An Exploration of the Flipped Learning Academy to Cultivate Instructor Use of Flipped Learning

Flipped learning is a well-supported teaching approach in higher education, with extensive research supporting its value in promoting student engagement and improving academic performance. However, far less research has considered faculty perspectives on using flipped learning, and only three found studies have featured professional development interventions to cultivate flipped learning among instructors, though no research has examined instructor experiences in these interventions. To fill this gap, we developed, implemented, and studied participants’ experiences in the Flipped Learning Academy (FLA), a 4-month, cohort-based, university-sponsored professional development program for faculty to learn about flipped learning. We explored participants’ experiences in the FLA and their likelihood of using flipped learning in the future. We found that participants encountered positive experiences in a communal learning process. They reported developing their pedagogies and skills, as well as witnessing student learning benefits in flipped classrooms. Lastly, they described clear intentions to use flipped learning in the future due to their positive experiences in the FLA. We provide study implications for university leaders in response to our findings.