Effectiveness of Active Learning in Flipped Classroom in ICT Course ^†

Abstract

In this study, an ICT course is redesigned with a blended learning concept. This course aims to teach an introduction to game technology in the following three main topics: ‘Introduction to Computer’, ‘Game software technology’, and ‘Game art technology’. Basic computer science concepts such as binary numbers, algebra, vectors, data structure, computer graphics, and artificial intelligence (AI) are introduced in this course. In the flipped classroom, insufficient preparation of students before class and an increased workload of students and teachers are the challenges to overcome. Active learning is carried out in the classroom, as it enhances students’ concentration in the classroom. The pre- and post-test was used to investigate the effects of in-class and out-of-class activities in this method. In this study, active learning was applied to flipped classrooms in this course, and its learning effects were compared with that of the traditional method. The learning outcomes of active learning were significantly improved. In-class activity had significant effects on the outcome quantitatively and qualitatively. The learning outcomes of out-of-class activities for which students were usually insufficiently prepared were also improved.

1. Introduction

Flipped learning allows students to be actively involved in learning, self-learning, and interaction with peers [1]. Students’ evaluation results for social presence in the learning environment are also significantly better [2]. Students communicate in interpersonal relationships with a large group. The indicators of social presence include emotional communication, open communication, and team cohesion. The combination of cooperative learning and problem-oriented learning in flipped teaching reduces student’s stress and allows the teachers to use more materials [3]. In terms of learners’ learning performance, the flipped classroom has better learning effects than traditional methods and improves the performance of learning outcomes [4,5,6]. Students favored courses with flipped learning and showed significant differences in performance compared with traditional teaching [7].

The learner’s cognitive presence refers to the extent to which the learner constructs meaning and confirms understanding through strict reflection and discourse. The factors in this structure include interest, motivation, use of information resources, discussion, and formulating solutions. Kay investigated the learning effect of cognitive presence and showed that flipped teaching has no obvious effect [2]. In the course evaluation, Simpson compared the traditional method and the flipping method, and indicated that flipping teaching had advantages in trend, but there was no significant difference [8].

The main challenge of the flipped classroom lies in the lack of preparation of students in out-of-class activities and that students and teachers must increase workload and time [9]. In investigating the learning factors that affect flipped teaching, Durak studied the effects of “cognitive flexibility”, “problem-solving ability”, and “flipped learning readiness” on learning [10]. In the study, the most important predictor of students’ learning outcomes is flipped learning readiness.

Blended learning mixes different learning content, educational methods, and educational technology. In educational methods, students’ motivation factors must be added to increase learning satisfaction. Méndez proposed a reactive hybrid-learning method considering motivation factors [11]. The workload of each student was adjusted according to their activities and performance, making it easier for students to achieve their target skills, and their satisfaction was affirmed. Kiviniemi combined face-to-face and online courses and used the blended learning method in a master’s course to increase students’ learning effectiveness [12]. However, it was not revealed which step of this method was effective. When online courses are combined with the flipped classroom, students’ online behavior is used as a predictor of their performance [13]. Durak stated that the most important predictor of flipped teaching results was learning readiness [10].

Well-organized lectures are effective in integrating and presenting information on complex topics from multiple sources [14]. In this study, we redesigned an ICT course by applying active learning to the flipped classroom. The advantage of well-organized lectures was reflected in improving the pre-class preparation of the flipped classroom to enhance students’ classroom participation and motivation. The out-of-class activities in the flipped classroom were carried out by reading materials, online inquiry, and online quizzes. The effects of the designed method and the traditional method were compared, and the effects of out-of-class and in-class activities were examined.

2. Research Purpose

The information technology courses in the Department of Design are challenging for students and teachers. Using the flipped classroom, learning outcomes and motivation can be improved. This method has its advantages and challenges. The challenge lies in the lack of preparation before class and the effects of out-of-class and in-class activities. The concept of blended learning is used to assist the flipped classroom with other learning methods to enhance learning motivation and efficiency. The effects of these activities were evaluated.

3. Method

3.1. Research Design

Qualitative and quantitative analyses were used in this study. A pre- and post-test survey was conducted to collect quantitative data. A cross-case comparison method was employed for data analysis. The qualitative data were obtained through the open-ended survey questions. The survey data complemented the quantitative data to better interpret and understand the results.

3.2. Course Design

A higher education institution in Taiwan was chosen for this study. In the second half of 2023, freshmen who enrolled in the Digital Multimedia Design Department of the College of Art and Technology participated in this study. This course was mandatory. A total of 56 students majored in design while 3 students majored in information. This course aims to teach students an introduction to game technology including (1) ‘Introduction to computer’, (2) ‘Game software technology’, and (3) ‘Game art technology’.

The flipped classroom with active learning took 4 weeks as a unit: 2 weeks of well-organized lectures and 2 weeks of flipped learning. At the beginning of the course, the students received an explanation in detail how the course was offered. In the course content, the key concepts of the content were taught, and the detailed content was studied in the flipped classroom. The materials of lectures were redesigned by visual thinking to improve student’s acceptance of the content as follows (Figure 1).

In the out-of-class time, students read materials, query on line, and completed online quizzes, and in-class time, discussion, problem-solving, and cooperative learning were conducted. Each topic was discussed for 10 min, and each class had a sharing time of 10 to 20 min. The activities in each unit consisted of the following:

• Week 2–5: Traditional method (well-organized lectures with out-of-class activities);
• Week 6–9: Flipped classroom with active learning;
• Week 10–13: Traditional method (well-organized lectures with out-of-class activities);
• Week 14–17: Flipped classroom with active learning;
• Week 18: Open questionnaire and interview.

In the 4 weeks of each unit in the introductory technology course, a pre-test was conducted. A post-test was conducted after the flipped teaching every two weeks. The pre-test and post-test questions were randomly selected from the question bank of Information Technology Experts for Specialized Test: Introduction to Game of Digital Content [15]. In the tests, students’ understanding of the learning outcomes of the course was assessed. The test was a non-cumulative unit test. Each test set included 40 single-choice and multiple-choice questions. Since the institution’s procedures prohibit us from forcing students to participate in all aspects of research, not all students completed the weekly surveys and course evaluations.

3.3. Assessment Method

The assessment was conducted using the question bank of Information Technology Expert for Specialized Test (ITE): Introduction to Game of Digital Content [15]. In 2000, based on the resolution of the APEC Ministerial Meeting, the government initiated the "International Cooperation and Promotion Program for Information Professional Ability Certification" and formulated ITE certification through the Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. To establish a complete system for the qualification of information professionals, ITE was used. It was later changed to the Computer Skill Foundation, an independent consortium. ITE is based on the relevant knowledge required for the main business of game art professionals and game planning professionals. The items in ITE include information management, network communication, information security, embedded systems, e-learning, digital content, and open systems. In the digital content, subjects included ‘Computer Skill Foundation’ and ‘Information Technology Expert-Digital Content’ [15].

• Introduction to Game of Digital Content: For game planning and design, students need to have relevant knowledge of game systems, game design, platforms, technologies, and principles.
• Game Planning: The ability for game planning requires mastering game mechanism design, task-level production, and gameplay adjustments during the digital game production process.
• Game Art: In the digital game production process, game art professionals must know game art styles, character modeling, scenes, model making, color, image synthesis, light mapping, and other professional concepts and techniques of game art.

3.4. Open Comments

At the end of the semester, students completed an open questionnaire anonymously about their learning experience, perceived benefits, challenges, and performance. The students answered two open questions: “Please comment on the course activities you think are more effective” and “Please comment on the learning experience”.

4. Results

A quantitative and qualitative analysis was used to explore the results of the survey. The quantitative results were used to understand the changes in learning outcomes, and then the qualitative results were used to observe the students’ feelings about the learning process.

4.1. Learning Activities

The learning outcome of the teaching method was compared with that of the traditional method. The analysis of the scores of the students who completed all the tests in the course is shown in

Table 1. Comparison of post-test on developed and traditional methods.

Traditional Method		Method in This Study		t	p
Mean	Standard Deviation (SD)	Mean	SD
66.73	18.65	80.04	17.22	6.99	<0.01

. The t-test result (t = 6.99, p < 0.01) showed that the learning outcomes in active learning and the flipped classroom were significantly better than those of the traditional method.

Table 2. t-test of pre- and post-tests.

Activity	Pre-Test		Post-Test		t	p
	Mean	SD	Mean	SD
2–5 weeks (n = 52)	43.03	9.98	68.97	19.29	11.09	<0.01
6–9 weeks (n = 46)	33.69	8.46	81.78	16.70	24.19	<0.01
10–13 weeks (n = 51)	37.64	14.17	61.86	18.99	14.35	<0.01
14–17 weeks (n = 43)	39.26	12.45	78.92	19.64	18.59	<0.01

presents the scores of the exams of four units during the semester. Significant progress in both out-of-class and in-class activities was observed. The effect of the difference in scores was also found.

Next, we examined the impact of in-class activities on students. A t-test was conducted for the two units without in-class and two units with in-class activities. The effect of in-class activities on the improvement in learning outcomes was explored, as shown in

Table 3. Results of improvement in learning outcomes by activity type.

No In-Class Activity		In-Class Activity		t	p
Mean	SD	Mean	SD
27.55	18.86	45.72	18.12	11.37	<0.01

. In-class activities significantly progressed students’ academic performance (t = 11.37, p < 0.01).

4.2. Student Comments

At the end of the semester, students filled out an open questionnaire. A total of 51 questionnaires were collected, and the response rate was 86%. Students’ attitudes toward the activities in the course were classified as shown in Figure 2. The students preferred class discussion activities. A total of 42.39% of them expressed positive opinions and said that “discussions can benefit themselves a lot”. Only 8.70% of the students liked the out-of-class activities of reading materials and online inquiry, saying that “we can inquire ourselves to deepen our impression”. However, 15.22% felt that they still preferred lectures. Among the students who feel that the learning effect is not effective, they state “Serious students work hard to read and inquire, while those who don’t work hard just ask when discussing”.

5. Discussion

The effectiveness of active learning and the flipped classroom in delivering course content was confirmed in this study. In an introductory technology course for college students, students’ performance improved compared with the traditional method. The learning situation in the course and the overall course performance also improved. In flipped teaching, the effects of in-class discussion, cooperation, and problem-solving learning activities were significantly higher than that of the out-of-class reading method. The students’ feedback was positive. They evaluated high for the in-class activities. The lectures scored average, and the out-of-class activities scored the lowest. The students had positive feedback about the designed teaching methods. The negative feedback was given to the details of the learning methods. The students preferred participating in active learning in the flipped classroom.

6. Conclusions

In the course ‘Introduction to Game Technology’, a new learning method was de-signed by combining in-person and online activities. Combining active learning and the flipped classroom and using images and multimedia was used in the lectures. Flipping learning enhanced students’ involvement in the course. By changing the presentation of course content according to the designed method while maintaining the consistency of the learning process and course evaluation, the learning out-comes of the students were enhanced. The students’ feedback on the method was positive. Implementing the learning method has the potential to improve student learning outcomes in technology courses.

However, there are limitations in this research. First, other influencing factors must be considered. Second, the measurement of learning outcomes must include the evaluation using different cooperative learning strategies in each group. Time for learning, difficulty in teaching content, or other possible effects also need to be considered. Other than open comments at the end of the course, individual interviews or focus group interviews are necessary to obtain in-depth data to understand and explain students’ learning situations. In assessing the effect of this approach, it still involves a considerable number of online quizzes at home, and students may also discuss online at home. Then, the benefits of the designed method will be added.