Hidden Expectations Behind the Promise of the Flipped Classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the student experience of pre-service teachers in a compulsory primary science education course that adopted a flipped classroom approach. Participants (n = 79) were surveyed at the conclusion of the course exploring their perceptions of engagement, enjoyment, and degree of learning as a result of participating in this course. At the end of this course, the majority of participants indicated they were happy with learning outcomes and enjoyed some aspect of the online videos; however, they also indicated they did not watch all of the eight mandatory weekly videos. In fact, the majority only watched about four out of the eight videos. This paper explores why students were reluctant to engage with the online videos and asks if there is an underlying aspect to flipped classrooms that disengages students.