The implementation of flipped classroom approach in an academic English course

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The study indicated positive perception towards flipping learning mode from both the students and instructor’s perspective and the analysis of the submitted end-of-course assignmentsshowed a good mastery of essay genres, argument development and text selection.

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VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 149 THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FLIPPED CLASSROOM APPROACH IN AN ACADEMIC ENGLISH COURSE Nguyen Thi Thinh* VNU University of Languages and International Studies Pham Van Dong, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam Received 16 December 2020 Revised 23 March 2021; Accepted 17 May 2021 Abstract: Since flipped classroom (FC) approach was first implemented over a decade ago, it has been gathering great momentum with more and more research conducted in different fields over the past years. As an attempt to better understand this promising new model, this study aimed to apply it in an academic English language course and examine its effects on student’s perception and the quality of their assignment together with the instructor’s self-reflection. The participants were 21 sophomores attending an academic English course (integrated reading and writing section) at a state university in Hanoi, Vietnam. Combining both quantitative data from survey and qualitative data from feedback forms together with the instructor’s reflection and analysis of students’ work, findings of the study indicated positive perception towards flipping learning mode from both the students and instructor’s perspective and the analysis of the submitted end-of-course assignments showed a good mastery of essay genres, argument development and text selection. However, synthesizing skill as well as the use of APA in-text citations and references needed more guidance and required more practice. The study also pointed out some limitations and recommendations which further research should take into consideration for a better implementation of a flipped classroom. Key words: flipped classroom approach, English Language Teaching/ELT, English as a foreign language/EFL 1. Introduction* lesson rife with theoretical concepts is often too much for students to absorb, which leads Over the past six years, the to boredom and regular attention drop during researcher has identified one problem with class time. One unit is normally presented in conventional teaching practices: no matter approximately 15-20 pages in the course how extensively knowledge was introduced book. If students do not read the course book during lecture time, students were still likely in advance, they could not understand to make unexpected mistakes in their thoroughly what lecturers deliver in class. submitted assignments (e.g. citation errors, As a matter of fact, it is also unfeasible for paraphrasing problems, and so forth). A teachers to cover all the knowledge during hypothesis is hence put forward that the the limited teaching time. Some (mainly blame might be on the lack of on-the-spot practice tasks/exercises) must be set as guidance and feedback from the teacher homework for students, but very often end when students do the work. Firstly, each up being omitted because students view * Corresponding author. Email address: thinhnt@vnu.edu.vn https://doi.org/10.25073/2525-2445/vnufs.4649
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 150 them as “minor” or “unnecessary” and would be saved for much more practical thereby ignoring them at home. Therefore, activities such as assignment guidance. class time is mostly allocated to theory Basal (2015) highlighted that the most instead of practice. In addition, the practice important benefits of flipped model lie in the tasks in the course book are too few and in-class time dedicated to tackling complex mostly deliberately decontextualized for knowledge and concepts, having more drilling purposes. These tasks are not interactive discussions or carrying out more supportive to the assignment they have to activities, instead of just the usage of lecture carry out. Apparently, the core contents are videos to replace live lectures. not fully covered, students do not get Besides, the world of technology is sufficient practice to successfully apply the changing at a fast pace and now equips our taught knowledge into their assignment, and young generations with devices of all kinds teachers do not have time to check students’ connected to the Internet, which gives understanding and evaluate their study teachers necessary conditions to flip their process to support them when needed. These classroom with ease. In other words, flipped are assumed to result in the problem under classroom appears to be more suited to the discussion. current era and targeted learners than the Thanks to the 2019 ULIS National traditional course setting. Therefore, a Conference held at University of Languages gradual switch to new technology-based and International Studies - Vietnam National approaches like FC is an inevitable trend in University (ULIS-VNU), the researcher was education. Flipped classroom approach inspired with the idea of flipped classroom offers teachers a great opportunity to make approach by several colleagues’ research use of the equipped technologies inside and reports on the effectiveness of this approach outside classroom to make teaching and in positively changing students’ classroom learning more effective and flexible. In attitudes (increased participation and terms of technology involvement, Francl improved atmosphere) and boosting the (2014) claimed that flipped classroom with acquisition of knowledge. In addition, an its recorded lectures available at any time, American co-teacher also shared his any places could successfully gain an personal experience flipping his own advantage in the competition for students’ classroom and gave quite a favorable review attention against other technological on it. These particular occurrences have distractions. sparked a daring idea of applying this new The purpose of the study is to method to tackle the aforementioned introduce flipped classroom model into an problem. academic English course as an intervention As the Cambridge Dictionary (2020) replacing the conventional lecture way. The points out, flipped classroom is defined as a research expects to get insight into students’ teaching method which encourages students and instructor’s perception of FC and to examine and study the needed learning examine its effect on the quality of the materials online at home and then discussing participants’ assignment. The following more about them in class. At first glance, this questions guided the research: reverse operation could somehow solve the 1. What is the students’ perception of problem of a classroom too theoretical and flipped classroom approach in an academic lacking practice or interaction time between English course? teachers and learners. If students were more 2. What is the instructor’s perception proactive in taking in the knowledge through of flipped classroom approach? self-study at home, the precious class time
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 151 3. How does the approach impact the flip movement (Raine & Gretton, 2014). quality of the students’ assignment? Raine and Gretton, in their story of flipping Flipped class is quite a new a cosmology classroom about three decades pedagogical approach which has not been ago, pointed out that the unavailability of around as long as the lecture way; however, technology at the time not only caused research across the globe has been difficulties in applying flipped classroom, conducted to report the implementation and but also led to the limited literature on this its effectiveness on student’s perceptions, teaching strategy back then. Recently, the attitudes, or learning outcome in different rapid development of technology has made subjects or courses. Although there is still a it possible for almost all students to have lack of empirical studies to prove it is a online access at home. As a result, the completely efficient way of teaching and flipped model has gained momentum as learning, the recorded findings make it a more and more research in various promising approach for educators and disciplines (STEM subjects (Bergmann & teachers to try it out. Upon completion, this Aarons, 2012); medical education (Chen et al., study hopes to make a humble contribution 2017); language teaching (Turan & Akdag- to the corresponding body of literature, Cimen, 2020) and so on) have been specifically the application of flipped class, conducted on the subject matter in the past with an emphasis on students and lecturer’s years. This revolutionary movement could perceptions and its effect on student’s be attributed to the fact that educators and quality of end-of-term written product. This instructors globally are in search of more research is believed to be relevant to all suitable way to the new era of technological teachers, especially those who have advances and differentiated teaching experienced the sample problem as the methods catering for different student teacher-researcher has described above and profiles and needs. been seeking for feasible solutions. The The term Flipped Classroom was results and the recommendations, as well as commonly believed to be first coined in the acknowledged limitations are given in 2012 by two leading pioneers Jon Bergmann the hope of providing support to the teachers and Aaron Sams, two high-school science who are considering flipping their own teachers in the USA even though these two classroom. authors, in the book Flip your classroom, refused this credit. This new teaching model 2. Literature Review soon captured immediate attention of international researchers ((Flipped Learning 2.1. Flipped Classroom Approach Network [FLN], 2014); Chen et al., 2017). Although the first studies on flipped As its name suggests, flipped classroom classroom were mostly recorded to take could be simplistically understood as place within the last decade, some forms of “school work at home and home work at flipping were already seen much earlier, school” (FLN, 2014). This plain definition such as Peer Instruction (Eric Mazur, may not be regularly cited in scientific Harvard, Physics, 1991), Team-Based research, but it works perfectly well for any Learning (Larry Michaelsen, Oklahoma, teachers (regardless of their experience with Management, 1974), Modeling Instruction this practice) to get a basically adequate (Hestenes, Arizona, Physics, 1989). Flipping understanding of the concept at once and was tried and tested predominantly in STEM maybe seriously take it into their subjects in general and particularly physics considerations to utilize it in the classroom. in the USA for many years before this recent In addition, in order to prevent any possible
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 152 misconceptions or myths of the approach, a creatively in the subject matter “formal definition” was proposed by the key (FLN, 2014, p. 1) pioneers, also experienced Flipped It is also noteworthy that the two Educators as follows: terms “flipped classroom” and “flipped Flipped learning is a pedagogical learning” should not be used approach in which direct instruction interchangeably. While the former refers to moves from the group learning space the alterations initiated from teacher’s side, to the individual learning space, and the latter is more of learners’ adaptation or the resulting group space is transformation in case of their classroom transformed into a dynamic, flipped. Moreover, flipped classroom does interactive learning environment not necessarily always result in flipped where the educator guides students learning. These key leaders also suggest “the Four Pillars of F-L-I-PTM” which are in fact as they apply concepts and engage the four criteria educators must meet to bring out flipped learning: Figure 1 The Four Pillars of F-L-I-PTM (adapted from FLN, 2014) • Flexible learning modes • A more learner- • Flexible expectations centered approach and assessments of student learning. Flexible Learning Environment Culture Intentional Professional Content Educator • Some materials taught; • A more important and others explored by demanding role in the students process • Less visibly prominent roles in the classroom The term flipped classroom could be 2014; Yang et al., 2018). Take video use as used interchangeably with other education a prime example, from the approach theory, models such as blended learning, reverse it has not been explicitly stated that the use instruction, inverted classroom, or 24/7 of lecture videos is of a mandatory classroom in certain contexts because of the requirement for pre-delivering materials noticeable similarities among them (Raine & Gretton, 2014), numerous (Bergmann & Sams, 2012). examples of research show the utilization of Although numerous attempts to recorded lecture videos or downloaded implement FC were reported internationally, videos from the Internet. This is defined as it was hard to find a rigid flipped procedure “pure” flipping in which readily produced agreed upon by all the practitioners (Francl, videos to replace live lectures are supposed to “have underpinned the excitement around
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 153 the flip movement” (p. 6). Bergmann and using videos at all. In order to facilitate the Sams (2012) agreed that using screencast implementation process in this study, the videos as a substitute for lectures realized following steps suggested by Francl (2014) their own flipping, but showed that other in his study were used as the key guidance: teachers could also flip their class without Figure 2 Sequencing Activities in FC (adapted from Francl, 2014) Topic presentation viewed by the student outside of the classroom Practice exercises and critical thinking projects in the classroom Formal discussion and review in the classroom Brief self-quiz to check understanding and retention 2.2. Related Studies on FC teacher or peers. To put it differently, flipped approach closely complies with the revised Similar to other new approaches in Bloom’s Taxonomy proposed by Anderson pedagogy, flipped classroom received both and Krathwohl (2001). Besides, some positive reactions and disagreeable research (Yang et al., 2018) also based their criticisms from educational experts and flipping research on other theoretical educators. The conflict between the frameworks such as Vygotsky’s (1979, advocates and the opponents of the approach 2005) socio-cultural theory, or Piaget’s has aroused a heated debate in literature and (1967) theory of cognitive conflict. Another thereby encouraging more research reason why it is more effective than undertaken in the field. While some findings traditional class is it promotes two factors of indicated promising results of the flipped success – student-centred learning and classroom, the others proved otherwise, autonomy (Amiryousefi, 2017; Han, 2015, worse or no difference found. as cited in Turan & Akdag-Cimen, 2020). Is flipped classroom a genuine Francl (2014) has listed several studies on revolution in pedagogy in the 21st century FC which indicate the widespread education? implementation of this approach at tertiary Flipped classroom approach is level in the US, including Satullo (2013) believed to be more effective and sensible reporting “students [in Pennsylvania than the traditional ones. When the community colleges] are doing better than… classroom is flipped, the work requiring traditional classroom” with students’ deeper lower cognitive level including engagement and increased teacher’s remembering and understanding could be approachability, and Kucher (2013) finished before class. As a result, higher referring to an impressive growth by 30% in cognitive levels of learning (analyzing, the pass rate in an electrical engineering evaluating, and synthesizing) take place course at San Jose State University. during class time in which students could get Generally, the qualitative data on more support and guidance from their improvements in student engagement are significantly positive (Johnson, 2013). In his
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 154 own master thesis, Johnson (2013) stated perspective”. In this article, he also that there was a remarkable improvement as categorized flipping model as one of regards to content delivery, in-class educational fads in the history which was activities, and assessment. Basal (2015) born to fade in the history. One of the main reported some benefits of FC as perceived by problems of flipping model which constantly the participants, including learning at one’s copes with judgment from the opponents is own pace, advanced student preparation, its success mostly relies on students’ overcoming the limitations of class time, and motivation to attend to the online increased participation. Choe and Seong lectures/videos at their leisure. Another issue (2016) adapted Johnson’s (2013) is the additional work for already-busy questionnaires to retrieve both quantitative teachers because they have to spend more and qualitative data in their implementation time preparing materials, or record their of FC in a foreign language course (a general lectures (Taylor, 2015). The case-study English course) at college level in South experiment with flipping model at Coventry Korea which indicated a largely positive University London Campus showed lower result in terms of better chances of student performance and satisfactory level communication in English, greater compared to non-flipped in the previous participation, preparedness, feedback and semester, echoing the negative finding in deeper understanding of the course content. DeSantis et al. (2015, as cited in Lo & Hew, In a survey conducted in 2014, Faculty 2017). First and foremost, the researcher Focus collected data from 1,089 people to explained the reasons may lie in “gain a better understanding of their views technological issue, lack of instructor on flipped learning”. The key findings contact, considerable workload of material showed that a significant proportion of the preparation for teachers and student participants have tried flipped classroom disengagement to partake in flipped approach and intend to continue for better activities. In case students do not study the student engagement and improvement. More materials before class, they could not take than 60% of those who had flipping advantage of the class time to explore the experience considered it a positive one for lesson at greater depth as expected. both themselves and the students. The reason Secondly, this model is not accessible and may lie in boosted students’ collaboration affordable for every student because not and more questions received. everyone could have all the required equipment such as tablet, smartphone or Or is it just a passing educational fad? computer connected to strong Internet as Besides the supporting studies, well as a certain level of computer literacy. flipped classroom model also gained In addition, Burton (2013, as cited in Taylor, criticisms. Pettigrew (2012) in an Macleans 2015) emphasized the investment in creating article which explained why he did not flip materials such as slides or video could be his classroom questioned the source of “labor intensive and onerous” for teachers. motivation students needed to watch the Last but not least, flipped classroom raised a online videos in their spare time. Although concern about the lack of essential rapport the proponents of flipped learning criticized between teachers and students which is the tedious and hour-lasting lectures as the gradually built up through direct main motive behind flipping decision, communication during lectures. Lo & Hew Pettigrew pointed out lectures when done (2017) in their review of flipped classroom properly did more than transferring studies also indicated several challenges in information but also “context and the use of this approach and categorized
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 155 them into student-related (familiarity, of the participants. The questionnaire student workload, lack of support, etc.), collected the demographic information (age, faculty (familiarity, preparation) and gender, hometown, major, program), their operational difficulties (IT skills and first-year GPA and final mark in the resources, outside-class monitoring). prerequisite course 2B, length of their Besides positive results, Choe and Seong English learning time, their computer use (2016) noted that dissatisfaction was also and experience with flipped classroom found in some students due to time approach before. No identification requirement of the online homework and information was collected from this survey quizzes, video quality and activity varieties. to ensure the anonymity of the participants. Some reviewed studies (Chen, 2016; Clark, Regarding their demographics, the 2015; DeSantis et al., 2015; Kirvan et al., majority of the class is female students 2015) showed no significant differences in (90.5%), while male students and other student achievement between flipped and genders (LGBTQ+) account for the traditional class. remaining 9.5%. All the participants aged Through literature review, several from 19-20 are all sophomores and majored points could be concluded: 1) more and more in English (fast-track program). Their studies of the development and hometowns scatter in the northern region of implementation of flipped class are the country (with 23.8% living in big cities). undertaken and reported in journal The average GPA at the end of their publications; 2) mixed results are discovered first year is 3.12/4.0 (range 2.7-3.58), and the to show both advantages and challenges of final mark in the prerequisite course (2B) is the approach; 3) more empirical research 7.9/10 on average (range 7-9.1). Their time needs carrying out to prove its effectiveness exposure to English varies: more than half of on student achievement or performance and the students (57.1%) have studied English contribute to the growing body of for 5-10 years; 33.3% from 10-15 years and knowledge in the subject matter; and 4) a 9.5% for less than 5 years. Meanwhile, the significant lack of related research in students are quite similar in terms of Vietnam, which emphasizes the increasing technological experience and computer use. demand for more implementation guidance The average time they spend on the Internet to provide Vietnamese teachers necessary is 4 hours, with a few exceptions of some support to apply innovative teaching claiming longer hours 6, 8, or 20 hours per practices in the context of the national day. A vast majority (90.5%) equally used education reforms. their computer for education and entertainment purposes; 66.7% for 3. Methods communication or socialization; 42.9% for 3.1. Sampling, Participants and Setting information updates; and just 14.4% for job- related purposes. 71.4% reported no The sampling method used in this previous experience with flipped approach study is non-probability based on before the course, while 28.6% selected convenience. The chosen class was affirmative reply. randomly assigned to the researcher for the The course in the study is a 4-credit academic English course during the first academic English one, designed for English- semester of AY2020-2021. A background majored students. The course lasts 15 weeks questionnaire was sent out to collect the (one semester) with no required mid-term or background information of the whole class end-term tests. It consists of two sessions: in order for the instructor to get a better grasp
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 156 Reading-Writing and Listening-Speaking, idea of applying flipped classroom was taught separately by two teachers. This study triggered and the researcher prepared the involves the former section only. The needed materials for the upcoming flipped assessment is an on-going assignment which lessons. Then flipped method was used from requires students to collect reading materials week 4 to week 12 in which the lectures and select information from these to develop contained all the core knowledge of the their own arguments/claims in a written 600- course. From week 13 to week 15, the word essay. Students have to choose a topic students had to present their text and (either argumentative or discursive one) in argument selection in reading panels and the first week; finish selecting reading then finalize their portfolio to submit in materials by week 5 to seek teacher’s week 15, so there was no flipped class during feedback and approval; submit the essay this phase. outline in weeks 8-9; submit the first draft of One week before each class meeting, the essay in week 11; then get feedback, the students were sent all the materials for revise and submit the final package in week self-study through posts in a private class 15. The reading portfolio accounts for 40% Facebook group. The pre-class materials of the final mark, and the essay 60%. generally include: 1) Must-study folder 3.2. Implementation Procedure (week 4 - week 12) which contains: a ppt slide, video(s) and supplementary handouts In the first three week, due to the and 2) Optional folder (week 6 – week 12) impact of Covid-19 pandemic, online classes contains: more videos and/or supplementary via Zoom using traditional lecture teaching handouts. The structure of a flipped class in mode were carried out. Over this period, the the study could be illustrated as follows. Figure 3 The Structure of Activities in the Flipped Class Flipped class Pre-class learning Classroom learning Facebook group Materials uploaded on interaction (chat, Review + Q&A session Google Drive comments, reactions) Assignment preparation/practice Must-study folder and teacher's on-site feedback Optional folder The slides predominantly contain all and the answer keys to the exercises in the the core contents based on the course book, book. In fact, according to the suggested FC examples to illustrate or explain the theories, activities, each Powerpoint lecture should be
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 157 self-recorded videos or voice-overs. relevance and credibility. The students were However, due to the time limit for advised to go through all of the materials in preparation, the researcher decided to use the must-study folder and only proceeded Powerpoint slides only, supplemented by with the other one if they really want to. The lecture videos from prestigious universities items in the optional folder adhered to the globally downloaded from the Internet (i.e lecture objectives and thereby supplying James Cook University-Australia, Monash related materials to further students’ University-Australia, University of understanding of the contents. As Minnesota-USA, HELPS University of Wantanabe (2014, as cited in Yang et al., Technology Sydney-Australia, Athabasca 2018) suggested the connection between University-Canada, to name a few). pre-viewing material and the in-class Bergmann and Aaron (2012) suggested activities as a way to boost previewing rate, creating self-made videos or using someone the instructor designed review part to test else’s videos be both acceptable, and insisted students’ understanding and on not making one for the sake of making a remembering/knowledge retention for 15-30 video. In case of time shortage, discomfort minutes before any class. The review part in front of camera, or technophobia, teachers could take form of a set of reviewing do not need to record themselves and should questions (mostly) or Kahoot! quizzes opt for the latter choice. This semester the (occasionally). instructor did not have time to create her own The following table, adapted from videos, so selecting videos on the Internet FC model at University of Texas at Austin was a safety net. In addition, a few (Choe & Seong, 2016), shows the teacher supplementary materials were carefully and students’ responsibility in different selected to provide more useful knowledge phases of the flipped class in this research. and information in the light of their Table 1 Teacher and Students’ Roles in Flipped Class Students Teacher Pre- Access and study the provided materials Prepares and uploads materials class Take notes of main ideas and questions Keeps track of students’ study process (if any) through instant feedback (Facebook Discuss with their peers about questions comment) and assignment Class Answer teacher’s review questions of Helps students to review learned time the previous weeks (brief review) knowledge/skills Attend mini-lectures (if any) and ask Answer students’ questions prepared questions (Q&A) Guides the process with feedback and mini- Practice performing skills which they lectures (if necessary) have learned After Continues to apply their Posts any additional explanations and class knowledge/skills after clarification and resources as necessary feedback Continues to provide feedback or grade Seek teacher’s help when they need it students’ work Reflection via after-class feedback forms Continues to guide students towards deeper (6) understanding
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 158 3.3. Data Collection 1 to 5 (1 means strongly disagree, 5 means strongly agree). The survey measures The study utilized both quantitative student perception in terms of five constructs and qualitative data in order to provide a including 1) mastery of the main contents of balanced and objective view on the subject the course (5 questions), 2) evaluation of matter. The instruments were selected provided previewing materials on Google carefully to answer the intended research Drive (4 questions), 3) material studying questions. engagement (5 questions), 4) evaluation of Quantitative data class time (5 questions) and 5) preference for An end-of-course questionnaire the flipped format (2 questions). The was developed to examine the students’ questions of each construct were then mixed perception of flipped classroom. The survey randomly in order to avoid transparency and was based on Johnson’s (2013) and Jaster’s enhance the internal validity and reliability. (2017) questionnaires. Although both of After piloting the questionnaire with these surveys were used for mathematics eight students (~38%) chosen voluntarily out courses, some constructs (i.e. Johnson’s of the sample, Cronbach’s alpha was survey: contribution of FC to the mastery of calculated for each of the survey constructs the main contents of the course, flipped to estimate the consistency of responses classroom; or Jaster’s: video viewing between the items corresponding with the engagement, preference for the flipped construct. Four out of five constructs had format) proposed by these researchers are desirable reliability scale values, whereas relevant to a language course using flipped question items 15 and 20 in Material classroom. Jaster’s (2017) survey seems to studying engagement appeared to lower the be more relevant and better validated than reliability of the construct. As a result, these Johnson’s (2013); therefore, five questions two items were deleted and the final from the former was borrowed and/or Cronbach’s alpha of this construct was adapted to put in this study questionnaire 0.717. while only one came from the latter. The In the end, a questionnaire of questionnaire consists of twenty-one closed- nineteen items were administered to the ended ordinal scale items with responses sample to collect required data (see given on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from Appendix A) Table 2 Questionnaire Reliability With Cronbach’s Alpha Before and After Pilot Revision Questionnaire Cronbach’s Questionnaire Cronbach’s Survey construct items after Alpha after items at pilot Alpha at pilot revision revision Mastery of the main contents of the 1, 2, 7, 12, 13 0.969 1, 2, 7, 12, 13 0.969 course Evaluation of provided previewing 3, 8, 19, 21 0.941 3, 8, 18, 19 0.941 materials on Google Drive Material studying 4, 11, 14 (deleted 4, 11, 14, 15, 20 0.361 0.717 engagement 15 & 20)
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 159 Evaluation of class 5, 9, 16, 17, 18 0.936 5, 9, 15, 16, 17 0.936 time Preference for the 6, 10 0.874 6, 10 0.874 flipped format Qualitative data marks, the instructor’s affection/mood and the on-going instruction. Six after-class quick feedback Survey data: The survey data were forms from lesson 1 to lesson 6 (08/09 – quantitatively analyzed using SPSS 20.0 to 27/10/2020): The forms mainly used 8-9 produce descriptive statistics for open-ended questions to collect students’ understanding students’ perception of feedback after the first six classes so that the flipped class. A measure of central tendency teacher could make necessary adjustments to (mean) and a measure of variability are the practice. calculated and included for each construct in The instructor’s self-reflection on the survey. flipped class experience: The four pillars of Feedback forms: The qualitative F-L-I-PTM which was developed by FLN data were coded to look for any existing (see Appendix B) was used to guide the common patterns, themes and categories. instructor’s own reflection on her flipping The entailed interpretation was to relate the experience. found patterns to the research questions. The instructor’s observations of Instructor’s self-reflection: The the quality of students’ assignments: A field notes written by the instructor during checklist of reviewing aspects was the course were collected and analyzed developed to examine the quality of based on four themes: flexible environment, students’ assignments with reference to learning culture, intentional content and selection of reading materials; paraphrasing, professional educator. summarizing and synthesizing skills; developing arguments in two essay genres; Observation of students’ work: and the use of APA citations and references. The students’ on-going assignment together This process utilized students’ submission with the assigned marks and the teacher’s package and teacher’s feedback and grading feedback were qualitatively analyzed to papers to retrieve needed information to point out the strengths and weaknesses in tackle the last research question. terms of knowledge mastery and application. 3.4. Data Analysis 3.5. Ethical Considerations All the after-class feedback forms The participation of the students in were anonymous so that the students could this study is voluntary. Before the honestly express their ideas or opinions implementation, the instructor introduced towards the course approach or the the approach to the whole class with all instructor. necessary information (including both advantages and disadvantages) so that they The questionnaire and interview could make a well-informed decision were carried out after all the assignments whether they want to have their learning were graded and the grades together with flipped or not. The students also answered teacher’s feedback were sent to all the the questionnaire and attended the interview students in order to guarantee the results at their own will and could withdraw from from these instruments would not affect the the study at any time.
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 160 Both the feedback forms and survey Evaluation of provided did not collect any identification information previewing materials on 4.3452 .539 of the participants so that all the provided Google Drive (EM) information was kept anonymous. Besides, Material studying the survey was administered to the students 3.4444 .618 engagement (ME) only when the course had finished and all the grades had been informed to them. The Evaluation of class time (EC) 4.1667 .713 researcher also made it clear that their Preference for the flipped 4.1667 .713 answers in the questionnaire would not format (P) affect their final mark at all. As regards the first construct 4. Results Mastery of the main contents of the course (M), the mean of 3.99 suggested that the 4.1. Research Question 1: Student respondents felt that the flipped classroom Perceptions helped them to learn the course contents Survey data and feedback forms better than the traditional one, and that they Quantitative data collected from the survey have been able to acquire the core was analyzed to reveal student perceptions knowledge and skills required in the course of flipped classroom as regards research including: how to write a research-based question 1. The mean and standard deviation argumentative or discursive essay (mean of of the responses to all questionnaire items in 4.10), how to evaluate materials (4.05), how each construct were calculated and reported to develop an effective search strategy in Table 3. The supplementary data from six (3.90), and how to use APA in-text citations after-class feedback forms (mostly in and references (3.81) (arranged with qualitative data because the forms mainly descending means). The students appeared comprise open-ended questions) was also to be the most confident about writing two utilized to further capture and characterized kinds of research-based essays introduced in the perceptions. the course and the least about APA citations and references, which was then confirmed in Table 3 the analysis of their submitted work at the Descriptive Statistics for Survey Constructs end of the semester. The aspect of APA in Survey construct M SD the written essay got the lowest mark of all because students make frequent and critical Mastery of the main contents mistakes in both citations and references. 3.9905 .618 of the course (M) Table 4 Descriptive Statistics for Each Question Item in One Construct Theme Mastery of the main contents of the course Code M SD 1 I believe that I am able to learn the course contents better with Item 1 flipped classroom instruction than with traditional lecture-based M1 4.10 .700 one. I feel that I have learned how to write a research-based Item 2 M2 4.10 .831 argumentative or discursive essay well in flipped classroom. Item 7 I feel that I have learned how to develop an effective search strategy M3 3.90 .768
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 161 well in flipped classroom. I feel that I have learned how to use APA in-text citations and Item 12 M4 3.81 .680 references well in flipped classroom. I feel that I have learned how to evaluate materials well in flipped Item 13 M5 4.05 .805 classroom. The second construct named deviation of .539 would indicate that the Evaluation of provided previewing materials students highly valued the material package on Google Drive (EM) consists of the prepared by the teacher in terms of diversity questions asking the students to evaluate the of types (mean of 4.67), relevance (4.33), provided materials before each class. The quantity (4.24), and usefulness (4.14). highest mean of 4.35 and lowest standard Table 5 Descriptive Statistics for Each Question Item in One Construct Theme Evaluation of provided previewing materials on Google Drive Code M SD 2 I think that the number of provided materials before class is Item 3 EM1 4.24 .768 sufficient to meet each lesson’s objectives. The provided materials are of various types (videos, slides, Item 8 EM2 4.67 .658 handouts) I find all the materials academic, reliable and relevant to each Item 18 EM3 4.33 .658 lesson’s objectives Studying the provided materials before class helps me feel more Item 20 EM4 4.14 .793 prepared and confident in class. In after-third-class feedback forms, is well aware of the lack of instructor support while 90.9% of the participants rated the at home when students study the course by materials as “very useful and relevant to the themselves and no recorded live lectures are lesson”, about 9% thought that the materials included in the folder to further explain the were quite good, but needed little ideas. However, this cannot assure that improvement. When asked to specify their students could get everything they need from idea of improvement, one student wanted to the materials; that is why the importance of have “more detailed information in the brief review, mini-lectures and Q&A slides” to understand the lesson more deeply sections should not be neglected. because the slides were believed to be only In the fourth feedback form, there are “the summary” of the lecture. In fact, the several direct comments on the materials as slides contain all the content the instructor follows. intends to deliver to the students because she Table 6 Student Responses on the Provided Materials Student responses Must-study “important and useful – when I have any difficulties, I could open the folders again folder and review the noteworthy points.”
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 162 “sufficient numbers, good quality and the contents are good. Lots of new information is out of the course book but extremely useful” “Fairly useful, plenty of information relevant to the course book and updated” “sufficient in quantity, useful, and help me to master the knowledge” “… provide illustrative examples, so help us to understand [the content] more easily” “I find them useful because it helps me to get all the main ideas of the lesson. I can also check my exercises with provided answer keys. However, the number is too many, so I can only study half of them carefully” “I can learn several things from the Optional” “I always study the Optional and find them very relevant with necessary knowledge Optional and skills to the lesson” folder “I think it will be useful because you (the teacher) have selected them, I will study it at the mid-term break” Thirdly, the construct of Material survey data suggest that some students are studying engagement was designed to more engaged in studying the materials than examine the frequency of student self-study the others, and that although the Optional on the previewing materials including Must- folder was thought to be quite necessary for study and Optional folders. This third learning, more students chose to study Must- construct got a mean which is slightly higher study folder only. The Optional, as one than the midpoint of 3 and had a standard student said, was saved for mid-term break deviation of .618 shown in Table 3. The or whenever they had more leisure time. Table 7 Descriptive Statistics for Each Question Item in One Construct Theme 3 Material studying engagement Code M SD Item 4 I only study Must-study folder all the time ME1 3.48 .981 Item 11 I study both Must-study and Optional folder all the time ME2 3.24 .944 Item 14 I feel that the Optional folder is necessary for my learning ME3 3.62 .921 Finally, the fourth and fifth class time and show a fairly strong constructs of Evaluation of class time (EC) preference for flipped model. The main and Preference for the flipped format (P) had reasons might be that more useful feedback the same mean of 4.1667 and the standard was given (mean of 4.33) and they had more deviation at .713. The statistics indicate that time for practice (4.38) instead of listening the students highly appreciate the use of to hour-long lectures. Table 8 Descriptive Statistics for Each Question Item in One Construct Theme 4 Evaluation of class time Code M SD I like being able to speak with my instructor during class and Item 5 EC1 4.19 .873 receive individual help when working on the assignment.
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 163 I can get more useful feedback from the teacher in flipped Item 9 EC2 4.33 .730 classroom than traditional one. Flipped classroom offers me more opportunities to collaborate Item 15 EC3 4.14 .793 with my teammate(s) during class time Item 16 I have more time to practice in class EC4 4.38 .669 The class time in flipped classroom is more effective than Item 17 EC5 4.05 .921 traditional one. Table 9 Descriptive Statistics for Each Question Item in One Construct Theme Preference for the flipped format Code M SD 5 Item 6 I would like to have another flipped classroom in the future. P1 4.33 .856 I prefer the flipped classroom format to the traditional lecture Item 10 P2 4.00 .775 format. Through the feedback forms, some four pillars of F-L-I-P namely flexible of student thoughts were captured as environment, learning culture, intentional follows: content, and professional educators with After the second class: respect to research question 2. “The atmosphere is more exciting 4.2.1. Flexible Environment and we can do more practice” The flipped classroom provided “Very useful because we can deal flexible learning modes for the students with the difficulties in doing our assignment directly. Besides, we can practice with the In terms of the flexibility of space sources we have found. I think it is truly and time, the instructor uploaded learning effective” materials about one week before every class meeting. This is to make sure the students After the third class: had sufficient time to study the materials and “Very practical because our work is seek for peers’ or instructor’s help if commented and then revised right at class” necessary. They would have time to try “More effective because we can applying the knowledge in completing the continue to work on our assignment” assignment and figure out any popped-up “Very detailed and the teacher gives problems in their private space. The students us some helpful suggestions” shared that they could study the materials at their own pace, in their most comfortable “She (the teacher) reviews all the place and at their most convenient time. learned materials, comments on the found Simultaneously, the teacher could save a reading texts and guides us on directions” significant amount of class time to guide 4.2. Research Question 2: The Instructor’s students’ practice instead of delivering Self-Reflection on the Flipped Classroom theories. Thanks to this, she was also better Practice aware of the students’ problems and needs to The instructor’s self-reflection was accommodate while progressing through the analyzed by four main themes adopted from assignment.
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 164 The flipping model set flexible 4.2.2. Learning Culture expectations and assessment of learning Flipped classroom was more Two folders of materials were given, learner-centered than the traditional one but the instructor did not expect all of the A significant amount of class time students would study both of the folders was allotted to the students’ pair work to completely all the time. The feedback form practice the skills or apply the learnt responses show that most of the students knowledge in doing the assignment. For (40-60%) were more likely to study all or example, they developed their own search part of the Must-study folder, while a strategy to look for relevant and academic minority (around 10%) of them also studied readings in week 4 and then evaluated these Optional folder. From the observation of to select the best ones for their essay writing review and Q&A session, several students in the following weeks. While doing so, they were more willing to share their could always get instant feedback from the understanding of the knowledge than others teacher, or watch the teacher’s while most of the others remained silent demonstration with a sample before unless being asked. During class time, the attempting to carry out by themselves. So the students were allowed certain periods of flipped model gave them opportunities to time (10-30 minutes) to discuss with their engage in meaningful activities without the partners, work on their assignment and raise teacher being central. questions to look for the instructor’s support. In this part, most of the students showed that In terms of differentiation, the they were well aware of the tasks and less researcher holds a firm belief in students’ hesitant to ask questions or call for support. differences and individual preferences in learning. However, differentiating With respect to different ways to instructions to a class of 20-30 students learn content and demonstrate mastery, within a limited time stretch is not always normally, students only have a course book feasible task, sometimes undoable even. to study in the course. With the uploaded Meanwhile, flipped class offers more materials, the participants had more choices interactive one-to-one time between teacher ranging from written ones (worksheets, and student, and thereby making handouts) to audio/visual ones (slides, differentiation more possible and realistic. videos) which were believed to cater for Admittedly, not much differentiation as different learning styles. However, it was a expected was seen in the course although the pity that the course did not offer a variety of teacher attended to different pairs differently ways for mastery demonstration. The in terms of allocated time and feedback students all had to submit the same depending on their need. Some pairs were assignment of a reading diary and a written faster in the process and could get feedback essay. In order to improve this limitation, the on their work, but the others who were instructor informed them of rewarding a slower could get more advice in certain bonus mark up to 0.5 if they showed steps. The instructor could spend more time creativity in presenting their work with more struggling students and provide (suggested as video, blog, vlog, newspaper more constructive feedback for fast-finishers article, etc.). Nevertheless, no students did (often stronger students) to better their work. this at the end of the course. All of the By this way, struggling students could get submissions were in written form. more help and attention from the teacher.
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 165 4.2.3. Intentional Content the stage” to more of “guide on the side” (Choe & Seong, 2016). While the students In the course there were many were discussing or working on their important concepts new to the students such assignment, the teacher usually walked as active reading, search strategy, research- around to offer support. Whenever they had based writing, or APA style, to name a few. a question, it could be handled right away. In a non-flipped classroom, these concepts Besides, the teacher also encouraged the would require a considerable amount of students to email or text her via Messenger lecture time to get through to students. After or Facebook comments if they encountered the lectures finished, there would hardly be any problems out of class. anytime left for practice so it was very often set as homework and became neglected. With respect to feedback, students Using flipping model, the teacher could send only get feedback once they submit their the materials which explain these concepts assignment in conventional class. Flipped thoroughly beforehand and then spend a classroom provides them a chance to get more reasonable amount of class time feedback step by step along the way and reviewing, and answering students’ thereby making necessary adjustments questions regarding these concepts or before the final submission. demonstrating how to do it visually. By After each module of main content doing this, much more time was saved for ended, the teacher would assess the students’ more meaningful practice activities, whereas work and give feedback. For example, after the concepts were still understood much learning how to create an effective search better than in traditional lecture type. strategy and make a good evaluation, the Each lesson was planned to include students had to find and select three reading all the following sections: brief review texts reliable and relevant to their essay Q&A, mini-lecture, student practice with topic. The teacher would take a look at all teacher’s feedback and support. However, pairs’ selection and either approved if they not all of these sections were delivered, but met the requirements or otherwise asked which ones depend on student’s them to redo the selection process. understanding and mastery of the contents. Additionally, through observation in review Mini-lectures were carried out only when section of every class, some students were students showed the need for further and asked to re-study the materials in case they direct instructions and explanations. showed a lack of understanding and/or Otherwise, the time would be spent on mastery. However, admitted as a limitation student practice and teacher feedback. of the course, the instructor did not arrange any online quizzes or tests for the students to 4.2.4. Professional Educators do their own self-assessment after studying Students have to work harder in FC the materials. This is a big missing point. in order to get a good grasp of the lectures all After-class feedback forms were by themselves, so does it mean instructors recorded to make essential modifications in either become redundant or get “a free ride”? order to guarantee the participants’ In fact, instructors, now “the facilitators of satisfaction. Six students’ quick feedback learning” have a more challenging role of forms which were administered in the first giving more insightful one-on-one six weeks of the implementation together consultations to students and tapping into with the instructor’s own observation were deeper learning of the subject matter (Francl, two main sources of information for 2014). The role is switched from “sage on adjustments. Some of the modifications have
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 166 been done: earning their gratitude for the constructive - In the second feedback responses, a comments. student wanted the materials to be sent 4.3. Research Question 3: The Quality of earlier so that they could arrange self-study Students’ Assignment time more conveniently for different courses. After that, the instructor set the time The students were divided into 10 one week before the due class for the groups (9 pairs and 1 group of three), and materials to be handed out since then. they all submitted their assignments on schedule. - In the first five weeks, the materials were all compulsory. From week 6 onwards, Each assignment was then assessed the instructor added the optional folder based on the course rubrics. The reading which provided more materials for those section was marked in terms of 1) the who were willing to study more deeply. The selection of texts, 2) interactions with the must-study folder was minimized to the core texts, 3) notes and 4) reading panel. The knowledge one must absorb to do the essay rubric evaluates student work with assignment, which reduced the workload for respect to 1) task response and quality of weak students to some extent. arguments, 2) coherence and cohesion, 3) language use, mechanics and formality, and Last but not least, the teacher had to 4) APA citations and references. spend more time preparing each lesson than before. These added tasks included making In this study, the quality of students’ slides, searching for and selecting materials, assignments would be reviewed with uploading them and writing feedback for the reference to certain aspects which are the students. Sometimes, it was true pressure to main contents of the course. This is to keep up to the uploading schedule and examine the effectiveness of flipped feedback returns; however, it was really classroom on students’ mastery of the main worth the effort when observing more of the contents shown in their own end-term students’ improvement and less of their product and thereby tackling research confusion and disengagement in class, question 3. Table 10 Reviewing Aspects of the Assignment Selection of Paraphrasing, Developing The use of APA Targeted reading summarizing and arguments in two citations and aspects materials synthesizing skills essay genres references Were they able to Were they able to Were they able to Were they able to search for and paraphrase, write a proper essay cite the sources select academic summarize and (argumentative or properly (both in Guiding readings relevant synthesize the discursive) as text and in questions and useful for information from requested? reference list)? their writing? the texts? Were they able to develop effective arguments? Teacher’s All of the groups Of three skills, 3 The majority (80%) They had the Evaluation chose from 3 to 6 groups did not write could develop lowest point for reading texts synthesis effective arguments this aspect. 80%
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 167 which are all paragraph(s) in with claim-warrant- got 5.5 or 6, and relevant to their their notes, while grounds in the just 20% had over essay topic and all groups did the whole essay. 7 (out of ten). taken from paraphrase and Two groups (20%) For those with academic summary. showed a lack of 5.5 or 6, they sources. 4/10 (40%) groups warrant in one made frequent The genres of the showed good argument. Either of mistakes in both reading texts are paraphrasing skills, them also provided in-text citations predominantly and the same figure irrelevant ground or and references. 4 journal articles. with synthesis. On ineffective claim groups even had Three pairs also the other hand, once in the essay. the whole used summarizing skill They all got 8.5-9.0 reference list in encyclopedia had a much higher (out of 10) for task inaccurate entries, or percentage of good response and format. conference paper, work at 80%. The quality of For those getting or book, or rest needed more or arguments. over 7, they made dissertation as less improvement, several mistakes their references. except for one in both citations group which and references, synthesized the except for one information quite group getting 8 badly. who showed no mistakes in in- text citations. As shown in Table 10, the students materials and class time use. This echoed the showed good mastery of text selection and results found in the previous research: argument development although there still improved engagement (Satullo, 2013; remained occasional missing warrants or an Johnson, 2013; Basal, 2015; Yang et al., irrelevant ground or an ineffective claim. 2018), more meaningful use of class time These were followed by the set of three (Yang et al., 2018), better understanding of writing skills in which the participants course content (Choe & Seong, 2016). The demonstrated good summarizing skill, but plausible reason for this could be flipping the were somewhat not confident in course has truly offered them more time for synthesizing one. Last but not least, the practice right in class. Compared to the students are not adept at the use of APA style traditional lecture-based classroom, students in both citations and references. Some have more practice opportunities common mistakes they mostly made were: individually and in small groups. More no hanging indent, use of bullet points, importantly, because the teacher is freed missing required information (pages, from the lecturing and task checking role, the volumes, DOI, links, etc.). students could always seek for the teacher’s direct support or instant feedback on their 5. Discussion work. This resulted in better satisfaction of class time. Besides, flipping model Regarding the first research question, witnesses more questions asked and issues the study findings show positive perceptions raised by students mostly due to the fact that of the students towards flipped classroom in there is more silent time in class in which almost all respects asked in the survey, students feel less hesitant to raise their voice especially affirmative feedback on provided
VNU JOURNAL OF FOREIGN STUDIES, VOL. 37, NO. 3 (2021) 168 without interrupting their instructor. As a academic success and retention of result, the quality of their assignments was knowledge (Boyraz & Ocak, 2017) or significantly improved compared to those of positive impact on language skills previous cohorts studying in traditional (Amiryousefi, 2017) or idiomatic knowledge classroom. Based on the instructor’s own (Chen Hsieh et al., 2017). What is new in this experience teaching the same course for six finding is the humble impacts of the teaching consecutive years, students of previous mode on synthesizing and APA referencing cohort were confused between skills. A possible explanation is these skills argumentative and discursive essays and are among the advanced ones and hard to thereby getting subtracted points in task master at once. The students definitely need response. What is more, they also made more guiding demonstration and real worse selection of texts in terms of reliability practice in research over time. and/or relevance. They had not had as much In the literature, there were a number support and guidance from instructor as of studies undertaken in general English these participants did. courses which mainly focus on listening and In answering the second question, speaking skills. The findings reported here from the instructor’s perspective, there was shed new light on the effectiveness of no need to spend hours talking and flipped classroom in an academic English explaining, but very often fail to finish the course focusing on reading and writing lesson on time. The contents in academic components. Among the constructs in the English course, especially reading and survey, while four of them could be writing, could be quite long and not easy to replicated in almost all kinds of courses or acquire at once. Therefore, the learning subjects, the first construct namely the main opportunities afforded by flipped activities contents of the course was made very unique before class have facilitated the acquisition to the subject; and therefore, it indicated an of these main contents. Together with brief original finding which contributed to our review, mini-lectures and Q&A sections in understanding whether the flipping mode class, students would have had a good grasp was effective in delivering such complex of knowledge by the time each class meeting academic knowledge to students. This was ended. Additionally, students also get confirmed positively in the answers to the exposed to more materials than usual when first and third questions, which was shown the course book has been studied in advance through affirmative student perception of outside class in their spare time. The self- mastering the contents as well as the reflection revealed flipped classroom truly significantly improved quality of submitted afford more time for practice, feedback and works. one-on-one interactions. Despite the mentioned challenge of extra workload 6. Conclusion (preparation and feedback) which leads to The implementation of flipped occasional pressure, the instructor also classroom in this study has its own echoed the positivity of the students about limitations in some respects. Firstly, because this teaching approach. of a lack of preparation time, no recorded or In terms of the last question, the voice-over self-made videos were used in quality of the students indicated radical the course. The videos are curated from the improvement although the use of Internet, so students may not feel as synthesizing skill and APA reference did not connected to the video teachers as their own live up to the instructor’s expectation. This instructor. Secondly, although there has not finding is similar to other studies: improved