The Flipped Classroom in Introductory Statistics: Early Evidence From a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The flipped classroom (FC) inverts the traditional classroom by having students participate in passive aspects of learning at home and active aspects of learning in class with the guide of an instructor. The introductory statistics course for nonmath majors may be especially suited to the FC model given its unique challenges as a required course for students with varying mathematical skills and background. For example, these students often have low interest and high statistics-related anxiety. Recent studies suggest the FC for introductory statistics courses leads to increased performance relative to a traditional lecture-based classroom (LC). This meta-analysis compared the academic performance of students in introductory statistics courses for nonmath majors who were taught in a FC versus those taught in a LC. Results indicate that students in the FC had statistically discernibly higher final performance outcomes compared to the LC delivery with an average difference of 6.9% in performance (Hedge’s g = 0.43), though there was evidence of moderation by the presence of weekly in-class quizzes. These findings suggest that implementing the FC within the introductory statistics classroom at the undergraduate level may improve learning achievement, but more research is needed to explore the role of regular class quizzes. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.

Keywords

• flipped classroom
• introductory statistics
• meta-analysis
• performance outcomes