ÉTUDE COMPARATIVE DES PERFORMANCES ACADÉMIQUES D’ÉTUDIANTS EXPOSÉS À UNE CLASSE INVERSÉE OU TRADITIONNELLE: MÉTHODOLOGIE ET RÉSULTATS PRÉLIMINAIRES

The flipped classroom has been steadily gaining in popularity in recent years, and studies show that students generally achieve better academic results when exposed to a flipped classroom compared to a traditional classroom. However, one aspect that hasn't really been taken into account until now concerns the time students devote to their learning. Indeed, some studies raise the possibility that the better academic performance of students exposed to a flipped classroom is the consequence of an increased workload, and not that of the pedagogical strategy itself. In order to provide the scientific literature with evidence on this question, a study was carried out in a compulsory course in the mechanical engineering program at École de technologie supérieure. The course was simultaneously offered to two distinct groups, keeping as many elements as possible, such as assessments, teaching materials and teaching staff, identical. In fact, the only difference between the two groups was the pedagogical strategy employed during the theory sessions, i.e. a flipped classroom for one group and a traditional classroom for the other. Throughout the semester, data were collected, including teacher assessments and self-reported weekly study time. A preliminary analysis of the results indicates that students' academic performance is similar between the two classes, but that a difference emerges in terms of time spent studying. Indeed, students with a high cumulative grade point average devoted less time to their learning in the flipped classroom, in contrast to students with a low cumulative grade point average. In terms of grades and time spent studying, students with a high cumulative grade point average were more effective in the inverted classroom, while those with a low cumulative grade point average were more effective in the traditional classroom.