A flipped classroom method based on a small private online course in physiology.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Educational Technology

Background:

• Traditional lecture-based learning (LBL) has limitations in engaging students and assessing learning needs.
• Small private online courses (SPOCs) offer a scalable model for blended learning environments.
• Flipped classrooms can enhance active learning and knowledge retention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a SPOC-based flipped classroom model in a physiology course for clinical undergraduates.
• To compare learning outcomes between the SPOC flipped classroom and traditional LBL.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a SPOC flipped classroom blended teaching model in a physiology course.
• Comparison of pre-class and post-class test scores between the SPOC flipped classroom group and a control LBL group.
• Analysis of student interest in self-learning and preview effectiveness.

Main Results:

• The SPOC flipped classroom group showed significantly higher scores in both pre-class (65.13 ± 12.45) and post-class (80.43 ± 14.29) tests compared to the LBL group (53.46 ± 8.09 and 69.01 ± 12.81, respectively).
• Video lecture-based previews in the SPOC flipped classroom were more effective than textbook-based previews.
• Students in the SPOC flipped classroom demonstrated increased interest in self-learning, leading to improved learning efficiency and knowledge depth.

Conclusions:

• The SPOC flipped classroom model is effective in enhancing undergraduate medical students' examination scores and overall learning outcomes.
• This blended learning approach fosters deeper understanding and improved learning efficiency compared to traditional LBL.
• SPOC-based flipped classrooms have broad applicability in basic medical course education.