The Flipped Classroom

TLDR

Current curricula are criticized for failing to equip health‑care professionals with necessary skills, prompting calls for reform and a shift away from traditional lecture‑based models toward approaches like the flipped classroom that move content delivery online and use class time for active, student‑centered learning. The article aims to guide instructors and programs in developing, implementing, and evaluating practical flipped classroom strategies to transform students’ learning experiences. The authors flipped a required first‑year pharmaceutics course by replacing in‑class lectures with self‑paced online videos and using class time for active learning exercises, and they describe the philosophy, methodology, and research design used to assess outcomes. Attendance, learning, and perceived value all increased after adopting the flipped classroom, indicating that this model should be considered to enhance learning, improve outcomes, and better prepare students for 21st‑century health care.

Abstract

Recent calls for educational reform highlight ongoing concerns about the ability of current curricula to equip aspiring health care professionals with the skills for success. Whereas a wide range of proposed solutions attempt to address apparent deficiencies in current educational models, a growing body of literature consistently points to the need to rethink the traditional in-class, lecture-based course model. One such proposal is the flipped classroom, in which content is offloaded for students to learn on their own, and class time is dedicated to engaging students in student-centered learning activities, like problem-based learning and inquiry-oriented strategies. In 2012, the authors flipped a required first-year pharmaceutics course at the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy. They offloaded all lectures to self-paced online videos and used class time to engage students in active learning exercises. In this article, the authors describe the philosophy and methodology used to redesign the Basic Pharmaceutics II course and outline the research they conducted to investigate the resulting outcomes. This article is intended to serve as a guide to instructors and educational programs seeking to develop, implement, and evaluate innovative and practical strategies to transform students' learning experience. As class attendance, students' learning, and the perceived value of this model all increased following participation in the flipped classroom, the authors conclude that this approach warrants careful consideration as educators aim to enhance learning, improve outcomes, and fully equip students to address 21st-century health care needs.