Student Perceptions on Blended/Flipped and Traditional Face-to-Face: A Course Redesign Assessment

Abstract

The blended and flipped class is often considered the most student-centered type of learning as it promotes deep and life-long learning. Using qualitative and quantitative data from anonymous surveys completed by students in two different introductory classes, one blended and flipped (N=56) and the other traditional lecture (N=74) taught by the first author during the same semester, this study reveals active learning in the blended and flipped class contributes to those students’: 1) positive perceptions of usefulness of course material; 2) perceptions of more time spent on their class; and 3) preference for blended and flipped learning. These findings provide for a deeper understanding of the results of an earlier study with these same cohorts where the blended and flipped learning outperformed the traditional face-to-face students on a pre-posttest. It also provides insight into the usefulness of blended learning and can help assuage fears that students are short changed when they don’t have face-to-face instruction. This article closes with suggestions for instructors wishing to pursue a flipped and blended classroom model.