Distance learning: studying the efficiency of implementing flipped classroom technology in the educational system

Technology development and the general availability of information have affected modern society in such a way that the educational system requires immediate and decisive changes. The situation escalated during the pandemic when distance learning became an integral part of life of every teacher and student. Modern researchers call the educational system built on the flipped classroom model a pedagogical breakthrough, so it is important to study its impact from all sides; this explains the relevance of this paper. The purpose of this research was to study the effectiveness of flipped classroom as a distance learning component for students. The study was conducted at St. Petersburg State University and enrolled 56 students in the control and experimental groups (n = 28 per group). The researchers used the questionnaire “Studying the motives of students’ educational activities” by A.A. Rean and V.A. Yakunin and a cross-section of grades to obtain information about academic performance and a survey for feedback from students. The findings show that flipped classroom had a positive effect on academic performance and student motivation. The number of “excellent” students increased by 17.9% and the numbers of “good” and “satisfactory” students decreased by 3.6% and 14.3%, respectively. The overall motivation of the group increased from 4.8 to 5.0. At the same time, the number of students with low motivation decreased by 7.2%, with medium motivation increased by 10.7%, and with high motivation decreased by 3.4%. A feedback survey showed that the vast majority of students were satisfied with the flipped classroom. At that, 89.2% of students answered that this model is suitable for knowledge assimilation, 92.8% believe that flipped classroom arouses their research interest, and 82.1% call the flipped classroom model the most suitable for interesting learning. The respondents noted the following advantages of the flipped classroom: saving time (82.7%), the opportunity to discuss more interesting topics in class (64.2%), the absence of dependence on time and place (38.1%), and the possibility of a deeper study (53.5%). The disadvantages included the inability to independently study the material (10.7%), a large amount of material (17.8%), and technical problems (7.1%). These findings are of value for further study of the effectiveness of flipped classroom introduction into the educational system and may be used to compile statistics or as a basis for a similar experiment.