Incorporating concept development activities into a flipped classroom structure: using PhET simulations to put a twist on the flip

Implementation of the flipped classroom approach into STEM courses has been popularized in the last decade and has generally been reported to improve student performance outcomes. In a flipped classroom setting, students typically first encounter course content in the online format and subsequently engage in some form of active learning during the in-person class meetings. Although the flipped classroom approach can promote increased student engagement and provide an opportunity to apply content encountered in the classroom, this structure does not generally give students opportunities for discrete concept development prior to the application phase of learning. In an effort to build concept development activities into a flipped classroom structure, five learning cycle activities were implemented in a large enrollment first-term general chemistry course that has previously implemented the flipped classroom design. Four of these learning cycle activities incorporated PhET simulations as part of the exploration phase of learning, and all five activities were facilitated during the in-person class meetings to initiate the learning cycle. The activities were designed to help students explore models and engage in concept development. The application phase of the learning cycle was facilitated by flipped classroom modules or in-person classroom activities that included whole-class questioning coupled with collaborative think-pair-share discussion. Performance gains in conceptual understanding were evaluated by employing a one-group, pre-post-post research design. Non-parametric Friedman's tests indicate a significant main effect across time for each concept development activity, and post hoc Wilcoxon signed rank tests indicate the post-test and final exam scores are significantly higher than the pre-test scores for each activity ( p < 0.001 for each pre-post and pre-final pairwise comparison). The findings reported herein demonstrate that concept development activities can be successfully integrated with flipped classroom modules and the combination of the introductory learning cycle activities and flipped classroom application activities led to knowledge gains that persisted through the end of the course. In total, creating this type of blended learning environment appears to help students achieve understanding of core general chemistry concepts.