To Flip or Not to Flip? A Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy of Flipped Learning in Higher Education

Abstract

Although flipped classroom pedagogies have been widely touted for their ability to foster diverse 21st-century learning objectives, previous syntheses of flipped learning have focused almost exclusively on outcomes related to academic achievement. Using data from 317 studies, our research addresses this deficit by providing a comprehensive meta-analysis of the effects of flipped versus lecture-based learning on academic, intra-/interpersonal, and satisfaction-related outcomes in higher education. Overall, flipped classroom interventions produced positive gains across all three learning domains, and we found significant advantages of flipped over lecture-based instruction for seven out of eight outcomes (gs = 0.20–0.53). At the same time, there was substantial heterogeneity in flipped learning effects, and we identified several variables that influenced the relative efficacy of flipped versus traditional courses. Of the three types of moderators examined (contextual, design-based, and methodological), educational context (e.g., discipline, location) accounted for the most variability in flipped learning outcomes.