Combining a Flipped Learning Approach and an Animated Video to Improve First-Year Undergraduate Students’ Understanding of Electron Transport Chains in a Biochemistry Course

The electron transport chain (ETC) is a challenging topic due to the complexity of the reaction that occurs at the molecular level because the students cannot directly interact with the reaction at this level. The use of animated video and flipped learning in improving student understanding of this topic was evaluated. The students were randomly and equally divided into three groups. The first group was taught with a PowerPoint presentation, the second group was taught with an animated video, and the third group was taught through a combination of flipped learning and an animated video. The students were given a multiple-choice pre-test, three types of post-tests that assessed their memory, comprehension, and application (Bloom's taxonomy cognitive levels 1–3), and a questionnaire. The results showed that both the animated video and flipped learning significantly increased their understanding, particularly for their comprehension and application. The students instructed through the combination of the animated video and flipped learning achieved the highest grade for all types of post-tests. However, from the students' point of view, students from group 2 were the happiest and highly preferred the animated video instruction compared to the other groups.