Experiences of flipping an online classroom: An appraisal using Community of Inquiry Framework

Over the past couple of decades, there have been rapid advancements in the field of technology which transformed pedagogical strategies in higher education. Online education with an emphasis on technology augmented learning strategies and an increasing stress for cost effectiveness have mounted the pressure on educators. This is exacerbated by the demand for educators to come up with innovative instructional methods which are flexible, user-friendly, empowering and student-centred. Collaboration and sharing learning-teaching practices would be the most sensible response to these demands. This paper shares and explores the experiences of flipping an online classroom with a large cohort of externally enrolled Undergraduate Nursing and Midwifery students in a regional Australian university. The design, implementation, and outcome of this active learning strategy are examined using the theoretical framework, Community of Inquiry by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer [1]. The students’ accountability to engage in the task, in a student-centred model of pedagogical strategy which reinforced higher order thinking was the key to this successfully flipped task.