Action Research Project: A Flipped Classroom

MaryAnn Molesky

Coastal Carolina University

EDIT 677: Assessment, Technology, and Learning Analytics

The question in which I investigated for my action research project is, “Is achievement

and test performance greater for 6th grade math students who participate in a flipped classroom,

compared to 6th grade math students who learn using a traditional style of teaching?” A flipped

classroom model generally means that students are independently presented with material by

watching a tutorial, video, or interactive presentation in order to learn a new concept. Typically

this task is completed outside of the school day as a homework assignment. Students may

additionally be asked to copy down notes or answer questions embedded into the video to further

engage their learning.

The problem with assigning traditional homework that consists of practice problems from

the book is that oftentimes students come in the next day with questions, incorrect answers, or

notes from their parents requesting extra help. This always results in a 10-20 minute loss of

instructional time for remediation, which leaves only 30 minutes for the students to learn a brand

new skill, perform a hands-on activity or collaborative practice, and utilize digital content.

Sometimes we don’t get to the fun stuff because we spend too much time going over the

homework at the beginning of class. This creates a huge disadvantage for the students who do

not need a refresher on the homework because not only are they disengaged for the entire first

part of class, but they are not being challenged or given the opportunity for enrichment.

One benefit of a flipped classroom is that students acquire the bulk of the lesson on their

own time in digital form, which means they have the option to pause, rewind, or rewatch as

many times necessary, for as long as they want. The following day, those who understood the

assignment from the night before can immediately take part in cooperative activities to further

develop their skills and mastery of the content at a deeper DOK level. Students who do not yet
feel confident with the material will be able to work more closely with the teacher in small group

instruction. It is easy to assume that this style of teaching should reduce loss of instructional

time, provide greater opportunity for collaboration, and differentiate instruction to add more

personalized learning in the classroom.

In order to carry out my research, I chose to use one of my honors classes as the control

group who participated in the flipped classroom, and compared these results to my other honors

class who continued to receive direct instruction and paper/pencil homework assignments. I

chose my honors classes because it is the only prep in which I have two classes, and each group

consists of a similar make-up of students with common needs and abilities. Generally, these

classes perform about the same on assessments, so I knew that any results produced during my

action research would prove accurate when only changing this one variable in my instruction.

Review of Literature

Ever since I began utilizing blended learning in the classroom several years ago I was

intrigued with the idea of a flipped classroom. There has been a lot of positive research to

support this structure of teaching over the traditional, direct-instruction method of learning. In a

typical, direct-instruction-based classroom, the teacher usually conducts a lesson or presents

notes to the class, has the students participate in a collaborative, hands-on activity, and then

provides practice/homework to be completed outside of school. While proven effective in the

past, this method of teaching can become monotonous, lack differentiation, and simply may not

be the best strategy moving forward in a world that continues to evolve digitally. One study

reveals that the flipped classroom approach to teaching improves student learning performance,

produces enhanced learning outcomes, and increases student motivation (Cabi, 2018). A 6th

grade student with even the lowest ability level can watch a video and take notes or answer a few
questions based on what they’ve observed. I’ve personally noticed that any time a student

doesn’t do their homework it’s solely because he or she did not understand the material, and felt

defeated or overwhelmed with the assignment. Knowing that the task is obtainable and

something they are able to finish on their own is motivation enough to complete their homework.

The digital aspect only makes it more engaging.

Another study specifically focused on 6th grade math teachers who have implemented the

flipped classroom approach has determined that the major benefit of a flipped classroom is to

free up class time so that the teachers can engage students in more active, inquiry-based forms of

learning, where students can apply concepts, collaborate with their peers, and dive deeper into

the subject matter (Goodnough, 2017). A similar study also stresses the importance of

integrating activities that require problem-solving, class discussions, hands-on application, and

group projects during class time in order to enhance higher-order thinking (Minkyoung, 2016).

Like I’ve mentioned in my introduction, it is imperative that we are not wasting class time to go

over the homework. In order to see true improvement in performance and tests scores, we

should be utilizing this approach in a way that promotes blended learning where students can

exercise critical thinking in a rich, student-centered environment, while others work in small

groups for remediation or an enhanced curriculum.

After implementation of a flipped classroom, a final study concluded that test scores

showed nearly 70% of the students performed better with a flipped classroom model of learning,

where 25% scored the same, and only 5% (one student) performed better with traditional

instruction (Unal, 2017). Student surveys also provided a plethora of positive feedback

regarding this style of teaching over the traditional method they are used to.
Methodology

The way that I planned to conduct my flipped classroom was by having students watch an

instructional video on their own time, and then practice/apply these skills the following day with

support and help from their teacher and peers. I implemented this strategy in my Surface Area

and Volume unit. Before the first day of the unit, I explained to the students the structure,

benefits, and expectations of a flipped classroom, and provided them with an introductory

assignment to surface area and volume. For homework, students were prompted to log into

Google Classroom and watch the Math Antics video that I posted on “Surface Area and

Volume”. This video goes into explicit detail about what both surface area and volume are, and

how they are alike and different. It also provides real world examples, and demonstrates the nets

and 3D figures of rectangular prisms, triangular prisms, pyramids, cylinders, and cones. We

frequently watch Math Antics in class, and the students really enjoy these videos, so I decided

this would be a good, easy transition/first assignment for integrating the flipped method. The

students were also given a Venn Diagram, and were expected to define surface area and volume,

and explain at least three differences and similarities between the two.

The next day for warm-up I had students define surface area and volume, and provide

two examples where they’d use each in the real world. We did a timed-pair-share so they could

participate in a discussion with their side-partners and the other members at their table. After

warm-up, we split into three groups. I grouped my students homogeneously by ability. The

lower-level students started in the Independent Station, which focused on digital content. These

students were directed to rewatch the videos from last night and then work on the Geometry slice

of their Pie in ALEKS. The collaboration group was comprised of mid-level students, who were

directed to work in pairs to match the nets of shapes to their corresponding 3D versions. They
were also responsible for calculating the surface area for the nets of rectangular and triangular

prisms and pyramids. Since we learned about composite figures in the last unit, I knew my mid-

level students would be able to successfully persevere and figure it out together. Finally, I had

the higher-level learners work with me on a hands-on, discovery activity. In this station, the

students had to wrap a present using the least amount of paper possible. In order to do so, they

had to first find the exact surface area of the box. I only gave them rulers, a calculator, paper,

scissors, and tape, and prompted them every so often when needed. I was really impressed with

how quickly the students were able to figure out the task collaboratively, with little help from

me. That night, the students were asked to watch a video that I created and posted on Google

Classroom which illustrated exactly how to find the surface area of a net and 3D rectangular

prism. I showed them two examples of each, and provided them with a graphic organizer in

which they could use to fill in notes. As a conclusion, they were asked to complete one problem

on their own for practice, which was provided to them at the end of the video.

The next day in class we continued to work in stations. I worked first with the mid-level

students. We did a few practice problems to assure they understood the virtual lesson from last

night’s homework, and then I had them partake in the present-wrapping activity. The lower-

level students completed the matching activity. The higher-level students worked independently

on a digital Geogebra activity focusing on surface area of rectangular prisms, and then on their

Geometry Pie slice in ALEKS. After 25 minutes we switched groups and I was able to work

more intensely with the lower group. They needed a bit more remediation than the other two

groups, but after providing elaborate instructions and guided practice, they mastered surface area

of a rectangular prism and were able to complete the present-wrapping activity with my

assistance. During this rotation, the mid-level group completed the Geogebra activity and
worked on ALEKS, while the higher-level students were given task cards that provided them

with an early introduction to triangular prisms using manipulatives such as nets and 3D figures.

I used the same design for day 3 (triangular prisms), day 4 (pyramids), and day 5

(volume). I always started with the highest group so that they could learn using discovery

instead of notes or practice problems, and worked my way to the lower-level students last, which

gave them multiple exposures of the content, allowing them to build schema before coming to

me. On day 6 we did a mixed review, and this time I grouped the students heterogeneously so

that the higher-level learners could help the mid and lower students if needed. I had the students

rotate in two stations. One station had the students work together to complete the unit study

guide, and the other station was a Jeopardy review game where I was the host, and the students

were broken into teams of three.

On day 7, I administered a unit assessment to both Honors math classes that myself and

the other 6th grade math teachers created in USA Test Prep. We used 6th grade standards-based

questions for surface area and volume that were already premade on USA Test Prep. We also

found questions from ALEKS and the Horry County 6th Grade Math Curriculum Map

Assessments Document, and inserted them into USA Test Prep. The test was comprised of 20

multiple choice questions and 5 short answer/fill-in-the-blank responses.

Analysis

After grading the tests, I compared the results of the controlled group who received the

flipped classroom to the non-controlled group who received traditional, direct-instruction. I

tallied the number of students who received an A, B, C, D, and F in each class, and created pie

charts to show a visual representation of their performances. Based on daily observations that I
witnessed with student enthusiasm and performance in class, along with the evidence I found

throughout my research at the beginning of this semester, I expected there would be an increase

in achievement for the students participating in the flipped classroom. I did not, however, think

that the results would be this vast.

In the controlled group, I have 27 students. Of those 27 students, 17 earned an ‘A’

(63%), 6 earned a ‘B’ (22%), 3 earned a ‘C’ (11%), 1 earned a ‘D’ (4%), and no students got

an ‘F’. In the non-controlled group, I have 25 students. Out of those students, 11 earned an ‘A’

(44%), 7 earned a ‘B’ (28%), 5 earned a ‘C’ (20%), zero students earned a ‘D’, and 2 students

earned an ‘F’ (8%). In the controlled group, 23 students received a ‘B’ or higher (85%), and in

the non-controlled group, 18 students received a ‘B’ or higher (75%). No students in the

controlled group failed the test. Overall, the students in the controlled group had higher

achievement on the unit test than those in the non-controlled group, especially in the ‘A’ grade

range.
Findings

According to a survey given to the students, 24 out of 27 students (89%) preferred the

flipped classroom to direct-instruction. Two students were indifferent, and the last student liked

the structure of traditional teaching better. After interviewing several students, one lower/mid-

level student said, “I like that the homework assignments are simple, and we know exactly what

to expect each night. I can rewatch the tutorials if needed, and I know that my teacher or friends

will work with me the next day if I don’t get it. My parents really like that they can watch and

learn from the videos too, so they understand how to help me.” A higher-level learner stated,

“I liked the flipped classroom because I learn better from technology, and we got to do cool

activities in class like wrap a present, fill a fish tank with water, and make a pyramid out of sand.

Now I get to work ahead or switch to a new station once I understand the skill, instead of sitting

and waiting until everyone in the class has learned it.”

After examining the test results and surveying/interviewing the students, I have

determined that not only did the implementation of a flipped classroom produce higher

achievement and test scores, but it promoted better engagement and understanding of the

curriculum. Because their homework was to learn the material via digital content outside of

school, students were given more of a chance to collaborate and perform hands-on, exploratory

activities in class, which allowed them to acquire the skill through discovery. Learning became

more of a meaningful experience rather than a lecture with notes and practice. Students were

able to make real-world connections and discover the importance in what they were learning.

The flipped classroom model freed up instructional time which allowed me not only the

opportunity to deliver remediation for those who needed extra practice, but also dive deeper into

the material with the early finishers and higher-level learners. Being able to group the students
by ability level and work with them in small groups to provide specifically what they needed to

be successful made it much easier to differentiate and personalize my lessons, which resulted in a

greater level of retention for the controlled group. In the future, I plan to do more research and

continue to implement a flipped classroom not just in my honors class, but in my general and

accelerated math classes as well.

Cabi, A. (2018, June 30). The Impact of the Flipped Classroom Model on Students' Academic
Achievement. Retrieved February 16, 2019, from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1185114

Çetinkaya, M. (2017, June). 3. Designing and Applying Web Assisted Activities to be Used in
Flipped Classroom Model. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1145236.pdf

Goodnough, K., & Murphy, E. (2017). The Professional Learning of Grade Six Teachers of
Mathematics Implementing the Flipped Classroom Approach. Retrieved from
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1137648.pdf

Minkyoung, K., Eulho, J., De Siqueira, A., & Huber, L. (2016). An Investigation into Effective
Pedagogies in a Flipped Classroom: A Case Study. Retrieved from
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1117866.pdf

Unal, Z., & Unal, A. (2017, October). Comparison of Student Performance, Student Perception,
and Teacher Satisfaction with Traditional versus Flipped Classroom Models. Retrieved
from https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=EJ1155632