Pre-class versus In-class Video Lectures for the Flipped Classroom in Medical Education: A Non-randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Objective: The objective was to test the effectiveness of the two different teaching models focusing on pre-class preparation.
Methods: This study was a single-center, post-test only, non-randomized, controlled trial. The fourth-year medical students were assigned to attend either flipped classroom (FC) or in-class video classroom (IVC). The FC students watched a pre-class video lecture individually. In contrast, IVC students viewed the video together during class time. Both groups had the same in-class activities, including case quizzes and discussion. The primary outcomes were a post-test score and student satisfaction.
Results: Of 105 students, 53 were assigned to the FC group and 52 to the IVC group. 77% of the FC students reported video viewing. There was no significant difference in the post-test score between the FC and the IVC groups (p = 0.107). However, the subgroup analysis showed that the post-test score of the IVC group was significantly higher than the FC subgroup who did not view the video (p = 0.024). The total satisfaction score was not significantly different between the FC and the IVC groups (p = 0.945). 83% of the FC who did not view the video claimed they had too many out-of-class workloads.
Conclusion: There were no differences in the effectiveness between the FC and IVC approach. However, the IVC students showed better knowledge acquisition over the FC subgroup, who did not watch the video. Hence our study emphasized an essential role of the knowledge preparation on the successful flipped classroom.