Merits of the technology-enhanced flipped classroom (TEFC) concept in higher education

Abstract

Distance education hype has created a lot of speculation among educators on how it could facilitate and support formal learning, when the unprecedented global pandemic Covid-19 in early 2020 evidently highlighted the pressing need for this education method. Distance education is not a new phenomenon and the flipped classroom concept is also a wellresearched method. However, there have been rather few studies about the applied flipped classroom approach with support of technology within the distance-learning paradigm. There were claims that suggest a variety of advantages for flipped classroom. This is while
available publications were lacking the perspective of the primary beneficiary (the students), and focusing on the advantages of Technology-Enhanced Flipped Classroom (TEFC) in distance education, specially when it comes to such pandemic situations as Covid-19. This study contributes by critically exploring how distance students perceive the usefulness of the TEFC approach to support their studies, and perceive the benefits and limitations of this approach, compared with other means. The empirical data for this qualitative research was collected through semi-structured interviews that were preceded by a preliminary observational study. By the means of a thematic analysis, three major themes were identified that offered a broader insight into the students' perspective with regards to the benefits and challenges of the TEFC concept. The findings revealed that the discussion-based sessions in flipped classrooms enables or assisted students to foster the knowledge transfer and advance the ability to contribute in and influence on the discussion flow. This confirms the earlier claims concerning a positive perception of the flipped classroom concept in formal learning process. This research discovered that TEFC is a viable tool to support learning in a pandemic situation by empowering students and facilitating constructivism through communication and enhancement of cognitivism.