The results also indicated several common issues and themes
Students Look for Meaning in their Learning
In analysing the theme of students looking for meaning in their learning, we first looked for any behaviour trends when the students accessed the lesson online, and also the level of understanding of the topics taught in the flipped classroom. After watching the online lecture, 50% of the Year 1 students reported in the questionnaire that they replayed and paused the online lecture to take notes and to understand the lesson. Relating to their understanding of the topics taught, respondents from both cohorts interviewed had a high understanding, with an average ranking of 4 out of 5 (highest) as outlined in Table 1. In the second flipped class for Year 1 students, 44% of the respondents felt they understood the topic well and ranked it at 5 (as outlined in Figure 3). These results show that most learners are engaged in their learning when using the technology to watch the online lecture. From the nine interview respondents with the Year 1 cohort, one student, after watching the online lecture, even looked for more information online and two students understood the topic well enough to apply it to the personal projects they took on.
When using the flipped classroom model, learning instructions, like inquiry-learning, were implemented in the Flipped Classroom Cycle 2 with the intention for students to make sense of their learning. The results from this study showed that more than half of the respondents (67%) from flipped class Cycle 2 (which taught camera shots size and angles and how to develop stories by using storyboards) found learning engaging and were excited by the ideas taught to try them
out themselves. For example, Interview 5 (Year 1) had practiced framing different shots and angles with a camera before class to test the knowledge received. Interview 7 (Year 1) said: “I am a dancer and I wanted to start planning to shoot dance movements using the camera”. Three respondents from Cycle 2 began to think about the process for story development. Interview 7 (Year 1) said: “I looked at how stories are from script to visual. I was also thinking of how to
shoot stories”. Based on the researcher’s observation notes, respondents from Cycle 2 were prepared for the lesson and were capable of going straight into the activity. This is in accordance with the increased percentage (from 30% of the Cycle 1 respondents to 67% of Cycle 2 respondents) who reported they were engaged in their learning and were excited to try these ideas out on their own. A factor which may have led the students to be engaged and energised in their
learning was when inquiry-learning (which is the explore phase) was incorporated in the flipped classes Cycle 2. The instructional design with the “Explore” stage in Cycle 2 could have sparked the students’ curiosity and zest for learning as inquiry-learning helps foster critical thinking.