Abstract
The study and investigation around educational models and teaching and learning methodologies is a theme that has long aroused the interest of the academic environment in higher education, both in the period before the advent of digital technology, as in current times in which technology is strongly embedded in the various teaching and learning processes, which involve classroom and distance-learning classes and courses, both in the context of e-learning and b-learning. Understanding how people learn and understand the themes presented in the classroom in face-to-face and e-learning is fundamental for planning and implementing processes that allow teachers to apply teaching and learning methodologies that can be efficient and effective. The main objective is to carry out a critical reflection on b-learning teaching, about the implementation of the teaching and learning methodology of the flipped classroom, one of the variants of b-learning teaching, supported by the results of a field investigation carried out with 152 students (n=152) of higher education.
TopIntroduction
Initially and before we discuss the teaching methodology of the Flipped Classroom, it is necessary to observe that the scientific literature presents many definitions and conceptualizations about the term b-learning, a teaching methodology that arises around e-learning, being the last one greater representation in Distance Learning. The b-learning method focuses on its educational processes, in classes with face-to-face moments and also at a distance, in e-learning mode, which can be synchronous or asynchronous, that is, concerning real-time interaction, or not, between teachers and students (Graham, 2013).
Higher education institutions (HEI) have been conducting research on b-learning for almost twenty years, and within this temporal context, Smith & Hill (2019) reviewed ninety-seven articles related to b-learning in Higher Education between 2012 and 2017, having noticed a growing and continuous trend in scientific production around the theme, with most of the articles on the empirical implementation of b-learning in HEI, as can see in Table 1.
Table 1. Research approach in b-learning
| Research Approach in b-learning | Percentage |
| Empirical | 65,9% (N = 64) |
| Non-empirical | 9,3% (N = 9) |
| Combined | 24,7% (N = 24) |
Source: (Smith e Hill, 2019, p. 388)
Salinas Ibáñez et al. (2018) refer that the students of Higher Education when they reach educational institutions, seek to obtain “immediate solutions” to their learning problems in line with the ease they have in their daily life, in which they live connected in a network (Internet) to receive information and feedback continuously. Therefore, it presents itself as an opportunity for higher education institutions to develop online courses, as an alternative to face-to-face courses, without giving them up, to provide another option for students, not necessarily meaning an improvement in the teaching process and learning that involves other factors but as an improvement of efficiency and effectiveness in the process of formation of Higher Education.
Johnson et al. (2016) reinforce the argument that students have expectations that higher education institutions provide accessibility to networked technological resources, which is demonstrated by a study carried out by JISC1 with five hundred students, which indicated that the choice of higher education institutions to attending 32% of the students surveyed, occurred due to the availability of technological resources on the network. The teaching and learning process in b-learning can be implemented and categorized in different educational aspects, with different approaches and structures, which according to Graham et al. (2014) converges in a specific predominance of b-learning models, which are applied to the levels of Higher Education, K12 Education, and Corporate Training, according to the practical investigation carried out by other authors, as shown in Table 2.
Key Terms in this Chapter
VLE: Is a virtual classroom that allows teachers and students to communicate with each other online. Class information, learning materials, and assignments are provided via the web.
Flipped: In the implementation of the teaching methodology of the flipped classroom, it has the figurative sense of inverting the student's activity, in which homework is performed first and then the face-to-face class.
F2F: An adaptation of face-to-face, refers to classroom teaching.
LMS: Is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation and delivery in e/b-learning courses in VLE environments.
Team-Based Learning: Is an evidence based collaborative learning teaching strategy designed around units of instruction, known as “modules,” that are taught in a three-step cycle: preparation, in-class readiness assurance testing, and application-focused exercise.
EFA: Exploratory factor analysis is a statistical technique that is used to reduce data to a smaller set of summary variables and to explore the underlying theoretical structure of the phenomena.
Problem-Based Learning: Is a teaching method in which complex real-world problems are used as the vehicle to promote student learning of concepts and principles as opposed to direct presentation of facts and concepts.