Nudging Students to Succeed in a Flipped Format Gateway Biology Course

Abstract

The intensive nature of gateway biology courses often results in poor student performance. This issue can be resolved with the usage of the flipped classroom method. Our application of this model to a human anatomy and physiology course increased the retention and passing rates. However, the beneficial effects of flipping a classroom can be substantially weakened due to student disposition. To target this, we used the flipped classroom model in conjunction with a series of nudges in the form of self-monitoring logs and reminder notifications. Students were responsible for tracking their attendance, punctuality, preparedness, and grades via a self-monitoring log that they had to complete each week. Reminder notifications were sent to students via text or email messages. While the flipped classroom method accompanied by both self-monitoring logs and reminder techniques can be a powerful learning model leading to higher student success rates, we found that consistent nudging via text messages appears to be pivotal in ensuring student success.