Abstract:

During three years, a regular Linear Algebra course from Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, used virtual pedagogical content, mainly videos and formative assessment, within a dedicated MOOC produced by the Linear Algebra teacher and delivered at the institution's MOOC platform to support a flipped classroom strategy. This strategy has involved around 100 first-year Computer Science students enrolled each year both in the presencial course and in the MOOC. These experiences underwent permanent evaluations on the topic, with positive impacts on the way students and teacher work during the semester, within the context of teaching/learning mathematics. We will present and discuss the results of a three-year hybrid experiment, analysing data from students' responses to questionnaires, MOOC’s completion rates and data collected from the students' final grades in the Linear Algebra course. Based on the results obtained, we have reason to believe that similar flipped classroom practices are a good response to the necessary changes in Higher Education towards more student centred practices, especially in the areas of STEM education. During the covid-19 pandemic, the MOOC has run in a self-paced mode and is presently to be used again to support blended learning strategies in different contexts.

Keywords:

Flipped classroom, Linear Algebra course, MOOC design, Student centred practices, STEM education.