IMPLEMENTATION OF FLIPPED CLASSROOM METHODOLOGY IN PHYSICS TEACHING

The methodology known as flipped classroom is used to optimize as much as possible performance of the classes encouraging the work of a student in the classroom or the laboratory. For this, the most tedious tasks during which a student is more passive towards the interventions of a teacher as an interlocutor, which usually coincide with classes traditionally named as master classes, are removed from the schedule of in-site classes. In a way that during the lessons, cooperative activities, problem solving and deepening in theoretical contents are carried oud to increase classroom participation.

The subject of Physics of facilities that is run within the program of Degree in Construction in the Higher Technical School of Building, has one of the highest failure rate in the first course. Adjusted schedules, overcrowded classes, lack of recourses in the laboratory and high teaching load are some of the reasons why teachers cannot give easily whole programmed subject.

Furthermore, subjects with high mathematical content (Calculation, Algebra, Physics, Statistic, etc.) are generally more difficult for new students, the majority of whom enters the university after studying in high school, in which case basic knowledge in mathematics and physics remains at the mercy of the list of questions of the entrance exam, or after studying in superior grade vocational training cycles, in which case basic knowledge in these subjects common in all engineering specialties is quite limited. That is why increasing motivation of students, enhancing their interest in these core subjects and approaching contents to make easier their adaptation in the university during the first year, contribute effectively to help students to obtain better scores and to decrease alarming rate of leavers during the first years.
Thus, in case of Physics of facilities, teachers have been observing during the last years that the amount of time spent on the explication of theory and demonstration of theorems and physical laws inhibits in many cases solving a wide range of problems that are necessary for a student to reach sufficient capacity to formulate and solve exercises which will be included in the exam.

Under these premises, it was decided to implement flipped classroom methodology in the subject of Physics of facilities due to the fact that it optimizes the work of the teacher, places the student in the center of teaching-learning process, and helps to foster team work that the students of Higher Technical School of Building will need for their future labour insertion. In this way, the program of subject based on fostering personalized attention was carried out. This paper describes the guidelines followed to carry out this proposal at the university level, indicating the processes of elaboration of material, inclusion of job skills of students and the promotion of the new technologies among teachers and students who are involved in this subject. Moreover, Professional Institution Salesiana de Carabanchel collaborated to carry out similar practices in studied subject obtaining a significant improvement of academic performance of students, studying the feasibility of this methodology at different educational stages.