Experiences of flipping an online classroom An appraisal using Community of Inquiry Framework

Abstract

Technological developments in the recent times have changed the face and attributes of higher education. Online education, with an emphasis on technology augmented learning strategies, exerts unprecedented pressure on educators to adapt these changes. The increasing focus on cost effectiveness in the sector adds to this challenge. Hence, there is demand on educators to devise innovative instructional methods which are flexible, user-friendly, empowering and student-centred. A rational process in response to such demands and challenges would involve collaboration and sharing of learning-teaching practices among educators.

This paper shares and explores the experiences of flipping an online classroom with a large cohort of externally enrolled, Undergraduate Nursing and Midwifery students in a regional Australian university. The design, implementation, and outcome of this active learning strategy are examined using the theoretical framework, Community of Inquiry by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer [1]. The students’ readiness engage in the task, in a student-centred pedagogy which reinforced higher order thinking was the key to this successfully flipped task.