Flipping Large Classes on a Shoestring Budget

Abstract

Flipped learning, in which students watch video lessons outside the class time and the instructor uses the class time for instilling of knowledge through various active learning techniques, is often put forth as a more effective mode of instruction. While a number of educators in higher education have replaced their traditional lecture-based offerings with flipped classes, it is still debatable whether flipping can be scaled up to large core classes. In this paper, experiences are recounted from two consecutive flipped offerings of a junior-level signal processing class at Rutgers with an average enrollment of 122 students. These experiences suggest that, with some improvisations, large classes can be successfully flipped with minimal time, cost, and infrastructure overhead.