The effect of flipped learning on academic performance as an innovative method for overcoming ebbinghaus' forgetting curve

Abstract

Recently, flipped learning has been attracting as an alternative teaching and learning method for university education. The purpose of this study is to propose flipped learning as an effective review method overcoming forgetting curve. This study is also aimed to provide empirical evidence for the effect of flipped learning in terms of both self-efficacy and academic performance. Three research questions guided the study: 1) Is there a difference in self-efficacy between traditional lecture style classroom and flipped classroom? ;2) Is there a difference in academic performance between traditional and flipped classroom? ; 3) If so, what is the main factor of the improvement? In this paper, a model of flipped learning supported by LMS is designed to allow students to practice 4 times of review methods while students follow the process of flipped learning of pre-, in- and post- class and reviewing as a self-directed learning.

Full text

The Effect of Flipped Learning on Academic Performance
as an Innovative Method for Overcoming Ebbinghaus’
Forgetting Curve
Bo Ae Chun
Catholic Kwandong University
24 Beomil-ro 579beon-gil
Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea
+82-33-649-7753
boaechun@cku.ac.kr
ABSTRACT
Recently, flipped learning has been attracting as an alternative
teaching and learning method for university education. The
purpose of this study is to propose flipped learning as an effective
review method overcoming forgetting curve. This study is also
aimed to provide empirical evidence for the effect of flipped
learning in terms of both self-efficacy and academic performance.
Three research questions guided the study: 1) Is there a difference
in self-efficacy between traditional lecture style classroom and
flipped classroom? ;2) Is there a difference in academic
performance between traditional and flipped classroom? ; 3) If so,
what is the main factor of the improvement? In this paper, a
model of flipped learning supported by LMS is designed to allow
students to practice 4 times of review methods while students
follow the process of flipped learning of pre-, in- and post- class
and reviewing as a self-directed learning.
CCS Concepts
• Applied computing →Learning management systems
• Applied computing → E-learning
Keywords
flipped learning; motivation; self-efficacy; Ebbinghaus’ forgetting
curve; LMS
1. INTRODUCTION
According to Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve, there is a strong
correlation between memory and time [1, 2]. Generally, forgetting
occurs rapidly at first then slows down. In order to remember
newly informed data, it is necessary to practice effective review
methods.
Hae Ja Heo
*
Catholic Kwandong University
24 Beomil-ro 579beon-gil
Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea
+82-33-649-7775
hjheo@cku.ac.kr
Experiments have shown that if you memorize repeatedly within
one hour, you will remember for one day, if you memorize one
day later, you will remember for a week [3]. Figure 1 illustrates
the effect of the review. When many forgetfulness occurs, the
memory rate increases. The time when forgetfulness occurs is
immediately after class, on the evening of the class, the next day,
week, month, and so on [4, 5]. Thus, it is suggested that four or
five times review on what you have learned: right after the lesson,
the evening, one week later, and one month later. These repeated
reviews help learners keep high rate of retention [5].
Figure 1. Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve and review cycle.
Recently, flipped learning has been attracting as an alternative
teaching and learning method for university education [6, 7]. The
purpose of this study is to propose flipped learning as an effective
review method overcoming forgetting curve. This study is also
aimed to provide empirical evidence for the effect of flipped
learning in terms of both self-efficacy and academic performance.
Three research questions guided the study: 1) Is there a difference
in self-efficacy between traditional lecture style classroom and
flipped classroom? ; 2) Is there a difference in academic
performance between traditional and flipped classroom? ; 3) If so,
what is the main factor of the improvement?
2. RELATED WORK
Flipped learning is a form of blended learning that incorporates
technology and classroom instruction [8], which is usually
provided with Learning Management Systems (LMS) effectively.
Flipped learning is a teaching method that uses technology to
implement student-centered class. Literally, flipped learning
*
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ICIET 2018, January 6--8, 2018, Osaka, Japan
© 2018 ACM. ISBN 978-1-4503-5359-5/18/01…$15.00
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3178158.3178206
56

means that things that have traditionally been done in the
classroom take place outside the classroom, and that what has
happened outside the classroom is done in the classroom [8, 9].
Thus, flipped learning is an evolutionary form of university e-
learning that induces changes in existing educational systems.
Researches show that flipped learning has a significant effect on
students' academic achievement, satisfaction, participation, and
active learning [10, 11, 12]. A recent study about students’
affective pathway reveals that flipped learning cultivates positive
local affect such as self-esteem, motivation, and academic interest
[13].
In fact, flipped learning as learner-centered teaching methods is
not new at all [14]. Since the introduction of constructivism,
project-based learning, and problem-based learning, the
importance of learner-centered instruction has been emphasized.
But the reason why recently flipped learning is getting attention is
because it makes it easy to use online videos anytime and
anywhere with mobile technology [15]. The Khan Academy is the
most representative example of using online video for learning. At
the heart of the idea is that instead of providing a lecture to all
students in the classroom, the students use the video clips and/or
other materials before the class and perform his/her individualized
learning according to his/her own pace and needs. In the
classroom, teachers can conduct a variety of ways of learning
activities such as discussion, project, and practice besides lectures.
The most important thing in flipped learning is not the lecture
video but the 'face-to-face' interaction and meaningful learning
activity. In other words, the center of learning should be the
students, not the teachers [16].
Like everything else, flipped learning is not a panacea. There is a
lack of research on relationship between the effect of flipped
learning and review method overcoming Ebbinghaus’ forgetting
curve. In order to integrate flipped learning to classroom in a
seamless manner, it is necessary to develop instructional strategies
that can enhance students' self-directed learning and reinforce
effective learning habits [8]. Furthermore, with the advent of
smart society, LMS is now prevalent in the learning environment
of university [13]. To make the best of LMS, e-learning, and/or
blended-learning, we still have a lot to learn about students’
learning context and to develop strategies through data analysis on
LMS.
3. RESEARCH METHOD
3.1 Participants
Participants consisted of sophomore students (n=37, 26 male, 11
female) at C University in the South Korea who were enrolled in a
class of Introduction to Mathematics Education. Students had no
prior knowledge of flipped learning.
3.2 Research Design
In order to investigate the answer for the research questions, a
research protocol has been deliberately designed (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Research Procedure.
Among the course of class of 15 weeks, the first half of the
semester was taught by lecture-style. After mid-term exam,
flipped learning was introduced for 6 weeks. Students were
guided to watch the movie clip via LMS before class, to
participate in the various activities during class, and to keep
reflection journal after class. Also, students were encouraged to
review the movie clip after class and then, before final exam.
Figure 3 shows a screenshot of flipped learning supported by
LMS.
Figure 3. Screenshots of flipped learning supported by LMS.
4. RESULTS
4.1 Academic Performance
After 6 weeks of intervention of flipped learning, students final
exam scores were compared with attendance rate of LMS data
accordingly (see Figure 4).
Figure 4. Relationship between academic performance and
view counts of movie clip.
In order to investigate the difference between view counts of
movie clip, independent samples t-test was performed. There was
statistically significant difference between two groups of more
than 2 times and less than 2 times.
Table 1. Results of independent samples t-test between groups
of view counts of movie clip
Group
Descriptive statistics
t(p)
N
Mean
SD
View
counts of
movie
clip
Less than 2
times
23
54.22
23.36
-2.304
(0.027*)
More than
2 times
14
72.71
24.23
*p≤.05
The results were also confirmed with other evidence. Several
quotes from students’ journals show the effect of flipped learning
and the process of review.
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I was able to open the book every week and study it on my own, so
that my understanding of the class was improved during the
semester .I also had more concentration than any other class. If I
become a secondary school teacher later, I would like to try it.
(Park’s reflection journal, week #12)
I have a habit of doing preparations in advance. Also, the amount
of time for studying seems to be increased. I think I have been
working with other group members and actively participating in
the class.
(Lee’s reflection journal, week #12)
4.2 Satisfaction Questionnaires
It is necessary to scrutinize students’ satisfaction questionnaires to
figure out how students think of flipped learning and among
various activities of pre-class, in-class and after-class what kind of
activities were helpful. Students were asked to answer “very
satisfied”(5) to “very dissatisfied”(1) using 5-point Likert scale
format. As shown in Table 2, overall students were satisfied with
flipped learning (M=3.70, SD=0.94). Mini-lecture followed by
Quiz was mostly satisfied and reflection journal during pre-class
was least satisfied.
Table 2. Results of satisfaction quesionaires with regard to
flipped learning activities
Survey Items
Mean
SD
pre-class
Reflection journal
3.07
0.88
in-class
Quiz
4.17
0.89
Mini-lecture
4.24
0.64
Mind-map
2.93
0.78
Making terminology dictionary
3.79
0.99
Problem solving
3.97
0.91
Referring to secondary school
textbooks
3.55
0.83
Solving previous teacher
employment exam
4.21
0.77
after-
class
Reflection journal
3.38
0.73
4.3 Survey with regard to Learning Style
After 3 and 6 weeks of flipped learning respectively, survey with
regard to students learning style was distributed in order to
identify any changes in total amount of studying time (see Figure
5). Students’ total video watching time has been dramatically
increased from26.9 to 34.48 min. Given that the length of the
video per class is around 15 minutes, students do not just watch
the video passively, but occasionally stop the video, learn more
details in the text, and explore self-directed learning.
Based on the data analysis of LMS, results showed that students
usually watch a lecture video the day before the flipped learning
class. It also has the same effect as doing the 1st review while
doing various in-class activities. After completing the course,
students will be given the 2nd review as they write reflection
journals. Then, before the test, students watch the video once
again and eventually they start to study 4 times. The effect of
flipped learning was also confirmed in the t-test of the
independent variables between the students' final exams and the
students who watched the videos more than once. Figure 6 shows
exemplary cases of LMS analytics of a good case and a bad case
of self-directed learning.
Figure 5. Changes of total amount of studying time.
(a) A good case of self-directed learning
(b) A bad case of self-directed learning
Figure 6. Exemplary cases of LMS data analytics.
In Figure 6 (a), a student logged in to LMS to watch a movie clip
more than 2 times, occasionally 4 times and total video watching
time is mostly more than 40 min. However, (b) student logged in
only 1 time and watched video clips for less than 20 min.
4.4 Self-Efficacy Test
Self-efficacy test was held before and after the intervention of
flipped learning. Test instrument was adapted from Kim et.al
(2014) [8]. The questionnaires consist of 8 items of self-
confidence, 12 items of self-regulation efficacy, and 5 items of
task difficulty preference. Students answered with 4-point Likert
scale format from “strongly agree”(4) to “strongly disagree”(1).
To examine whether there is a change in students' self-efficacy
before and after flipped learning, a paired-sample t-test was
conducted. As shown in Table 3, overall self-efficacy was 1.91
points higher in the post-test than in the pre-test, but this result
was not statistically significant (t= -1.58, α> .01). Among the
subscales of confidence (t = -3.06, α <.01) were significantly
improved.
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Table 3. Results of self-efficacy and sub-scales of paried
sample t-test between pre-and post-test
Mean Difference
t
df
sig.
(two-
tail)
Mean
SD
SE
Self-
efficac
y
pre-
test
69.68
7.674
1.316
-1.582
33
0.123
post-
test
71.59
8.342
1.431
Confid
ence
pre-
test
21.47
2.946
0.505
-3.058
33
0.004*
post-
test
23.24
3.718
0.638
Self-
regulat
ion
efficac
y
pre-
test
35.47
3.620
0.621
0.354
33
0.726
post-
test
35.24
4.149
0.712
Task
difficu
lty
prefere
nce
pre-
test
12.74
2.453
0.421
-1.232
33
0.227
post-
test
13.12
2.483
0.426
*p≤.01
5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
In cognitive psychology, the study of forgetting and memory has
long been considered the most important issue. Forgetting occurs
rapidly soon after initial learning and the rate of memory retention
(%) then gradually declines. Thus, researches recommend that
four or five times review on what you have first learned: right
after the lesson, the evening, one week later, and one month later.
Flipped learning has a similar effect of review methods to
overcome Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve by pre-class, in-class, and
after-class activities. Furthermore, students can increase the length
of retention by reviewing movie clip after the class. Figure 7
illustrates the similar effect of flipped learning and effective
retention review method.
Figure 7. Effect of flipped learning overcoming Ebbinghaus’
forgetting curve.
Quoted passages from interviews with students revealed that
students were participated in actively, have had the initiative in
learning and felt confident of his/her learning.
I was able to get a better understanding of the video while I was
previewing it, and it was also fun to solve the problem…I usually
sleep during class, but I do not sleep in the flipped learning
classroom and concentrate on classes.
(An interview with Lee, week #15)
In flipped learning, the content of the class was better understood
because I came to watch the movie in advance… I think the
advantage of flipped learning is that I can watch videos at any
time I want and anywhere I go. Also I can study it repeatedly at
my own pace.
(An interview with Kweon, week #15)
Of course, there were also negative responses about flipped
learning. Slightly skeptical students about flipped learning tended
to think that lecture-style instruction was a more effective learning
method. The reason for this was the ease of understanding and
concentration on the class. They preferred the instructor's
explanation and showed a negative reaction to the students' group
activities and presentation due to of the distraction.
Still, there is lack of research with regard to students’ learning and
the effect of flipped learning. This paper examined the
relationship between students’ learning style with regard to
flipped learning and academic performance empirically. There
was a significant difference between two groups of total video
watching time with more than 2 times and less than 2 times.
Student’s satisfaction questionnaires shows students were mostly
satisfied with various kinds of in-class activities such as quiz,
mini-lecture, mind-map, and problem solving. Survey with regard
to learning style also reveal that the total time of watching video
are dramatically increased, which means flipped learning has
enabled students to have self-directed learning skills. A paired
sample t-test was conducted to investigate where there is a change
in self-efficacy before and after flipped learning. The results show
that confidence among three subscales of self-efficacy was
improved significantly. Various kinds of data such as interviews
with students and self-reflection journal also support the claims
found in the above.
Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve is well known but it is difficult to
practice effective review methods. On the other hand, in this paper
a model of flipped learning is designed to allow students to
practice 4 times of review methods while students follow the
process of flipped learning of pre-, in- and post- class and
reviewing as a self-directed learning. At the college level, it is
boring when an instructor emphasizes only repetition. However, a
model of flipped learning that proposed in this study approaches
with variety kinds of in-class activities and makes the best of
LMS in order to monitor and promote students' learning
environment.
In this study, we first applied flipped learning, which has recently
been attracting attention as an innovative learning method for 6
weeks and empirically investigated through various evidence such
as self-efficacy, academic performance, satisfaction survey,
questionnaire and interview, which is different from previous
research. In addition, there is a significant point in the attempt to
connect the Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve and effective review
method with flipped learning model and LMS, which has never
been studied.
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