Students’ Conceptual Understanding and Science Process Skills in an Inquiry-based Flipped Classroom Environment

Congratulations to one of our science education specialists, Mr. Rolando M. Tan.  His paper titled “Students’ Conceptual Understanding and Science Process Skills in an Inquiry-based Flipped Classroom Environment” has been accepted for publication in the Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction. The paper was co-authored by Professors Rosanelia T. Yangco and Elenita N. Que who were Mr. Tan’s thesis advisers.

The research compared inquiry-based flipped instruction with non-flipped inquiry-based instruction based on their impact on junior high school students’ science process skills and conceptual understanding in Grade 9 biology topics. The result of the study showed that the inquiry-based flipped classroom model can be just as effective as the non-flipped inquiry-based instruction based on their overall performance in the Conceptual Understanding and Science Process Skills Tests. However, sublevel analysis per topic showed that the flipped inquiry group performed better than the control in the Conceptual Understanding Test for one particular lesson, citing choice of learning management system (LMS), manner of uploading online content and nature of content as critical considerations. This was made possible when the manner of uploading online content and choice of LMS facilitated better student engagement. The nature of content had concepts already related to previously learned content and not totally new like the other topics. From this finding, inquiry-based instruction can be made even more effective taking into account the aforementioned considerations. Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPCK) served as the guiding framework behind these considerations. The study also revealed that science process skills positively predict students’ conceptual understanding in biology. The published article is an open access source which can be downloaded through this link: http://mjli.uum.edu.my/index.php/cur-issues