Applying “First Principles of Instruction” as a design theory of the flipped classroom: Findings from a collective study of four secondary school subjects

Highlights

• The design of flipped classrooms was grounded in the First Principles of Instruction.

• Two-stage study was conducted in two secondary schools for refinement and evaluation.

• The refined model promoted student achievement in mathematics, physics, and Chinese language.

Abstract

The flipped classroom approach is a type of technology-enhanced pedagogy that has grown popular in education settings. An increasing number of empirical studies have evaluated this approach, but there is still no adequate theoretical framework for guiding the design and implementation of flipped classrooms. Furthermore, few such studies have been conducted in secondary school contexts, and the effects of flipped classrooms have not been adequately compared with those of non-flipped classrooms. This study aims to address these research gaps by applying the meta design theory “First Principles of Instruction” to design our flipped classroom approach. A two-stage study was conducted in two secondary schools, involving a total of 382 students and five teacher participants from four subject areas, namely mathematics, physics, Chinese language, and information and communication technology (ICT). Based on the experience of the pilot study (Study 1), we refined our flipped classroom model and examined its efficacy through a quasi-experimental design in the main study (Study 2). Although the students in the flipped ICT course had learning outcomes similar to those of students in the non-flipped ICT course, the levels of student achievement in the other three courses (i.e., mathematics, physics, and Chinese language) were improved after flipping, with a small to medium-sized effects. The design, benefits, and challenges of the model are discussed. We conclude by making several recommendations for practice, and suggesting ideas for further research.

Introduction

The flipped classroom approach has become increasingly popular in recent years (Abeysekera and Dawson, 2015, Giannakos et al., 2014). The fundamental purpose of this instructional approach is to enable a more effective use of time inside the classroom, with the teachers being available for immediate feedback and assistance (Bergmann and Sams, 2008, Lage et al., 2000, O'Flaherty and Phillips, 2015). One primary strategy of flipping is to deliver the lecture contents outside of the classroom through videos (Abeysekera and Dawson, 2015, Bishop and Verleger, 2013, Lo and Hew, 2017a). With some basic knowledge acquired before class, the students can then devote more in-class time to active learning exercises such as collaborative problem-solving, team-based discussions, or student presentations (Bergmann and Sams, 2008, Lage et al., 2000, O'Flaherty and Phillips, 2015), which can be conducted with a teacher's guidance.

The growing interest in using the flipped classroom approach has been accompanied by an increasing number of empirical studies (Giannakos et al., 2014, Huber and Werner, 2016, Karabulut-Ilgu et al., 2017). The existing reviews of such studies (e.g., Bernard, 2015, Betihavas et al., 2016, Karabulut-Ilgu et al., 2017, Lo and Hew, 2017a, O'Flaherty and Phillips, 2015, Seery, 2015) have generally suggested that this instructional approach is at least as effective as its traditional lecture-based format in terms of student achievement. However, it is worth noting that most of these reviews have focused on higher education contexts. Few studies have been done to compare flipped and non-flipped classrooms in K-12 schools (Gough et al., 2017, Lo and Hew, 2017a). Currently, we know little about the efficacy of K-12 flipped classrooms compared with their non-flipped counterparts. Clearly, further research is needed to evaluate the flipped classroom approach in K-12 educational contexts (Gough et al., 2017, Lo and Hew, 2017a).

More importantly, the design of flipped classrooms is currently under-theorized (Abeysekera and Dawson, 2015, Karabulut-Ilgu et al., 2017, Song et al., 2017). Song et al. (2017) lamented that a large number of studies on the flipped classroom approach have fallen short of presenting strong theoretical underpinnings for their pedagogical designs. Kim, Kim, Khera, and Getman (2014) argued that the efficacy of flipped classrooms could be affected in unforeseen ways if implemented without a theory-driven framework.

This study aims to overcome the aforementioned gaps in research. The main purpose of this study is to address the question of how teachers can design and implement flipped classrooms in ways that benefit the learners. Specifically, we report the effects of applying a highly cited meta-theory of instructional design, the “First Principles of Instruction,” which was authored by Merrill (2002). We use this theory to support teachers' day-to-day pedagogical practices of designing and implementing flipped classrooms. Specifically, we apply Merrill's framework in the design of flipped classes in four K-12 subjects, namely mathematics, physics, Chinese language, and information and communication technology (ICT). The following research questions are thus formulated:

• What is the effect of using the “First Principles of Instruction” to design flipped classrooms on student achievement?

• What are teachers' perceptions of using the “First Principles of Instruction” to design flipped classrooms?

Our study involved implementing and evaluating flipped classrooms in two secondary schools in Hong Kong. Student achievement was measured by baseline assessments and post-course exams. The teachers' perceptions of the flipped classroom approach were investigated through semi-structured interviews. These evaluations allowed us to examine the students' achievements and the teachers’ experiences across different subject disciplines.