Testing Instructional Approaches in Flipped Engineering Classrooms

Problem-centered learning in flipped engineering classrooms offers students an authentic learning environment where students are prepared to master content knowledge and skills in problem-solving, team working, and communications. Problematizing content knowledge is employed as an important strategy in instructional design to achieve teaching goals. It brings both benefits and challenges to teaching and learning. This study investigates several issues pertaining to ways of content problematizing. It applies three case studies to identify characteristics in instructional approaches that successfully engage intended learning. Analysis of students’ group discussion discourse indicates that cognitive aspects of problems designed for in-class activities play an important role in facilitating learning with conceptual growth, and that social context in developing classroom discourse should be integral to instructional design.