A flipped classroom experience: Approach and lessons learned

While a number of issues affect student success, an area of great concern is student retention. Studies have shown that students are more likely to stay in college if they have clear goals, are active learners, and are active participants in classroom activities. In other words, students learn more when they are intensely involved in their education and have opportunities to apply what they are learning. Students also benefit when they are engaged in the teaching and learning of their peers, such as group work, peer review, study groups, and peer teaching in and out of class. Flipping the classroom is a relatively new active learning technique that faculty at many institutions have incorporated in their teaching. In a flipped classroom, laboratory and in-class activities replace typical class-lectures. Lectures are normally delivered over some other medium such as video on-demand or podcasts. However, there is no specific model for flipped classrooms, it simply draws on such concepts as student engagement, hybrid course design, and course podcasting. This paper describes how the flipped classroom technique was incorporated into a three-credit electrical engineering course that met twice a week. This paper presents details about the course, discusses student survey results, and describes plans to improve the delivery of this and similar courses.