Updating a “Sage on the Stage” classroom to a “Flipped Classroom” improved the student experience
Authors: Bruce Erin 
Published: May 2023

‘The Sage on the Stage,’ is a colloquialism describing didactic lecturing. The lecturer (Sage) stands at the front of the room (Stage) and presents information with little to no interaction from the students. The course I am discussing, “Human Physiology in Translation,” has been using this syle since it's inception. Being a small course with a student enrollment less than 30, I felt a change in direction would improve the student experience. I hypothesized that a 'Flipped Classroom' would allow for increased discussion time in clas and create a more engaging environment. Students were expected to watch pre-recorded lectures before class and be prepared for both an Individual Readiness Assessment Test (IRAT) and a Team Readiness Assessment Test (TRAT). The addition of the quizzes ensured student buy-in and preparation. Upon completion of both quizzes, 10-15min of class time was devoted to answering student questions regarding the lecture content, followed by 20-30min answering thought provoking questions posed by a professor, or engaging in a 'dramatization.' Student evaluations were used to determine if the changed teaching style improved the learner's experience. The “Overall Course Evaluation” score (scale 1-5 with 5 being highest) increased from 4.38 in Fall of 2019 (Pre-COVID) to 4.83 in Fall 2022. Feedback from students indicates why the course changes were successful. Students were asked, “What constructive suggestion(s) do you have for improving the course materials, organization, and assignments?” In 2019, a student noted, “I think everything in the course was very well organized. It would be nice, however, if we had homework/practice problems throughout the units to guage our comprehension.” I addressed this comment in two ways: 1) daily quizzes (IRAT and TRAT) 2) group projects for each unit. When students in 2022 were asked the same question, there were no more requests for ways to “gauge comprehension” with one student noting, “...grading is very fair.” Additionally, students were asked to, “Please identify the topics and/or skills you learned in the course that you believe will have the highest application for future courses or professional growth.” Students in 2019, focused on the content preparing them for health-care professions. As expressed by this student, “...the application to real-world scenarios, patients, and diseases will be particularly useful for both future courses and professional growth.” However, the feedback was quite different in 2022, with one student responding, “[The] Ability to think critically, learn information in new ways, present science projects, and discuss ideas with classmates.” I believe it is the latter skills that will have a greater impact on students' professional growth. These skills can be built on in each course, while the clinical details may be forgotten. The open discussion format of this course allows students to hone these skills in a way that traditional didactic courses cannot.

This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.