Abstract:

One of the most relevant problems that university students present is absenteeism. Combined with other issues -such as the segmentation of contents, for instance- it sometimes ends up with students droping out of university studies. The Building School of the Polytechnic University of Madrid is no exception in this matter, so several professors from the Educational Innovation Group "Constructive Attitude" have tried to find a solution to these problems using the Flipped Classroom methodology.

The flipped classroom is a blended learning model that has proved useful for the current needs of students. Many advantages rise when the theoretical explanation is eliminated from the learning process and the student's task is set in its place, not only enabling the student to spend more time with other activities but also easing the self-adaptation of teaching to the different learning rhythms of the student. But, on the other hand, the type of activities that are commonly used in a flipped classroom model tend to force the student to travel through a unique path, without the possibility of alternatives: all milestones are always set up for an average student.

The flipped classroom model proposed in this paper is based on learning itineraries that are adaptable to the situation and to the previous knowledge of the student. Thus, the student can reach the end of the subject by following different paths, according to his needs. To implement this method, micro-videos, short videos, texts and infographic insertions were shared, using the "Book" and "Lesson" modules offered by the Moodle platform. Thereby the student can, through a basic trial-error system, choose the option that best suites his learning style. To allow the student’s progress, the following criterion was generally used: a vertical advance after passing a phase, and horizontal displacement if it was not exceeded. With this vertical/horizontal design the knowledge acquired by the student was strengthened in the way that best suited his abilities.

Another important characteristic of this innovation was the collaboration of teachers of different courses in the preparation of the resources and materials used. The aim was to further emphasize the relationship between the different courses, as well as the achievement of the students in the extrapolation of knowledge and skills obtained the courses participating in the innovation project.

At the end of the 2020-21st academic year, a satisfaction survey on this model was released. It intended to find out the acceptance of the described innovation by the students, and the possible benefits obtained with it. In general terms, they greatly valued both the opportunity to decide between different paths in the flipped classroom methodology and the participation of teachers of different subjects in the process. In view of the results, the flipped classroom through different itineraries can be considered a good learning tool for university students.

Keywords:

Active Learning, Flipped Classroom, Self-Learning, Autonomous Learning, Multimedia Material, Moodle, Open Educational Resources (OER), Educational Video.