The influence of flipped classroom instruction on students' understanding and performance in solving quadratic equations

Abstract

Flipped classroom instruction is a new instructional strategy and a relatively hot issue in education in the 21st century, which reverses traditional education by delivering information-transmission knowledge through video lecturing and practical homework outside the classroom, and student-centered learning, active learning and learning with a focus of solving problems inside the classroom. This study shows how, and to what extent, the flipped classroom instruction, in comparison to traditional classroom instruction, affected student performance on, and understanding of, solving quadratic equations of different levels of complexity in a Hong Kong secondary school. Although several studies from western educational systems conducted on flipped classroom instruction have indicated an improvement of students’ performance and understanding, there is little research in East-Asian educational systems.

This study firstly defines the difference between two classroom instructions with respect to activities inside and outside the classroom. Then, it will present a theoretical framework for evaluating classroom instruction, and a theoretical framework for assessing student's understanding and performance in solving quadratic equations. Quantitative results demonstrate that students in flipped class perform significantly better on student understanding, both in conceptual understanding and procedural understanding, and academic performance. These results were in line with the studies of flipped classroom instruction in western educational systems. In addition, qualitative data shows that students present a positive perception of their learning under the flipped classroom instruction.