How to Apply the Flipped Classroom in Economics to Improve Student Satisfaction and Results

Introduction

A profound change has come to the university education system to which the universities have not adapted adequately. The implantation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has led to a profound revolution within this academic level that has led to a rethinking of the role that both students and teachers must have, as well as the need to make changes in the methodology used.

This change forces students to assume the role of a model based on teaching and learning, becoming the main actor in the process with an important involvement. This change collides with one of the main problems, the student's motivation when facing their university studies.

Teacher must assume a role with which to increase the motivation and involvement of students, in order to achieve the objectives set under the model of the EHEA. To achieve this greater motivation, the teacher must use methodologies that achieve the greatest involvement of the students. Teachers must abandon outdated methodologies on which education was based before the paradigm shift.

According to the study of the national agency for the evaluation of quality and accreditation (ANECA) “Reflex Informe ejecutivo. El profesional flexible en la Sociedad del Conocimiento 2007,” one of the existing problems in the university system, is the low level of satisfaction of the Spanish graduates with the studies carried out and with the higher education system, in general, since almost 10% of the Spanish graduates would choose other studies different from those that they had realized.

The methodology used in the development of the chapter has been the bibliography review that allows to know the status of the issue to make the proposed use of Flipped Classroom.

In this chapter the design of the application of the Flipped Classroom methodology to a university subject, in the area of economics and with an important practical load with the aim of improving the results and motivation of the students, is included. The chosen subject is Financial Accounting since it has an important practical load and needs more work time in the activities. This practical load can be developed in the classroom facilitating the application of a methodology such as Flipped Classroom which allows theoretical knowledge to be addressed outside the classroom.

This work is justified in the need to apply new teaching techniques adapted to the EHEA and the suitability of the Flipped Classroom methodology with a double objective:

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  Increase the motivation of students when facing the subjects.

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  Improve the results obtained by students with respect to previous courses.