Abstract:

Online learning in higher education has dramatically increased in recent years in large part due to instructional changes required during the COVID-19 pandemic. Institutions globally are increasingly offering online courses and programs to their students, and no longer an optional part of a university system. There has been a significant increase in enrollment in online courses since Spring 2021. As the world recovers from the pandemic-imposed restrictions, institutions are returning to in-person learning. However, demand for online course offerings continues to soar, forcing institutions to invest in methods for improving teaching and learning opportunities to ensure equal outcomes and success rates for all students. Elite institutions such as MIT and Harvard universities have invested significant resources in improving online learning. There is a growing need for identifying innovative research-based approaches of quality online teaching and learning. Flipped learning is one such approach that has continued to garner interest and attention.

In the proposed presentation, the authors will share consolidated findings from two studies on approaches incorporating the flipped learning practices in fully online courses. Snowball sampling was used to recruit instructors from a variety of content areas and disciplines, who attempted to systematically integrate the flipped method in their fully online courses. In-depth interview method was used to collect qualitative data to understand best practices and successful strategies used by these instructors in structuring their flipped courses. A total of 17 faculty across 4 countries participated in this study for interviews over Zoom. Respondents highlighted that in fully online courses there is no clear distinction of space and time for in-class and homework activities or before-class and after-class learning tasks. Participants highlighted innovative uses of synchronous and asynchronous environments that kept their students engaged in the coursework and motivated to to learn. Presenters will provide examples of best practices, from the study data, for synchronous and asynchronous learning activities that can lead to successful flipped learning pedagogies in online courses. Discussion will also include potential difficulties instructors face in fully adapting the flipped approaches and how institutions can better support their efforts.

Keywords:

Flipped learning, online coursers, innovation in teaching and learning.