Studying learner’s perception of attaining graduate attributes in capstone project units using online flipped classroom

This article describes an empirical study to evaluate how the flipped learning (FL) approach has impacted a learner’s perception in attaining the graduate attributes (GAs) of five capstone project units offered at Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, where the authors are affiliated. The subjects include one undergraduate and one postgraduate business unit, and one undergraduate and two postgraduate units in networking. Our study is distinguished from previous research in two novel aspects. First, the subject matter concerns capstone project units which are taken by students in the final year of their degree. In these units, students are expected to apply a variety of knowledge and skills that they have acquired thus far in carrying out an industry-based project of substantial complexity. The learning outcomes (LOs) require students to apply skills and knowledge that they have learned across completed units and connect them with real-world problems. Second, the FL approach has been applied wholly in an online virtual classroom setting due to the social distancing restrictions enforced by local authorities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our hypothesis is that FL has positively influenced the perception of learners in their attaining the GAs. We tested this hypothesis by using data collected by an online survey administered to the student cohorts of the five chosen units at the end of Trimester 1 of 2021. The survey, which comprised 14 questions, assesses a student’s perception of achieving the LOs through developments in three dimensions, including cognitive, affective, and behavioural, acquired in a real-world client setting. Statistical analyses of the survey data reveal that the FL approach resulted in a positive perception by students of their attaining the GAs through achieving the LOs of the capstone project units, which in turn is supported by the responses to the three measured dimensions

Intensifying learner engagement and focus by a block mode flipped learning pedagogy

As an instructional pedagogy, the flipped learning model has been celebrated as student-centered, promotes active learning, and encourages differentiated instruction. It is argued that this pedagogy allows more time in class for students to engage in problem-solving activities facilitated by the teacher. Students\u27 access to learning resources before each class is critical for this instructional approach to work. The chance of success can be improved using educational technologies like learning management systems where materials are stored and accessed via the Internet. However, Internet access is not always similar among students. In most developed nations, Internet access in major cities is more readily available than in regional areas. In addition, providing high-quality learning materials and designing engaging activities to complement flipped learning requires considerably more resources. Our contributions are three-fold. First, we review the literature on flipped learning to present its development as a teaching pedagogy and how it has been applied in different disciplinary areas. Next, we review block mode, an alternative approach to organizing the academic calendar and course delivery, notably in higher education. Third, we describe our recent research in exploring the blending of flipped learning and block mode scheduling in delivering short certificate courses at the Melbourne Institute of Technology (MIT) in Australia which the authors have had affiliations. Outcomes of our study revealed that the blending of flipped learning and block mode may lead to higher learner satisfaction that was a result of (a) requiring quality learning materials be available before the beginning of each block, and (b) intensifying student engagement and focus when they study one subject at a time in each block, which in turn creates positive pressure on their self-regulation and time management

An Empirical Study of Students’ Perception of and Key Factors Affecting Overall Satisfaction in an Intensive Block Mode and Flipped Classroom

Results of recent studies have suggested that intensive methods of delivery might improve engagement, attendance, and achievement for students from diverse backgrounds. Contributing to this area of inquiry, this study assesses how students perceived their experience studying a certificate course that was delivered in an online intensive block mode and flipped classroom (BMFC), pedagogy amidst COVID-19 restrictions. The subjects were students enrolled at Melbourne Institute of Technology between July 2021 and January 2022 across four certificate courses, three at postgraduate and one at undergraduate level. These certificate courses differed from normal degree courses in several aspects: (a) a shorter 4-week (undergraduate) or 5-week (postgraduate), instead of a 12-week duration, (b) subjects were taken sequentially instead of concurrently as in a normal semester, (c) taught using an online flipped classroom rather than the in-class approach, and (d) open to both high-school leavers and mature aged students who did not study full-time. A questionnaire involving 10 perception-based questions was used to survey students’ satisfaction with the BMFC delivery, in relation to their learning and engagement experience. The mean, median, and mode calculated from the responses revealed that students regarded the BMFC approach as more satisfied than not on a 5-star rating scale in 7 out of the 10 questions. This is further supported by high correlations among the questions (the lowest at r = 0.48 and the highest at r = 0.87). Multiple regression analysis using the first nine questions as predictors of the 10th question (overall satisfaction) revealed that six of these are statistically significant predictors (p \u3c 0.05) of the overall satisfaction, implying that an increase in the overall satisfaction can potentially be achieved by improving these key factors of the BMFC delivered certificate courses. Our findings correlate with existing research that student learning and engagement might be improved by intensive modes of delivery. Furthermore, the BMFC pedagogy proposed in our study differentiates us from existing research, where block scheduling was used only in a face-to-face delivery in pre COVID-19 environment. Our study, therefore, contributes a novel delivery method for learning and teaching that is suitable for both online and face-to-face mode in a post COVID-19 era