2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Instructional models, strategies, and approaches play a vital role in teaching- learning process. With this in mind, the study explored the effectiveness of the Flipped Classroom Approach (FCA) in teaching-learning Selected Topics of Physics for Engineers. Along with the effectiveness, the mental effort expended by the students in learning was also investigated. A Quantitative method specifically a quasi-experimental design was used in this study to determine the effectiveness of the FCA compared to the 7E instructional model with the traditional approach. The subjects of the study were first-year engineering students from a private university in Mindanao, two intact groups were selected to be the experimental and the control groups of the study. The implementation of the intervention lasted for three weeks, and before the implementation pretest was conducted on both groups, after the implementation period the post-test was administered to both groups again to evaluate the effectiveness of the FCA compared to the 7E model when incorporated in class instruction.

The FCA group achieved higher post-test scores (mean: 19.125) than the control group (mean: 16.206), with effect sizes (Cohen's d) of 5.168 and 4.263, respectively, both indicating very large effects. Statistical tests confirmed no significant difference in pre-test scores (MWU: p=0.097), showing comparable initial knowledge. However, the post-test analysis (Mann-Whitney U: p<0.001) demonstrated a significant performance advantage for the FCA group. Ranked biserial correlation (r_rb=-0.788) further highlighted a moderate-to-large effect size favoring the FCA.

Mental effort assessments showed the control group reported higher effort both pre- (mean: 6.935) and post-test (mean: 7.161) compared to the FCA group (pre-test: 5.739, post-test: 6.565). These findings suggest that while the FCA required less perceived effort, it yielded better learning outcomes, potentially due to its active and self-paced nature. Homogeneity of variances was confirmed (Levene's test: pre-test p=0.377, post-test p=0.103), supporting the robustness of the statistical comparisons.

It was found out that FCA is effective in improving the performance of students in selected topics in Physics for engineers compared to the 7E model, thus is is recommended to use the FCA in teaching highly technical subjects because it allows students to learn at their own pace and have the necessary learning materials. On the other hand, the mental effort of the students before and after the instructional delivery for both groups is statistically significant, meaning students' mental effort increases causing their performances to increase in the post-test. In conclusion, the FCA is effective in teaching-learning selected topics in physics for engineers, and the mental effort of students varies based on traditional vs FCA instruction. It is recommended to further validate the results of this study by applying it to other disciplines and contextualizing the lessons.