Abstract
BACKGROUND: Active participation in group assignments is an invaluable way to realize collaborative learning; however, there are several challenges attributed to the traditional way of doing group assignments. This study explores the synergistic effects of flipped classrooms and a wiki-authoring group activity on students' learning outcomes and the quality and quantity of their group-work. METHODS: In this action research, 205 master students of a medical school were involved in a course blended with flipped classrooms. While learning from online and in-class activities, students did their group assignment on an educational wiki (n = 85) or in a conventional way (n = 120). Assessment in this study was done in both formative and summative ways. Formative assessment included quizzes at the beginning of each class and students' self-assessment (focused on their satisfaction with different educational activities of the course, using an 11-item validated satisfaction questionnaire). The summative assessment incorporated assessment of the quantity and quality of students' participation in doing group assignments(by a five-item checklist); quizzes at the end of each class; the final exam; assessment of students' competency in transferring their learning into creating an outline for a hypothetical article and writing topic sentences. Using SPSS 21.0 and employing independent samples t or Mann -Whitney U tests, the educational impacts of the course were compared in two groups. RESULTS: Students in the wiki-group were more satisfied with the course. Both quantity and quality of the group assignment among students in the wiki group outweighed those among the students in the non-wiki group. Univariate linear regression analysis of the models between students' satisfaction with flipped classrooms and the quality of their participation in doing their group as well as their attitude towards the group assignment showed that the changes in the quality of the wiki students' group assignment and their attitude were dependent on the changes of their satisfaction with flipped classrooms. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study confirm that a wiki-authoring group assignment is effective in achieving student learning outcomes and integrating a wiki with flipped classrooms increases wiki accomplishment. Collaborating on a wiki activity improves both quality and quantity of group assignments among students.