The Real Cost of the Flipped Classroom

1. Arnie Berger Division of Engineering and Math The Great STEM Fair The Real Cost of the Flipped Classroom

2. The flipped classroom approach and the “why” • A flipped classroom is an instructional strategy and a type of blended learning that reverses the traditional learning environment by delivering instructional content, often online, outside of the classroom. It moves activities, including those that may have traditionally been considered homework, into the classroom1. • Question: Can I apply this principle to my EE classes and will it make a difference? • EE 215: Circuits I • EE 271: Introduction to Digital Systems • Both courses are based on problem solving • 75% of the course grade is based upon the midterm and final exams • Homework grade is 10% due to major copying issues in the past • First instinct was to try the flipped classroom (FC) just to turn group homework problem solving into a feature rather than a case of academic misconduct • I just got tired of grading homework that was obviously a group effort • Maybe, just maybe, there was a better way than: I lecture >> you listen >> you do homework 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flipped_classroom 2

3. The preparation • Step #1: Narrate my PowerPoint Lectures and put them into the Canvas website for each course • BEE 215: Approximately 300 slides • Took approximately three weeks • BEE 271: Approximately 450 slides • Took approximately one month • PowerPoint integrated the narration with each slide • Used Audacity (free recording software) to create MP3 files for each slide • Each narration was approximately 1 – 3 minutes long • Total size of the narrated lectures was in the Gbyte range • Audacity allowed my to edit audio tracks and in particular, to remove my pauses • Reviewed numerous textbooks to locate sufficient problems for the classes • Students can access the instructor’s solutions on line if problems are assigned from the back of the text chapters 3

4. The preparation, part 2: Preparing the class • The first class meeting was a discussion of the pros and cons of the flipped classroom • Cons: • They had to view the lectures on their own time • They had to be actively involved in classroom problem sessions • They had to solve more problems than simply do homework assignments • Pros: • They will do better on the midterm and final exams • They will learn the material better than using the old way • A good EE in Silicon Valley with 5-7 years experience can earn $350K per year • You can’t get a job without a technical interview 4

5. The process: assuming a Monday/Wednesday class • After class on Wednesday, students view next week’s lecture(s) on-line • Work on assigned homework problems • Monday’s Class: • Starts with an overview of the material to be covered this week • Class opens to Q&A about new material or any other questions they may have • Class session problem sheets are handed out • Students work in groups to solve the problems (typically three problems) • Problems are chosen as a challenging problem from last week and two relatively straight-forward problems from the new material • Instructor circulates and cajoles, jokes, answers questions and cheers them on • Solutions are available for students to check their answers BEE 215 Fall Quarter 2018 class working a problem 5

6. The process, part 2: Wednesday’s class • Students hand in their homework assignments • Class starts with a short quiz, covering the week’s material • Minor contribution to grade • Mostly used as a comprehension check for the students • Test taken individually • Quiz solutions are posted on Canvas • Q&A session • Problem sheets are handed out and students work in groups to solve the problems • Instructor circulates answering questions • Answers are typically more involved because they are supplementing lecture material • New cycle begins at the end of class 6

7. Typical problem Objective is to reinforce lecture concepts through problem solving drills 7

8. The effort • In brief, the flipped classroom takes 20%-30% more preparation time than traditional class • Narrating lectures (done once, like preparing lectures for the first time) • Finding suitable problems from other textbooks, major task • Solving the problems, major task • Occasionally running simulations to verify my solutions • Copying time and copying costs ( I don’t assume every student has a laptop ) • Posting solutions and general management of Canvas • The bad • Buy-in is not universal • About 1/3 of the class shows up for exams and quizzes and then leaves immediately after the quiz • Will address this in the next iteration of the class 8

9. Results Flipped Regular 9

10. Next steps • Combine homework and classroom exercises • Homework is an extension of the classroom work • Track who stays and who leaves • Look for correlation in outcomes • Move away from providing paper classroom assignments • Keep refining process • Stop grading homework assignments and encourage groupwork 10

11. Conclusions • It takes a significant effort to move to a flipped classroom approach • Not enough historical data to draw any real conclusions about effectiveness • Only dramatic improvement is the BEE 271 Midterm Exam results • Must get student buy-in or it the results are likely to be worse than traditional approach • Bottom line: I believe that the flipped classroom is a better approach and is worth the effort 11