Quality or Quantity: Completion Rewards and Formative Assessments in Flipped Instruction Classes

Flipped instruction approaches are increasingly being applied to University curriculum (Akçayır & Akçayır 2018). Flipping the classroom moves events that have traditionally taken place inside the classroom to outside the classroom and vice versa (Lage et al. 2000). Content dissemination moves away from face-to-face hours and into online delivery outside of class, while face-to-face class time is used for practice and application (Hill 2012). A key factor influencing learning outcomes with flipped instruction is the amount of time students spend with the material outside of class (Lim & Morris 2009). Flipping the classroom assumes that students will take control of their learning in terms of pace of study, mastery of content, and coming to class prepared (Davies et al. 2013). Motivation plays a key role initiating and sustaining self-directed learning (Garrison 1997) and is positively associated with exam performance (Janssen & O’Brien 2014). In addition, lack of motivation is the major reason students drop out of online courses (Kim 2004). These self-directed learning insights have proven robust not only for MOOCs, but also online classes at community colleges and universities (Lee & Choi 2011; Levy 2007). This study examines two techniques aimed at student motivation for the outside-the-classroom portion of flipped instruction. The first is the use of Formative Assessments. The cognitive development literature reports that formative assessment feedback motivates deep learning (Higgins et al. 2002). Beyond motivation, formative assessments are often used by students to adjust their study process leading to improved learning outcomes (Cauley & McMillan 2010). The second tactic is the use of completion rewards tied to a desired behavior. In this study rewards are scores in an online gradebook. Students consistently report that grades are an overarching concern, such that all other goals are secondary (Pressley et al. 1998). In addition, knowing their progress and grades in a class may provide students a sense of satisfaction that motivates their effort (Docan 2006). There is very little rigorously designed research on flipped classroom approaches (Abeysekera & Dawson 2015). To partially address this gap, this study seeks to examine the effect of formative assessment completion scores for flipped instruction learning objectives. The following specific study questions are examined: Is Formative Assessment engagement associated with improved learning outcomes for outside the classroom flipped instruction content?