Do students learn more from a flip? An exploration of the efficacy of flipped and traditional lessons

Abstract

Flipped lesson planning, as popularized by Bergman & Sams (2012a)," has been viewed by many as a revolutionary pedagogy, tailor-made for the twenty-first century classroom. Enthusiasm for flipped lesson planning has out-paced the collection of data that might determine its effectiveness. This paper presents the results of a study that compared the learning outcomes of students who learned a geometry concept from a flipped lesson to students who learn the same concept from a traditionally taught lesson. It also compared students' perceptions of their own learning following a flipped lesson and traditionally taught lesson. Data collected during this study showed no significant differences in the learning outcomes of students who participated in a flipped lesson and students who learned in a traditionally taught lesson. Students who participated in the traditional lesson .reported significantly higher satisfaction with their own learning than students who participated in the flipped lesson. These results indicate the-complexity of the flipped lesson paradigm invite might invite more research aimed at determining the efficacy of flipped lesson planning in other contexts.