Leveraging the Flipped Classroom as a Pedagogical Tool in Health Science Education

Sponsored by the HSC-Delphi Faculty Development Partnership

Flipped classrooms were incorporated into the curriculum at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 2013. As defined by EDUCAUSE [PDF], the flipped classroom is a “pedagogical model in which the typical lecture and homework elements of a course are reversed” (2012). In this model, a student first gains knowledge on a particular topic electronically using any one of a number of strategies available to an instructor. This learning occurs outside of the classroom. Classroom sessions then follow which focus on the application of this knowledge. A critical component of replacing traditional lecture content with flipped classrooms in a densely packed curriculum is that this transformation is time neutral for the students.

This session will investigate alternative strategies for delivering electronic content and in-class activities in a flipped classroom setting including student feedback from using this pedagogical approach to professional education over the past two years.

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Learning Objectives

• Describe the foundational components of the flipped classroom model
• Identify key challenges of using flipped teaching as a pedagogical approach
• Compare and contrast alternative approaches for delivering information electronically in a flipped classroom setting
• Discuss an in-class activity that incorporates low-stakes assessment into a case-based exercise co-presented by a clinician and a basic scientist
• Explain to a colleague why it is imperative that transformation between content delivered by traditional lectures and the flipped classroom be time neutral for students

Presenters

Steven R. Ellis, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Kara M. Goodin, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics

Presenter Bios

Dr. Ellis joined the UofL faculty in 1987 and has been teaching biochemistry in the medical curriculum for over 20 years. Dr. Goodin has a clinical specialization in metabolic genetics and has been involved in medical education since joining the clinical faculty of School of Medicine in 2009. Drs. Ellis and Goodin have worked together over the past two years incorporating interdisciplinary flipped classrooms into the Genetics and Molecular Medicine course for first year medical students. Each flipped classroom has an application exercise component where Drs. Goodin and Ellis weave clinical and basic science content into interactive case presentations. Each in-class event includes low stakes assessments to provide formative feedback to students on their degree of mastery of concepts covered in the electronic component of the flipped classroom and their application in a clinical setting.

About the HSC-Delphi Faculty Development Partnership

Established in June 2011, the HSC-Delphi Faculty Development Partnership seeks to:

• Enhance teaching and learning on UofL's Health Sciences Campus by providing meaningful and relevant professional development opportunities for faculty;
• Share unit resources to promote campus-wide conversations about best practices in teaching and learning in the health sciences; and
• Address accreditation calls for continuous quality improvement to the curriculum by offering participants concrete teaching strategies and "take-aways" for immediate implementation and relevant resources to foster further exploration and learning.

The partnership steering committee is comprised of unit representatives from Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, the School of Public Health and Information Sciences (SPHIS), and the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning. With support from the deans of each school, the steering committee works together to deliver two significant professional development programs for HSC faculty annually.

Continuing Medical Education Credit

The University of Louisville School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The University of Louisville Office of Continuing Medical Education & Professional Development designates this educational activity for a maximum of two AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

For All School of Nursing Participants:

This program has been approved by the Kentucky Board of Nursing for 2.4 Contact Hours through the University of Louisville Hospital. Provider Number 4-0068-7-16-715, expiration date July 1, 2016. The Kentucky Board of Nursing Education provider does not constitute endorsement of program content. Participants must complete the education module, post-test and course evaluation to receive contact hours.

Note: Continuing education units are not available from the School of Dentistry for this program.