Flipped classroom has a moderately positive effect on college students' academic performance (SMD = 0.66)¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r2 · q3 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2021 · checked against its sources 2026-10-31 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i2 Across 20 experimental studies, flipped classroom teaching produced a moderate positive combined effect on college students' academic performance. → Zhang 2021

Evidence¶

Zhang 2021¶

Zhang, Q., Cheung, E.S.T., & Cheung, C.S.T. (2021). The impact of flipped classroom on college students’ academic performance: A meta-analysis based on 20 experimental studies. Science Insights Education Frontiers, 8(2):1059-1080. https://doi.org/10.15354/sief.21.re019

q3 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r2

Meta-analysis of 20 experimental/quasi-experimental studies (28 datasets) of flipped classroom in higher education, analyzed with a random-effects model in CMA3.0. The printed effect size is SMD = 0.66, which the authors classify as a moderate effect by Cohen's criteria.

"According to Table 1, the combined effect size SMD of the included study was 0.66. According to Cohen’s statistical theory of effect size, the study produced a moderate effect."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Flipped classroom effects differ by subject type, favoring science (SMD = 0.75) and liberal arts (SMD = 0.72) over engineering (SMD = 0.34) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Flipped classroom shows significant positive effects across class sizes, with the largest reported effect for medium-sized classes — related
• Flipped classroom effects do not differ significantly between theoretical and practical knowledge, though practical knowledge shows a slightly larger effect — related
• In a low-certainty meta-analysis of 44 studies with very high heterogeneity (I² = 98%), undergraduate health professional students in flipped classes score higher than those in traditional classes (SMD = 0.57) — related
• The academic performance advantage of flipped classrooms persists when studies with imputed data are excluded (SMD = 0.54), at low certainty — related
• A blended/hybrid flipped calculus course with an FC Orientation module improved student learning performance and perceptions significantly over the traditional lecture format — related
• Across 28 datasets, the pooled effect of flipped learning on success is positive and statistically significant, with 20 of 28 individual datasets significant — related
• Flipped classroom significantly improves practical exam scores over lecture-based learning (pooled SMD 0.50) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Flipped classroom significantly improves theoretical exam scores over lecture-based learning in Chinese undergraduate preventive medicine courses (pooled SMD 0.99) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Flipped classrooms are associated with improved case analysis/problem-solving ability in medical education (pooled SMD = 1.50), though statistical significance was not retained in all leave-one-out analyses — related
• Flipped classrooms are associated with higher learner satisfaction in medical education (pooled SMD = 0.69), with residents showing larger improvement than undergraduates (SMD 1.69 vs 0.37) — related
• Flipped classrooms are associated with improved procedural/technical skills in medical education (pooled SMD = 1.80), with larger effects among residents and in theoretical-course settings — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Flipped classrooms are associated with higher theoretical knowledge scores than lecture-based teaching in medical education (pooled SMD = 1.26), with very high heterogeneity — a narrower finding that bears on this claim