| The use of the flipped classroom approach within the core courses involved in nursing education is a popular topic with little available published literature. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of educators and students utilizing a flipped classroom model for each core nursing course included in the curriculum of the program. Methodology used was an exploratory case study with a framework based on constructivist and experiential learning theories. Research occurred at a school of nursing which used the flipped classroom consistently for all nursing courses, with the sample including instructors and students involved in core nursing courses at this study site. One instructor and two students were selected from each semester of the nursing program. Data were collected from interviews and classroom observations, as well as documents provided by instructors and administrators for review. Yin's five step process was used for data analysis. Findings demonstrated that, while educators all had the same training and similar experiences with the flipped classroom integration, execution was very different from course to course. The courses with the highest level of student engagement were those courses with the highest level of interactivity. Furthermore, the most well received activities were also those that required students to create their own learning tools. Educators can use these findings to help increase student engagement and positive perceptions through careful selection of included activities. Further research is needed regarding a more uniform consistent integration in order to isolate variables and their impact, and more research into consistent integration in general is needed for comparison with available research on isolated use of the flipped classroom in nursing education. |
