REPLACING LECTURE WITH ONLINE VIDEO TUTORIALS

Since Fall 2012, students in my 3-unit introductory oceanography course have been watching online video tutorials in place of in-class lecture. Video tutorials are assigned as required pre-class homework. To ensure these tutorials are watched, considered critically, and applied to problem solving prior to each week’s class, they are accompanied by an open notes, open book, noncollaborative online quiz and a multi-page worksheet, both of which must be completed prior to the first class meeting each week. Students bring the worksheet to class and discuss it in small groups. Through this “flipping” model, I’ve front loaded my course homework requirements. Positive outcomes from this shifted classroom setting include: students who come to class better prepared and with a higher level of understanding of the material than when readings from the textbook were the only pre-class homework requirement. Data from end-of-semester standardized exams (based on key student learning outcomes) show an increase in exam scores after instituting this new teaching technique. Further, there are higher levels of engagement in the classroom (higher energy and more directed and insightful discussions), fewer discipline problems, and increased class attendance. There is also increased interaction between instructor and students in the classroom and an increase in diverse student interactions with each other and with the material in the classroom. This two-year-college class is lecture-only (lab is a separate class and optional). My sections have from 40 to 60 students and meet for 3 hours a week (split over two days). Class website: http://www.ccsf.edu/Departments/Earth_Sciences/content/Katryn/Classes/oceanography.html.