Investigating Flipped Laboratory Practices of Science Student Teachers

Abstract

Innovative activities carried out during school laboratory sessions include ‘flipped learning’ (FL), which is an interactive learning environment where the teacher guides students learn individually. This study examined the impact of the adoption of the FL approach on the academic performance of 2nd year science student teachers enrolled in the course General Chemistry Laboratory – III and on their opinions related with the course. Eighty-one student teachers acted as a control group i.e., followed the conventional course approach while 85 students participated in the experimental groups following the FL approach. Data collection tools were examination scripts and semi-structured interview questions. A significant difference was found in academic performance in favor of the experimental group. Besides, it was observed that the FL approach increased students’ motivation, encouraged them to take responsibility for their own learning, and enabled more meaningful learning to take place. It is recommended for more practical lessons be designed with this approach and for more research to be conducted on the impact of this approach on learning motivation and self-efficacy of students as well as their academic performance.