Chalk and talk versus flipped learning: A case study

Abstract

The case study was carried out at a third-level college in Ireland to investigate the performance of a student population completing a first year computer architecture module using a flipped learning approach against a traditional chalk and talk approach. The study was completed over a 2-year period with the same lecturer delivering both approaches to two independent groups. The Kruskal–Wallis H test was performed to understand whether the terminal exam and continuous assessment performance, measured on a continuous scale from 0 to 100, differed based on pedagogy design. The dependent variable was selected as the assessment component, whereas the independent variable was the pedagogy design, with two distinct groups: flipped learning and chalk and talk. The study found that the chalk and talk cohort outperformed the flipped learning cohort in the terminal examination, which was statistically significant (p < 0.05), but observed a small effect size of 3.6% over the population. It was also found that the reverse was true for the continuous assessment instrument, whereby the flipped learning cohort outperformed the chalk and talk cohort. This difference was also found to be statistically significant (p < 0.0005) with a small effect size of 9.6%.