Implementation of flipped classroom modality in an online course about statistics for PhD students at the Faculty of Medicine

Postgraduate research studies (Perspectives on Course Design) 2021-12-17

Abstract

An advanced statistics online course was implemented using flipped classroom as teaching modality in the postgraduate program at the Faculty of Medicine. Flipped classroom was implemented to enhance the students’ learning experience. The learning activities performed mimicked a normal working day as a researcher, from planning a research study, analysing data, summarizing and presenting the results, and discussing with colleagues. The time in class was devoted to answering questions and performing practical exercises in which the theorical concepts were applied. The students’ perception of the course changed over time. At the beginning many students found the course very demanding and wanted to get traditional lectures. At the end of the course, the students found the course well structured, useful for their studies, with relevant exercises but still very demanding. The outcome of the examination was outstanding. All the students performed extremely well. From the teachers’ perspective, active learning allowed to tailor the discussions to the topics where the students had most difficulties. However, the way that the lecture day evolves is not predictable. Despite careful planning, the structure of the lectures is based on the difficulties shown by the students. This situation could be difficult to handle for novice teachers or teachers that are not familiar with the material. The improvement in understanding achieved by the students was impressive and it overcomes all challenges.