Students' perceptions of a flipped classroom approach to paramedic theory

INTRODUCTION: The flipped classroom is a pedagogical model in which the typical lecture and homework/self-study elements of a course are reversed or ‗flipped‘. The flipped model differs from distance and online learning, since students still have face-to-face contact with tutors. Studies have shown that the flipped classroom approach can be effective with clinical skills learning by paramedics, but it is not clear whether anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology can effectively be taught using a flipped approach. METHODS: A flipped classroom approach was taken for a three-hour theory session on the Diploma of Higher Education in Paramedic Practice that would usually have been taught by traditional lecture. Participants, 20 student paramedics already employed by the Ambulance Service as Emergency Care Assistants, completed a two-part questionnaire after the session. Part one comprised 22 Likert style questions, with part two allowing qualitative data with five open ended questions. RESULTS: All students preferred the traditional lecture over a flipped approach. Time constraints and preparation were seen as major disadvantages of the flipped classroom, as was being unable to ask questions in real time. Flexibility was seen to be an advantage of online lectures, and a blended/combination approach of online resources and traditional lecture was seen as valuable. CONCLUSION: The demographic of students may have had an impact upon the results of the study and the lack of popularity of the flipped approach. Employed students have the added pressure of full-time work, and further research is needed into whether different methods should be employed when choosing how to educate employed paramedic students versus those who enter via the undergraduate route and study full time.