How does flipping classroom foster the STEM education: A case study of the FPD model

STEM education is essential but challenging. Educators generally believe that both practical work and flipped learning facilitate STEM education. Practical work is useful in establishing linkages among STEM-related disciplines as well as the connections between knowledge and the real-life problems while flipped learning allows teachers to spend more in-class time on individual guidance and feedbacks. This study aims at studying the mechanism of how they could benefit STEM education and their interactions when used together. In this study, a strategy called flipping–practical–discussion was employed in a STEM lesson among twenty senior high school students in grade eleven. The research follows a qualitative design and individual interviews were conducted on three students and the teacher who conducted the lecture. The result shows that the pre-class video of flipping classroom could act as a medium in providing the pre-requisite knowledge and skills which facilitate the practical work and discussions. Although there is a lack of support in the pre-class section, the questions aroused during watching the video could serve as the raw materials for subsequent class activities, therefore keeping students more focused in the in-class session and potentially boosting the effect of the practical work and discussions. Copyright © 2020 Springer Nature B.V.