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Hans Georg Schaathun, Welie Schaathun
NTNU, Norway
We have used flipped classroom for three years running in our module on Discrete Mathematics for the undergraduate programme in computer engineering. Video lectures available online frees up classroom time for active learning. Over the three- year period we have experimented with different classroom activities, incl. both individual work, group work, and plenary discussions. The most effective learning activities turns out to be various forms of interaction, be it student-student or student- lecturer. Debating exercises and solutions is generally more rewarding than individual problem solving.
The success of flipped classroom depends very much on what replaces lectures in the classroom and how this is implemented. A naïve and straight-forward introduction of flipped classroom does not suffice, an observation which has also been made by Njål Foldnes (2015).
Even though mathematics is not usually seen as a `chatty' subject, there is a strong theoretical basis to increase all forms of social interaction also in mathematics education, from informal chatting to more formal discussion. Feedback is a well-known bottleneck when students work individually with exercises. Through dialogue, the participants can get prompt feedback both from peers and from participating tutors. The developmental psychologist Vygotsky's observation that children's problem solving is hampered when they are not allowed to speak may also be relevant. It is known that many students who struggle with mathematics simply do not posess the language to ask the right questions for help. Discussion may help to develop the necessary vocabulary and mathematical language.
In this paper we report on a detailed, quantitative survey conducted in the 2015 class, close to the end of term. We will give an overview of different learning activities that we have tested, and evaluate them both in terms of the student survey and their theoretical justification.
We note that the majority of students think flipped classroom works better than traditional methods. However, it is more interesting to see how each individual type of learning activity is perceived. Almost a fourth of the students felt that they learnt less in the flipped classroom, and their views are particularly useful. Most of the students, also among those who did not like flipped classroom, thought that they learn much from discussing problems in groups or in class. These results support the theoretical reasons for choosing these active learning strategies.