy workload and the fact that this form of interaction may not be best suited to East Asians.The flipped classroom allows for worthwhile reflection of clinical knowledge and subsequent application. The findings from this initial study are encouraging and we plan to continue work on evaluating this format alongside other forms of delivery.

The Flipped Classroom: Viewpoints in Asian Universities

“…Zhang discovered that the flipped classroom helped slower students and listed many other benefits (19). Sureka, highlighted the positive survey feedback received (20) Sharma also listed the pros and cons of the model and recommended further trials (21). Choi, suggested improvements of their video material for future trials (22).…”

Flipped-classroom with interactive videos in first year undergraduate physics course in Hong Kong

“…[12][13][14] So far, only several comprehensive studies have been conducted in Chinese based universities where a majority of students are Chinese by ethnicity, [15][16][17][18] while several other non-peer-reviewed works have been published online. [19][20][21] Nevertheless, most of these studies focused on the students' perception of and attitude towards flipped classroom instead of their academic performance.…”