The Effects of Flipped Classroom on Students' Academic Performance Based on a Comparison of Merrill's Model with Conventional Teaching Methods

This research aims to compare the effects of the flipped learning method based on Merrill's model with the conventional teaching methods on the academic performance of fifth-grade students in mathematics education. The statistical population of the research is all the fifth-grade students of the primary school in Islamshahr, Tehran, during the academic year 2018-2019. The data were through convenient sampling from students. The research method is quasi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design. Pham and Taylor's standard academic performance questionnaire (1999) was used as a measurement tool. The face validity of the tool was confirmed by experts in educational sciences and specialized teachers of mathematics, and its impact score was reported as 2.3, and the reliability of 0.72 was obtained using Cronbach's alpha. The data were analyzed using one-way ANCOVA and paired t-tests. The results showed that the flipped method designed based on Merrill's educational model had a greater impact on students' academic performance than its reported results in the literature. The implemented flipped method also affected students’ academic performance greater than the general conventional methods. In general, the findings indicate that teaching in the flipped method according to Merrill's design has a greater impact on the academic performance of students in mathematics than its traditional versions as well as the regular lecturing methods of teaching. It is argued that teachers and educational designers can enhance the effects of Merrill's model by integrating it into the flipped method classrooms