Comparison of Learning Gate Completion Requirements in a Flipped Classroom

Previous work by the author has investigated the implementation of a flipped course structure for a junior-level materials science course. The basic structure of the course includes 1) topical learning modules to be viewed by students before class, 2) discussion/active learning activities during each class meeting and 3) an in-depth term paper and associated presentation on a materials science topic of each student’s choosing. Each module nominally corresponds to 1-1.5 hours of lecture material broken into 5-10 minute chunks. Results showed that students in flipped sections of the course demonstrated larger gains in learning over the semester compared to students in a traditional classroom setting. The current work investigates additional details of the flipped structure. Pre-recorded course materials (‘learning modules’) include lecture segments and short learning assessments (‘learning gates’). One cohort of students is required to achieve a minimum score on the learning gates for them to be counted as complete (>80%). A second cohort of students is required only to attempt the learning modules for them to be counted as complete. Both cohorts have the option take the assessments as many times as they desire. This paper compares student performance between the two cohorts throughout the course as well as student impressions of the course format.