Diverse Perspectives on a Flipped Biostatistics Classroom

ABSTRACT

“Flipping” the classroom refers to a pedagogical approach in which students are first exposed to didactic content outside the classroom and then actively use class time to apply their newly attained knowledge. The idea of the flipped classroom is not new, but has grown in popularity in recent years as the necessary technology has improved in terms of quality, cost, and availability. Many biostatistics instructors are adopting this format, but some remain unsure whether such a change would benefit their students. One potential barrier to adopting a flipped classroom is the common misconception that only a single approach is available. Having adopted the flipped approach in their own courses, the authors participated in an invited panel at the 2014 Joint Statistical Meetings held in Boston, Massachusetts entitled “Flipping the Biostatistics Classroom.” A theme emerged from the panel's discussions: rather than being a one-size-fits-all approach, the flipped biostatistics classroom offers a high degree of flexibility, and this flipped approach can—and should—be tailored to instructors' specific target audience: their students. Several of these varied approaches to the flipped classroom and practical lessons learned are described.

KEY WORDS:

• Active learning
• Flipped classroom
• Hybrid/blended/inverted course design
• Video-recordings

Acknowledgments

This material is based on an invited panel presentation given at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Boston, MA in August 2014, entitled “Flipping the Biostatistics Classroom.” The authors express their appreciation to two anonymous reviewers, an Associate Editor, and the Editor, who provided helpful suggestions that strengthened this article, such as the suggestion of using “75–90% similar” datasets for group projects. They are also grateful to their students who have been willing to learn under a flipped format that may have been previously unfamiliar to them.