The effect of the flipped classroom practice on the rational numbers and operations with rational numbers

Today, numerous methods and techniques are on offer for the teaching of any given discipline. Technology, in its turn, became an inherent part of these methods and techniques. The students' ever more conspicuous interest in technology led to the development of the so-called "Flipped Classroom Model" as one such method. The objective of the present study is to analyze the effect of the flipped classroom model on the students' academic achievements in and attitudes towards the 7th grade mathematics courses, against the background of the "Rational Numbers and Operations with Rational Numbers" topic. The study employed a mixed approach, using both qualitative and quantitative data in conjunction. The quantitative portion of the study made use of a semi-experimental research pattern with pre-test, post-test, and control group, with a view to assessing the flipped classroom model's effect on the students' achievement levels in the 7th grade mathematics course in general and the "Rational Numbers and Operations with Rational Numbers" topic in particular. On the qualitative side, in turn, semi-structured interviews were held with the students and parents, in order to understand the positive and negative views the students and their parents may have with respect to the flipped classroom model. To analyze the data, codes were established, followed by an analysis of the relationships between the coded results. The study group is composed of 52 7th graders enrolled at a public secondary school in Giresun province in the 1st semester of the academic year 2016-2017, and divided into two groups. In order to assess the change in the achievement levels of both groups, an assessment test containing 25 questions was applied as a pre-test and post-test. To understand any changes in the students' attitudes towards the mathematics course, on the other hand, an attitude scale test composed of 22 items was applied. Finally, to get input on the students' and their parents' views about the flipped classroom model implemented, "semi-structured interview forms" were developed by the author, in consultation with experts. The interviews were also recorded on tape with the permission of the interviewees; the recordings were then used for the analyses. A glance at the results of the pre-test applied with the study groups revealed that, in the beginning both groups had comparable levels of proficiency on the rational numbers topic. The results of the post-test, on the other hand, show a significant difference between the average scores achieved by both groups, in favor of the experiment group over the control group. On the other hand, the groups did not exhibit any statistically significant change in their attitudes towards the mathematics course, with reference to the implementation of the flipped classroom model. The analysis of the data obtained from semi-structured interviews reveals that the students usually had positive remarks about the model, that they embraced the practice, whereas the parents also generally expressed positive views regarding the model, in parallel to those of the students.