FLIPPING OR FLOPPING IN A GENERAL EDUCATION EARTH SCIENCE CLASS

The most popular class taught at Waubonsee Community College is the Survey of Earth Science, a 3 credit lecture-only class covering geology, oceanography, meteorology and astronomy. Our typical student is a non-science major fulfilling a physical science credit for their A.S. degree. As expected, most students in ESC100 have a low student affect, which predictably results in many low grades. Active learning techniques have been used for several years (i.e., 3 minute essays/discussions/debates, think-pair-share, etc.) to limited success, especially with subjects that students struggle with. Recent involvement with the SAGE 2YC: Faculty as Change Agents project has inspired my introduction of using a flipped classroom in 3 of the 4 different units or ‘spheres’ of the Earth Science class. There is a broad literature on the benefits and techniques of flipping classrooms, and many STEM disciplines that are problem oriented (i.e. math and chemistry) have been very successful in flipping classrooms, but there seems to be challenges with the geosciences. Subjects chosen for this flipping-trial are rocks, groundwater and latent heat. These flipped classroom experiences will be described, providing rationale, goals, materials and methods. Qualitative results will also be presented.