Abstract:

The classical interpretation of model-based learning engages students in an iterative process oriented to build a mental model of a given phenomenon. It is in this scenario where the flipped classroom methodology is applied because it facilitates the creation of an environment of collaborative learning in the classroom, where the students are involved in their own learning process from the beginning. In this work, the flipped classroom methodology has been applied to the laboratory sessions in the course Physical Techniques I. In this course, students face the basic concepts of Electronics and, in particular, Circuit Theory for the first time. Furthermore, the laboratory sessions require the use of several instruments that students are not used to handle. As a consequence, students often need guidance by the instructors, which leaves less space to implement active learning activities.
The proposed methodology has two main parts. The first part consists of flipped laboratory. Before the laboratory sessions, with the help of electronic simulation software, the students must understand, design and customize the circuits that they will have to characterize experimentally in the laboratory with commercial components, comparing the results with those obtained by simulation and verifying the correct operation of the final designs. The main idea of this part is to introduce students to the standard design-simulation-characterization process typically used by electronic designers.
The second part consists of a student contest activity where the students compete against their pairs while improving their understanding of the topics presented in the flipped classes. This activity is divided in two sessions: an initial one based on solving a real problem using electronic simulation software, and a second one consisting on a quiz. For the first session of the student contest, the students have to solve a case study using all the knowledge they obtained in the flipped classes and in the last minutes of the class each group has to present and defend their work. The students are given a design (a temperature detector, a radiation detector containing a Geiger-Muller tube, etc.) and several possible signal-conditioning circuits and they have to select the appropriate circuit and integrate all the components in a final design. The second session consists of a quiz that contains different questions related to the flipped classes. At the end of the quiz, the students know their mark but not the specific questions that they answered right or wrong. This way, they have to decide whether or not they want to try to solve the quiz again as the winner is the group with more right questions when the time ends. To evaluate how the flipped classroom influences the learning outcomes and the construction of the knowledge model, several actions have been designed (specific quizzes, laboratory papers or talks). To validate the effect of this activity a comparison should be carried out with the marks obtained by students during the academic years when it was not already implanted, but the strategy presented in this work has been performed in a current academic year.
Therefore, by the application of a methodology based on the flipped classroom combined with a student contest the authors expect to contribute to increase the depth of the acquisition of experimental skills, helping students to acquire a better understanding of the concepts under study in laboratory sessions.

Keywords:

Active learning, collaborative work, flipped classroom, laboratory skills, model-based learning.