The flipped classroom: A means to reduce cheating?

The flipped classroom is not a new concept in teaching nor is it hard to obtain successful stories of professors' experiences with this type of pedagogy. The account presented here of a junior level fluid mechanics course in a mechanical engineering department deviates from the traditional by focusing on an outcome of the flipped classroom that may have previously been overlooked: the discouragement of cheating. This paper discusses the relationship between the method of course material delivery and the consequential impact on overall student performance with an emphasis on cheating. Specifically, the questions addressed in this research are: In a time of rampant academic misconduct, does the flipped classroom structure inhibit students' ability to cheat? Does increasing active learning within the format of the flipped classroom further increase the students' accountability for the course material? Test scores collected in the flipped classroom and a more traditional lecture format are presented for comparison. Additionally, student surveys focused on academic misconduct under different delivery methods are summarized and the outcomes of student perception of the inverted delivery method presented. Suggestions to faculty seeking to try this instructional method are also given to help smooth the transition from traditional methods.