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Curriculum Design of a Flipped Classroom to Enhance Haematology Learning

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Abstract

A common trend in higher education is the “flipped” classroom, which facilitates active learning during class. The flipped approach to teaching was instituted in a haematology ‘major’ class and the students’ attitudes and preferences for the teaching materials were surveyed. The curriculum design was explicit and involved four major components (1) the preparation of the students; (2) the weekly pre-class work; (3) the in-class active learning strategies and (4) closing the learning loop using formative quizzes. Each of these components is discussed in detail and was informed by sound pedagogical strategies. Several different sources of information and several freely available software tools to engage the students are discussed. Two iterations are reported here, with improved pass rate for the final examination from 47 to 48 % in the traditional class to 56–65 % in the flipped classroom approach. The majority of students (93 and 89 %) came to the class prepared, after viewing the screencasts and engaged fully with the activities within the face-to-face time. The students perceived that solving case studies (93 %) was the most beneficial activity for their learning and this was closely followed by the production of essay plans (71 %). The majority of students recommended that this approach be repeated the following year (69 and 75 %).

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Acknowledgments

This study was in part funded by a School Medical Sciences Seed Grant, RMIT University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medical Science, RMIT University, PO Box 71, Bundoora, VIC, 3083, Australia

    Denise E. Jackson & Cindy J. O’Malley

  2. Science Health and Engineering Educational Research (SHEER) Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Patricia M. McLaughlin

  3. Office of the Dean, Learning and Teaching, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Pauline A. Porcaro

Authors
  1. Pauline A. Porcaro
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  2. Denise E. Jackson
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  3. Patricia M. McLaughlin
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  4. Cindy J. O’Malley
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Correspondence to Cindy J. O’Malley.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the RMIT University Ethics committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Porcaro, P.A., Jackson, D.E., McLaughlin, P.M. et al. Curriculum Design of a Flipped Classroom to Enhance Haematology Learning. J Sci Educ Technol 25, 345–357 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-015-9599-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-015-9599-8

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