Comparison of Flipped Model to Traditional Classroom Learning in a Professional Pharmacy Course

Assessing Female Pharmacy Students' Satisfaction with Active Learning Techniques at King Saud University

BACKGROUND

Studies conducted in Saudi Arabia assess student's perception towards using the flipped classroom or audience response system (ARS) separately, none integrated the two strategies. This study aims to evaluate pharmacy students at King Saud University - college of pharmacy's perceptions of student engagement and satisfaction with audience response system (ARS), and the flipped classroom techniques.

METHODS

Two lecture topics were flipped and delivered to female students enrolled in the pharmacy practice lab course at the university. An audience response system was integrated into the flipped classroom. The satisfaction of the students was measured using an online questionnaire. They then rated their satisfaction on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

RESULTS

Overall, 82.1% of the students stated that the ARS made the class better; 71.64% agreed that taking a course in a flipped classroom was a useful learning experience. Online questionnaire revealed that the ARS fostered students' thinking skills and peers' interaction. Many students report that the flipped classroom made them evaluate their learning processes and pace themselves according to their speed, time, and level of interest. Students, however, stated that technical issues and time-consuming tasks were a downside to these teaching strategies.

CONCLUSION

Although the students' overall response to the use of ARS and flipped classroom techniques was positive; limited class time hindered students from achieving the full benefits reaped from these strategies. Therefore, as per our study's results, modifying the duration of the class to ensure it is not too short to be overwhelming can help instructors utilize these startegies in the best possible manner. Alternatively, a thorough and pre-emptive selection of familiar discussion topics ahead of time would also help in this regard.

Embedding E-Learning in Accounting Modules: The Educators’ Perspective

The aim of the paper is to investigate the benefits and drawbacks resulting from the implementation of e-learning in accounting modules among educators. The primary source of data was a questionnaire conducted among 79 accounting lecturers, employed by the leading Polish economic universities. The results of the survey have shown that e-learning is not widely used by accounting academics in Poland. The most important benefits of the e-courses included the enhancement of efficiency and flexibility of the teaching process. The most serious difficulties were an extensive amount of work associated with designing and updating course materials and technical problems. The effectiveness of e-learning techniques in teaching accounting subjects is determined by the easiness of e-learning delivery, more regular learning process, greater development of students’ social competences during e-learning classes and a more effective process of verification of students’ progress, in comparison with traditional classes. Furthermore, the study provides evidence that lecturers, who decided to use e-learning, perceive this way of teaching as more efficient, and at the same time more demanding, in comparison to traditional classes. The paper contributes to the understanding of the use of e-learning in accounting education and offers findings that might be useful for both policymakers and practitioners.

Flipped classroom as an effective approach in enhancing student learning of a pharmacy course with a historically low student pass rate

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The flipped classroom has not been fully exploited to improve tertiary education in Malaysia. A transformation in pharmacy education using flipped classrooms will be pivotal to resolve poor academic performance in certain courses. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the flipped classroom in improving student learning and academic performance in a course with a historically low pass rate.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING

A quasi-experimental pre- and posttest control group design was employed. The experimental group experienced the flipped classroom for selected topics while the control group learned in a traditional classroom. Analysis of covariance was utilized to compare the performance on the final exam using the grade point of a pre-requisite course as the covariate. Students' perceptions of their experience in the flipped classroom were gauged through a web-based survey.

FINDINGS

Student performance on the final exam was significantly higher in the flipped classroom group. The lowest-scoring students benefitted the most in terms of academic performance. More than two-thirds of students responded positively to the use of the flipped classroom and felt more confident while participating in classes and tests.

SUMMARY

The flipped classroom is academically beneficial in a challenging course with a historically low pass rate; it was also effective in stimulating learning interest. The current study identified that for the flipped classroom to be successful, the role of educators, the feasibility of the approach, and the acceptance of students were important.