Flipped Teaching in a College Algebra Classroom: An Action Research Project

Abstract

A project to evaluate a method of flipped teaching was set up within two separate College Algebra classes. From the curricula of each, the topic of radicals was chosen as the subject to have the flipped teaching approach; this happened over two consecutive class sessions. The rest of the class content was taught in the traditional lecture style. In the week before the class sessions, the students were provided with YouTube videos specially prepared for the students to review before the classes met and with links to the related Khan Academy videos and practice sessions. In class, the students worked in teams on related problems while the instructor circulated, providing individual instruction. Each of the teams presented their solution methods to the class. The students were surveyed regarding their experiences with the digital media, the instructional links, and the applied work done in the class, as well as about their impressions of the flipped style relative to the more traditional style of instruction.