Abstract:

The heterogeneity of students has been on the rise for several decades. This not only manifests itself in sharply differing knowledge requirements, but also in other areas, for example heterogeneous living conditions. This poses new challenges for the teacher, but few new related concepts are emerging. New learning concepts rarely appear, especially for learners in heterogeneous living conditions.

Although studies demonstrate the relationship between socio-economic background, cultural capital etc. and educational success, only specific groups of students are supported, mainly those with lower knowledge requirements. Other groups, such as people from poorer economic backgrounds, have a smaller chance of participating in university education, and tend to discontinue their studies earlier.

There are, however, digital learning formats, e.g. such as the Inverted Classroom (ICM), that can make an important contribution to softening the impacts of student heterogeneity. In this new teaching model, the presentation and self-learning phases are “inverted” in some way.
This new learning concept was tested and evaluated in two types of seminars (lectures/masterclasses) in the field of sociology: it was evaluated by means of a mixed method study that took place in a statistics and ICM elements were utilized for student projects in an environmental sociology master’s degree programme, and those participating were interviewed following the study.

In both courses, the concept was very well received and was consistently evaluated positively. A large number of benefits became evident. People with lower knowledge requirements as well as students in heterogeneous life situations consistently attained good marks and the dropout rates significantly diminished. Several students even thought that they would not have been able to complete their studies without the course. This shows that it is possible to support heterogeneous students in diverse ways through innovative course units, and by doing so, to make democratic studying conditions a reality.

Keywords:

Inverted Classroom, Flipped Classroom, Social Inequality, New Teaching Methods, Mixed Methods.