Abstract

A flipped classroom uses technology to move lectures outside the classroom reserving the time inside the classroom for learning activities that connect concepts with practice. There has been limited research looking at student behaviours in a flipped learning environment and the extent to which students actually prepare for the face to face workshop experience as anticipated in the flipped learning model. Data collected from the learning management system (LMS) is used to examine the relationship between participation in preworkshop activities and performance in a flipped learning class. The study cohort is a large class of final year bachelor and master of engineering students studying Risk, Reliability and Safety. Results show that participation associated with looking at pre-workshop materials and engaging in discussion boards is positively related to performance in summative assessments. There are lower levels of participation by international students in pre-work and discussion boards compared to their domestic counterparts; this may be related to language and the need to improve ‘engineering business’ skills. This work shows how technology, in the form of the data on participation collected in the LMS, can also be used to examine student behaviour, inform flipped learning teaching practice and identify future research questions.