The implementation of a flipped classroom to increase student achievement and engagement in high school chemistry students

Abstract

Over the past few years, I have noticed a decrease in concentration, engagement, and participation in my classroom. It seemed that students were easily distracted when they were not actively participating in activities. In an effort to find a solution to this problem, a flipped classroom was implemented in three general chemistry classes during the spring semester. For four weeks, during two out of seven chemistry units, the students were asked to watch informational videos outside of class and participate in engaging activities during class, a 'flip' from traditional methods. There were no statistical differences in the summative assessment scores between the students in the flipped classroom versus the traditionally taught classroom. However, students gained a sense of responsibility for their learning, and I have become a more reflective teacher as a result of this project.