Preliminary evidence of key factors in successful flipping: predicting positive student experiences in flipped classrooms.

Flipped classrooms have become widely adopted in educational settings (e.g., in higher education) worldwide. However, there is a need for more precise understanding of the ingredients for student satisfaction in a flipped setting. The aim of this paper was to investigate university students' experiences of the factors that create a successful flipped course. Ten measures were used to investigate the hypothesized factors affecting satisfaction, which were chosen based on the results from previous flipped classroom studies and higher educational research. These measures were grouped into three dimensions: (1) pedagogical (five measures), (2) social (three measures), and (3) technological (two measures). Exploratory factor analysis was run to analyze the adequacy of the instruments. Results revealed that the factor structure was as expected and that the instruments measuring all ten factors of teaching and learning in a flipped classroom were adequate. Furthermore, confirmatory factor analysis was used to formally operationalize the hypothesized latent constructs, and to build a structural equation model for predicting the student satisfaction of a flipped classroom. In the end, seven factors were found to predict student satisfaction with flipped courses. The highest predictor was guidance from the dimension of pedagogy, and the second-best predictor was experienced teaching for understanding. The results, limitations, and conclusion are discussed in terms of key issues and the development of a flipped classroom pedagogical design for higher education.

Medical certificate education: controlled study between lectures and flipped classroom.

BACKGROUND: Finnish permanent residents are covered by social security insurance administered by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. The procedure of insurance is initiated with medical certificate written by the treating doctor. Thus, the doctor must have certificate writing skills accompanied with the knowledge of the content and goals for insurance. Quality certificates are important part of doctors' professional skills worldwide and most effective teaching methods for learning these should be investigated. METHODS: Medical certificate data were collected from two independent courses of fourth-year student taught in autumn 2015 (N = 141) and 2016 (N = 142) in the medical faculty of the University of Eastern Finland. A random sample of 40 students per course was drawn for the analysis. All certificates were analyzed as one sample. This was done to obtain reliable results with internal control group on the differences between two teaching methods, the traditional approach and the flipped classroom (FC) approach, in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The medical certificates were evaluated and scored with a rubric (range: - 4.00-14.25) by two independent experienced specialists. RESULTS: Compared to students in the traditional classroom, students involved in the FC received significantly higher scores in all relevant sections of the assessed certificates. The mean of the total scores was 8.87 (SD = 1.70) for the traditional group and 10.97 (SD = 1.25) for the FC group. Based on the common language effect size, a randomly selected student from the FC group had an 85% probability of receiving a higher total score than a student from the traditional group. CONCLUSION: In this study, the FC approach resulted in a statistical significant improvement in the content and technical quality of the certificates. The results suggest that the FC approach can be applied in the teaching of medical certificate writing.

Students' approaches to learning and their experiences of the teaching-learning environment in different disciplines.

BACKGROUND: There is evidence of disciplinary variation in students' approaches to learning. Furthermore, previous research has shown that students' approaches are related to their perceptions of the learning environment. AIM: The overall objective of the study was to analyse combinations of approaches to learning among undergraduates in different disciplines. More precisely, the aim was to cluster students on the basis of their scores on different items measuring approaches to learning, and to explore the relationship between the clusters and both the disciplines of the students and their perceptions of the teaching-learning environment. SAMPLE: A total of 2,509 students participated in the study. METHODS: The students were asked to complete an on-line questionnaire, which was a revised version of the Experience of Teaching and Learning Questionnaire. It included items covering approaches to learning and perceptions of the teaching-learning environment. RESULTS: The students were classified in four clusters. There were significant differences in how the respondents from the 10 faculties were represented in these clusters. There were also differences in their perceptions of the teaching-learning environment in the different faculties. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that there is disciplinary variation in approaches to learning. Furthermore, the results indicate that both approaches to learning and the discipline have an effect on students' experiences of the teaching-learning environment.

Experiences and outcomes of craft skill learning with a 360° virtual learning environment and a head-mounted display.

Virtual reality environments (VLEs) such as 360° videos have been introduced as educational tools over the last few years, although the pedagogical value of these media has not been widely examined, especially in the context of craft skill learning. Moreover, emotions and competences have a great impact on the usability and adoption of ICT - and on learning. In this paper, mixed-method strategies were used to address these pedagogical and emotional needs in the context of craft learning and 360° VLE. Furthermore, a quasi-experimental design was used to compare learning outcomes of 360° VLE and traditional groups. Findings based on quantitative analysis suggest that negative or positive ICT-attitude did not affect how students experienced traditional or 360° lessons emotionally. However, ICT- and craft-competences had significant correlations with the described emotions. No significant differences in terms of learning outcomes were observed between the traditional and 360° teaching methods. According to the thematic analysis of the interviews, the 1st-person-view 360° VLE could be used for basic skill observation and visualization to support traditional hands-on learning. Moreover, a head-mounted display was considered to help with focusing on the demonstration. However, more interaction with the interface and opportunities for direct interaction with the instructor were seen as necessary in 360° VLEs for skill learning in the future.