‘I Couldn't Imagine Doing It Any Other Way’—The Use of Flipped Classroom Design for Occupational Therapy and Speech Pathology Students in a Regional Australian University

Abstract

Objective: To explore the use of flipped classroom (FC) design for occupational therapy and speech pathology students studying in regional Australia. Setting: Occupational therapy and speech pathology students in a regional Australian university in Central Queensland. Participants: 33 occupational therapy and speech pathology students provided survey data; 5 students supplied in-depth data from focus groups; three educators completed teaching reflections. Design: A multiple case study methodology was implemented based on Yin's definition1. Case study one involved occupational therapy students and case study two involved speech pathology students. A sequential exploratory mixed methods design was embedded within each case study. After participation in a unit using FC design, students completed a quantitative survey followed by a focus group for each case. Document analysis of teacher reflections and unit evaluations was also completed. Results: Quantitative results show that student confidence, knowledge, and satisfaction are strongly supported by the FC approach. Rich qualitative data from the cases yielded four themes: individual attributes of the educator; purposeful and flexible design features; the role of the student as an active learner; facilities and resources for flipped classrooms. Conclusion: This case study data supports the benefits of FC design for health professions students, has enabled the development of a conceptual framework which could be applied to health professions and beyond to other disciplines, and has also provided the foundations for guidelines to support educators to implement FC methodology.