Coordinated Implementation and Evaluation of Flipped Classes and Peer-Led Team Learning in General Chemistry

Abstract

The research-based pedagogical strategy of flipped classes has been shown to be effective for increasing student achievement and retention in postsecondary chemistry classes. The purpose of flipped classes is to move content delivery (e.g., lecture) outside of the classroom, freeing more face-to-face time for active learning strategies. The opportunity to engage in active learning with students can be a challenge for instructors of large classes (more than 100 students). Furthermore, there has been little discussion in the chemical education literature to provide instructors with detailed descriptions of successful implementations of flipped classes combined with active learning in large classes. To this end, this report provides a comprehensive description and evaluation of a coordinated implementation of flipped classes with peer-led team learning (PLTL) for second-semester general chemistry with class sizes greater than 200 students. This approach is described as "Flipped PLTL". This report includes details about creation of videos for flipped instruction, class structure, and the recruiting and training of peer leaders. The purpose of this paper is to provide an example of flipped classes with PLTL that can guide other instructors who wish to implement these pedagogies in large classes.

Evaluating the evidence base for evidence‐based instructional practices in chemistry through meta‐analysis

“…In large classes, PLTL has the strongest evidence base with five of seven studies reporting setting sizes greater than 200 and effect sizes ranging from 0.02 to 0.84. This matches the scalability of PLTL where larger class sizes can be accommodated by increasing the number of peer leaders supporting implementation (Robert et al, ). Future research on the effectiveness of POGIL, PBL and collaborative learning in large classes and PLTL in small classes is still needed and could also include qualitative investigations into how class size influences the implementation of these approaches.…”

“…To explore this hypothesis, a content review of the eight studies reporting setting sizes greater than 400 was conducted. Five studies (Eichler & Peeples, ; He, ; Lewis, ; Robert et al, ; Tien, Roth, & Kampmeier, ) used peer leaders or teaching assistants to facilitate interactions within large classes. Of the remaining three studies, two reported class sizes of approximately 100 students (Baepler et al, ; Casadonte, ) and the remaining study (Talanquer & Pollard, ) a class size of 250 students.…”

“…The movement of content to outside the formal class meeting environment allows for class meeting time to be dedicated to active learning. Active learning can take a wide variety of forms and can include students' discussing the content, engaging in a problem set or experiential learning or working in groups employing any of the EBIPs previously discussed (Robert, Lewis, Oueini, & Mapugay, ).…”

Implementation and evaluation of flipped learning for delivery of analytical chemistry topics

“…There is no doubt about the effectiveness of flipped learning in education of general and organic chemistry [8,10,[13][14][15][16]. What is less evident, as there are only a few studies [17,18], is if analytical chemistry is well suited to the flipped teaching Provides a deep understanding of material 9 Encourages more reading outside face-to-face time 3…”

“…Class time then establishes an interactive learning environment where students engage in activities and problem-based learning that are instructor led [5]. Flipped learning has been widely applied in STEM subjects, notably in the delivery of physics, engineering, and mathematics [3,4,8], and its use in chemistry teaching is increasing, with various studies being published on the delivery of organic or general chemistry in this way [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”