Abstract:

The Peer Learning – Flipped Classroom (PL-FC) model, which combines collaborative learning before class with peer teaching during class, has already been proved to enhance the academic performance of Higher Education students. Its positive impact is evidenced in final examinations, and learning outcomes transfer to subsequent courses, even in different subject domains. Beyond the crucial improvement of hard skills in the learning process, the model also contributes significantly to the development of students’ self-regulated learning abilities and learning motivation.

The present study seeks to strengthen the PL-FC model through the systematic integration of the Marzano–Kendall taxonomy, in order to create a new version, the modified Peer Learning – Flipped Classroom (mPL-FC). The Marzano–Kendall taxonomy proposes six categories of cognitive processes across three knowledge domains and serves as a framework for the formulation of educational objectives of both lower- and higher-order cognitive levels. The methodology proposed in this study requires instructors, during lesson preparation, to embed learning objectives into a structured Lesson Plan, implemented through digital activities and aligning instructional tasks, objectives, and knowledge levels.

The teaching experiment is conducted in two phases within the context of teaching mathematics in Higher Education. During the first phase, it was piloted in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Patras and the Department of Civil Engineering at the Democritus University of Thrace, in order to examine the extent to which the lesson plan is fully comprehensible to students who may teach mathematics in the future (Mathematics Department), and the extent to which soft or hard skills are developed among students who use mathematics as a tool in their scientific field (Civil Engineering students). During the second phase, the mPL-FC model is implemented in the Calculus course of the Department of Business Administration at the University of Patras, where students use mathematics as a tool for analysis and decision-making. Thus, Mathematics students focused on lesson design, while Business Administration and Civil Engineering students focused on goal-setting—two pillars that form the foundation of the proposed mPL-FC method. Students chose whether to participate in the flipped classroom or in a traditional lecture. The assessment of learning outcomes is based on a mixed-methods model combining quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data derived from the final evaluations.

Within the study, the students recorded their perceptions through the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), which examines motivation and learning strategies in Higher Education, in order to highlight the effects of the mPL-FC model on learning behavior and student engagement. Future research includes the implementation of a third re-evaluation phase in the Mathematics Department, in order to confirm and reinforce the findings, thereby contributing to the establishment of mPL-FC as an effective framework for designing flipped learning in Higher Education.

Keywords:

Flipped Learning, PL-FC, Marzano–Kendall Taxonomy, Lesson Plan, Learning Outcomes, Higher Education, Motivation, Learning Strategies.