Preliminary Study: “Flipping” Classrooms May Not Improve Education

USA Today (10/23, Atteberry) reports that the preliminary results of a study into the effects of “flipping” classrooms show little if any improvement to education. Flipping classrooms is a popular concept wherein students watch teacher lectures outside of class and devote class time to “real world” problems. Four professors from Harvey Mudd College found “no statistical difference” between student outcomes in traditional and flipped classrooms in a pilot study. The professors recently received funding for a much larger three-year study into the same concept and caution that their final results may be different from the pilot test.