Vidic has published in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, including those of ASEE and INFORMS. She currently is participating in collaborative research on improving engineering students' learning strategies through models and modeling and is interested in the assessment and effectiveness of model-eliciting activities when implemented in the classroom. Her University of Pittsburgh research team is focusing on assessment and improvement in conceptual learning as well as problem solving, using a series of assessment instruments to better understand and measure the educational benefits.
Comparison of a Partially Flipped vs. Fully-Flipped Introductory Probability and Statistics Course for Engineers: Lessons Learned AbstractWe implemented a fully-flipped classroom approach in the introductory probability and statistics course for engineers during the Fall 2015 semester in our school of engineering. In the Fall 2014, we implemented a partially-flipped "pilot" flipped classroom approach when we inverted one third of the course material. Based on our "pilot" results in terms of both direct measures of student learning as well as measures of the classroom environment, we were highly encouraged and motivated to implement the fully-flipped classroom approach. In our flipped classroom, students watched recorded lectures prior to the class time, and time in the classroom was replaced with more active instructional activities. This approach allowed the instructor to include problem solving elements and focus on difficult concepts, encouraged questions and more interactions, and exposed students to more realistic scenarios, while still covering required material. This course is a required course for civil, computer, chemical, electrical, mechanical, material science and bio-engineering majors in our school. Each semester we teach two or three sections of this course. Our class materials, including lecture notes, class activities, homework assignments and quizzes, were revised in order to implement the flipped classroom approach. As part of our program evaluation, the flipped and partially-flipped classrooms were observed for the degree of active learning, problem solving, and student engagement during class using a structured behavioral observation protocol known as the Teaching Dimensions Observation Protocol (TDOP). We compared students' performance in the fully-flipped vs. partially-flipped classrooms; this allowed for direct assessment and comparison of a partially-flipped vs. fullyflipped approach for probability and statistics. The overall assessment compares the two approaches based on the conceptual knowledge gains on the Statistics Concept Inventory by Allen et al., targeted ABET outcomes, student engagement, instructor interviews, and two perception instruments measuring students' overall experiences in the class. These two instruments consist of Fraser's College and University Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI) and a flipped-classroom evaluation survey, which we distributed to the students near ...