Designing Instruction for Active and Reflective Learners in the Flipped Classroom

Purpose – This paper proposes a framework of instructional strategies that would facilitate active and reflective learning processes in the flipped classroom It is aimed at allowing one’s maximum potential to be reached regardless of any individual learning style. As tertiary classrooms increasingly needs to be as active and social as possible, the needs of the more introverted student could have been unintentionally overlooked. Therefore, the objective of this study was to produce an instructional design that could accommodate different learning styles and preferences in the flipped classroom. Method – A design-based research approach was employed in three phases (preliminary research, prototyping phase and assessment phase) in a flipped communication studies course of 24 students. The instructional design, based on a literature review on the flipped classroom and Felder and Silverman’s active-reflective learning style dimensions, was tested and refined over six iterative design cycles to produce a final design framework. Findings – Qualitative findings via observation showed that despite a learning curve, the finalized instructional design was able to facilitate different learning styles satisfactorily. Added benefits included learner empowerment, engagement, motivation and improved communication and thinking skills. Significance – As a design-based research, this study may be significant from the perspectives of both educational research and practice. Besides adding to the existent literature on different implementations of the flipped classroom, the proposed instructional design may serve as a practical guide for instructors who wish to flip their classrooms and spend face-to-face class time with their students on a more meaningful and personalized level.