The Impact of Flipped Classroom Models on Student Engagement and Critical Thinking in High School Social Studies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21681442
Dr. Ankush Sharma, Dr. Mousam Singh, Dr. Naresh Kumar, Dr. Sanjeev Vijay
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Keywords:
Flipped classroom, student engagement, critical thinking, social studies education, secondary education
Abstract:
The flipped classroom model has received considerable attention as a learner-centered instructional model that shifts the delivery of direct instruction to before-class learning activities and classroom time to collaborative, higher-order learning activities. Some evidence exists of positive impact on student engagement and critical thinking, but the evidence is inconsistent across subject areas, especially in high school social studies. This study aims to explore the effect of the implementation of the flipped classroom on the behavioral, emotional, cognitive engagement, and disciplinary critical thinking of secondary-level social studies students. This study uses a quasi-experimental mixed-methods design that compares matched flipped and traditional classes over one term. Data were collected using validated engagement surveys and validated discipline-specific critical thinking performance tasks and analyzed using both ANCOVA and mediation modeling. Classroom observation and students' interview data were analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis to gain insights into learning processes and mechanisms. Results showed that, after accounting for students' prior achievement, critical thinking levels across the cognitive domain were significantly higher for those in the flipped classrooms than for those in the traditional classrooms. The relationship between the instructional model and critical thinking outcomes was mediated in part by cognitive engagement. The study is an important contribution to the research of flipped learning because it places the results of the flipped learning in the context of the social studies classroom, and it uses the theory of engagement and cognitive learning outcomes. Instructional design and teacher professional development implications, as well as secondary education policy implications, are discussed.