Does Implementation of Flipped Teaching Combined with Retrieval Practice Enhance Student Engagement in Class Discussions?
Authors: Beason‐Abmayr Beth 
Published: June 2021

In Cellular and Molecular Animal Physiology we use an integrated, functional, and comparative approach to investigate animal physiology. This student‐centered course incorporates a flipped teaching (FT) model, where students are assigned readings from the textbook and articles from the primary literature outside of class and class time is spent discussing the material and applying that information to explore physiological mechanisms. Team‐based learning (TBL) is emphasized throughout the course as students work in groups both inside and outside of class while learning strategies that animals use to meet their energy needs, take up and transport oxygen, and maintain hydration and salt balance, especially in extreme environments. With introductory biology for majors as the sole prerequisite, this 300‐level elective course is accessible to undergraduates at all levels and to majors and non‐majors. Instructor‐provided study materials include chapter guides for the textbook, reading guides for research papers, worksheets and homework sets, online quizzes in our course management system, and links to supplemental videos and websites. Currently, retrieval practice occurs primarily through Minute Questions (MQ), which are short quizzes given at the beginning of the class period. This retrieval exercise (RE) focuses on a key concept or theme that was covered in the assigned textbook reading for that particular class. We recently combined FT with RE by introducing online quizzes on each assigned textbook reading and asking additional MQs. Students came to class better prepared and were more active participants in class discussions about and activities working with the textbook material. In contrast, FT alone, without RE, clearly did not effectively promote student preparation for discussions about scientific research papers. Students were asked in an overall course Reflection at the end of the semester 1) Did you read all/most/few/none of the papers before coming to class? and 2) Did you use the guide questions to help you read the paper and prepare for class? Although 83% of students said they read all or most of the research papers, only 22% of them used the reading guide to prepare for class. Thus, although we encouraged students to use the reading guides to help them prepare for discussions of the research papers, 78% of them chose not to look at them until we discussed the paper during class. In the next offering of this course, we will combine FT with RE on class days that include research paper discussions. Students will answer the background questions from the reading guide on an online quiz (FT), and we will ask MQs about the research paper at the beginning of class (RE). In addition to qualitative data from student Reflections and selfevaluation of class participation, we will analyze pre‐ and post‐survey results to look for changes in participants' expectations, attitudes, intentions, and self‐efficacy towards FT‐RE. We expect implementation of this combined strategy will enhance student engagement in class discussions and improve the effectiveness of FT.

All protocols were approved by the Institutional Review Board of Rice University (Protocol FY2017‐294).

Support or Funding Information

Chaya Gopalan's 2018 APS Teaching Career Enhancement Award

This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.