A Flipped Classroom Approach to Teaching Transportation Engineering

The flipped classroom approach has gained increasing popularity in higher education, particularly in STEM fields. In flipped learning, part or all of direct instruction is delivered through online videos and other media, and the class time is used for engaging students in collaborative, hands-on activities. In order to utilize the benefits of this novel teaching approach, a junior-level, introduction to transportation engineering course was converted into a flipped format. This study, conducted in a major Midwestern university, will present the results of a mixed-method evaluation investigating the effectiveness of the flipped classroom approach. Quantitative data included a pre-course survey, a post-course survey. Qualitative data, on the other hand, included video recordings of in-class sessions and end-of-semester focus group interviews. Analysis of the results indicated students benefited from the flipped classroom approach although it entailed some challenges for both faculty and students. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations are made for engineering education researchers and practitioners.