The School of Engineering at Universidad ORT Uruguay to prioritize the implementation of the flipped classroom model in various courses across its different degree programs. This year, with support from the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII), the school is expanding this teaching method to the first semesters of its degree programs, focusing on key courses that are particularly challenging for students, such as Programming 1, Programming 2, and Mathematics.
This methodology was already being used in various areas, such as the courses Software Architecture and Agile Software Engineering, both offered by the Department of Software Engineering. “Since 2013, we have been applying the Team-Based Learning (TBL) methodology, which provides a framework for structuring the flipped classroom,” says Professor Mag. Gastón Mousqués, who also notes that “students have an overall positive perception of the use of this methodology and the knowledge acquired compared to courses taught in the traditional format.”
The difference from the traditional method is that in a flipped classroom, students prepare before class: they study the material using resources—such as explanatory videos or exercises—that the teacher creates and makes available online. In the classroom, meanwhile, students have the opportunity to apply everything they have studied beforehand.
Thanks to the support of ANII, the faculty was able to develop the materials, update the content, produce the videos, adapt the website to incorporate the new methodology, and train the instructors. In total, the preparation took about a year.
Learning on their own
“When students attend class, the instructor doesn’t just present theory; instead, they guide discussions on exercises or various proposals. This shifts the instructor’s role so that they don’t merely present and explain the topics. In class, we review what was covered in the video or in the exercises they had to complete beforehand, which allows students to participate much more actively,” explained Dr. Inés Kereki, a professor of Programming at the university.
According to Kereki, this new method encourages students to learn how to learn on their own. “What the flipped classroom does is give students an important role: they must prepare themselves and be able to tackle a topic they are unfamiliar with, and then, using those materials, be able to create something, such as a quiz or an exercise. Then, they have another class session where they apply what they’ve studied in various ways,” the professor explained.
According to Mousqués, some of the aspects students highlight are “immediate feedback on assessments conducted throughout the course and the opportunity to work through exercises in class with the instructor that allow them to apply their knowledge.”
Quality of learning
Along the same lines, Mag. Liliana Jabif, academic coordinator of the Center for Continuing Education in Higher Education (CAES) at Universidad ORT Uruguay, explained that the method helps improve the quality of learning.
“By studying outside the classroom, students come to class better prepared to engage in other types of activities that require different cognitive skills, such as doing exercises, solving problems, and conducting simulations using the prior knowledge they acquired through independent study,” he said.
As Jabif explained, in out-of-class activities, students develop the lower levels of cognition—that is, memorization and comprehension—while the classroom is used to foster students’ higher-order thinking skills, such as analysis, application, and creativity.
One of the advantages of this method is that the materials are available online, allowing students to review them as many times as needed until they understand the concept. “Another advantage is that we created a book covering the entire course curriculum, available in both PDF and multimedia formats, so students can access it at any time,” explained Kereki.
For her part, the professor believes that in-person classes are more dynamic. “I think it’s much more enriching. It gives you much more time in class to discuss topics or answer questions,” she said.