Investigating the improvement of students' performance and autonomy in problem-solving styles of learning English grammar under the flipped learning pattern

The need for performance and autonomy in problem-solving styles of learning English grammar for students in the current knowledge-based world is essential. Therefore, the present study aimed to improve it under the flipped learning pattern.

The present study is applied and quasi-experimental research. The statistical population consisted of 380 people in a purposeful and accessible manner among all students registered in the Aladdin English Short-Term Specialized Training Center between 2018 and 2020. The criterion for selecting language learners was random substitution and exclusion criteria were the pre-test and post-test questionnaires where learners did not fully answer the questions or some items. Finally, the participants were 220 people divided into two groups, control (N=110) and experimental (N=110). To collect the required data, Cassidy & Long's (1996) problem-solving questionnaire was used with 24 questions set on a three-point scale (yes, no, and I do not know) measuring six factors. Participants in the control and experimental groups first completed the questionnaire as a pre-test. Then, the instructor used the usual teaching methods in the control group, which all instructors in language centers use Flipped classroom method was implemented in the experimental group. The instructor used this method for 16 months in 10 courses (5 courses for each experimental and control group). Each course consisted of 39 sessions of 90 minutes (58.5 hours), two sessions per week, or 20 sessions of 180 minutes (60 hours), one session per week held only on fridays by one instructor. The instructor asked students some questions about the previous lesson to measure their' knowledge and solve their problems at the beginning of the new session and took a pre-test based on the content of the new session. Researchers utilized a repeated measurement test and T-test of a sample to answer the research questions.

Findings indicated the effect of this teaching method on improving the students’ performance and autonomy in solving the problem of learning English grammar under the flipped learning pattern.

The results showed the value and acceptability of the pattern along with traditional teaching methods and its impact on the performance and autonomy of problem-solving styles of learning English grammar among the students. It seemed to increase learners' confidence, too. Implementing the same research in different courses of different academic disciplines is suggested for future research.