Flipped classroom methodology to improve English written comprehension in Early Childhood Education students

Abstract

Flipped classroom is a methodology which refers to the teaching process that reverses the way in which the contents of a subject are worked on. Several studies have shown that the flipped classroom methodology increases student participation and interaction with teachers. In this study, we analysed the degree of improvement in students’ English written comprehension after taking a subject in English for a semester using the flipped classroom methodology. A quantitative study was conducted using a written test both at the beginning (pre) and end (post) of the semester to find differences in the results obtained in both tests through direct observation. The study was conducted at a Spanish public university with students of the Early Childhood Education Degree during the last academic year. For the selection of the instrument, checking its external validity relationship, five experts conducted the validation process providing a quantitative assessment on a Likert scale following Lawshe’s content validity relationship model. Results showed a significant improvement in their written comprehension after the data was analysed using the JASP statistical programme. We could observe that the difference in the means obtained in each part of the test and in the overall standing is close to or exceeds the point difference.