Does flipped classroom improve student cognitive and behavioral outcomes in STEM subjects? Evidence from a second-order meta-analysis and validation study

The flipped classroom approach has attracted particular interest from educators in the Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) subject disciplines. Despite its popularity, the effect of the flipped classroom approach on student outcomes compared with conventional learning has not yet been conconclusively determined. Although previous reviews have reported positive student perceptions of flipped courses, this does not necessarily imply improved student learning. This study used a second-order meta-analysis procedure to summarize more than 10 years of research examining the following question: “Does the flipped classroom improve student cognitive and behavioral outcomes across STEM subjects as compared with non-flipped classroom?” A total of 10 primary meta-analyses covering 217 unique STEM studies were analyzed. Results showed that flipped classroom significantly improves student cognitive learning (g = 0.49, p < 0.001), and student behavioral learning (g = 1.70, p < 0.001) as compared to conventional classroom. To validate the results of the second-order meta-analysis, we also conducted a study-level meta-analytic validation. Students’ perceptions of using flipped classroom were also analyzed. Copyright © 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG.