Systematic evaluation of the teaching effectiveness of flipped classroom mode in undergraduate preventive medicine courses in China

To systematically evaluate the application effect of flipped classroom (FC) teaching mode in preventive medicine courses in Chinese medical colleges and universities.

A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), etc. to search for reports on the FC teaching model in preventive medicine courses. A quantitative system evaluation was conducted to assess the teaching effectiveness of FC with multiple indicators such as exam score, learning interest, and self-learning and thinking abilities.

A total of 28 articles were included, including 2,135 students in the flipped classroom group and 2,259 students in the LBL group. It showed that compared with the lecture-based learning (LBL) group, the FC can significantly improve students' exam scores for both theoretical and practical components, their quantitatively synthesized SMDs were 0.99 (95% CI: 0.65-1.33) and 0.50 (95% CI: 0.30-0.70), respectively. Meanwhile, learning interest (RR = 1.42, 95%CI:1.33-1.53), independent learning and thinking ability (RR = 1.51, 95%CI: 1.31-1.73), cooperation and communication skills (RR = 1.60, 95%CI: 1.28-2.01), problem analysis and solving ability (RR = 1.47, 95%CI: 1.13-1.91), and teacher-student interaction (RR = 1.35, 95%CI: 1.10-1.66), the differences are statistically significant (p < 0.05).

The FC teaching model has shown significant advantages in the teaching of preventive medicine courses in Chinese higher medical colleges. In view of this, schools can reasonably apply it in relevant course teaching according to resources such as faculty and facilities.