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In Fall 2020, we conducted CSE 260 (Discrete Mathematics) as a flipped class, where students were expected to watch videos before class so that they could use class time to work together to solve problems. This class covers foundational mathematics for computer science and computer engineering students. Students need a lot of practice to master the methods and concepts. Unfortunately, these problems do not provide an instant feedback mechanism similar to programming projects. A flipped class where students work together in a group, along with regular assistance by the instructional team, provides such a mechanism. We surveyed students to gather their impressions on the course. Most students liked the flipped class structure and generally preferred it to a traditional lecture format. Furthermore, students reported it helped them develop friendships, something difficult to achieve in the Covid-era.
To access a PDF of the "Benefits of Teaching a Large Course Using a Flipped Zoom Classroom" poster, click here.Description of the Poster 
CSE 260 Flipped Class (Lessons Learned) 
Sandeep Kulkarni and Eric Torng 
 CSE 260: Discrete Mathematics

Topics Covered: 


Propositional and predicate logic 
Set Theory 
Elementary Number theory and its applications to cryptography 


Mathematical Induction 
Counting and probability 
Relations 


Role in Curriculum 


Foundational mathematics for computer science  

Analog to calculus (continuous mathematics) for engineering and natural sciences 
Why Flipped Class 

Students need lots of practice to master the methods and concepts 
Discrete math problems do not provide instant feedback to students if they do something wrong (unlike some programming errors such as a program failing to compile), so doing problems in class in groups helps students get quick feedback on any mistakes 
For Fall 2020, student groups not only improved learning, they also created a sense of community for students who participated regularly. 


80% of students responding to an end of semester survey reported they developed friendships through the homework groups 

 Flipped Class Design 

Class enrollment roughly 200 (10-20% were outside the US, several in Asia) 
Instructional Team 


2 faculty, 6 TAs/ULAs 


Online videos covered the core concepts 


Each video had an associated homework assignment that would be worked on in class by student groups 
Each video had an associated online quiz that every student was required to complete before working on the associated homework in class in groups 


Homework group composition 


20 groups, approximately 10 students per group 
Group creation started about a month before the first class 
Each student was asked to fill out a survey that asked two main things 


Do you request specific group partners? 


15% of students made such requests 


What is your self-perceived math background and ability to lead a group discussion? 
60% of students filled out the survey 


Groups were created based on these responses (group partner requests and balancing self-perceived ability) 
Groups did not change 


Homework group technical support 


Groups had a shared Google drive space for working on assignments 
Groups had predefined Zoom breakout rooms  


Some issues due to Zoom max of 200 participants for predefined breakout rooms 

First Week Activities 

The first week was focused on group work logistics and the daily structure 


We discussed group roles and group dynamics 
We had students practice their group collaboration on ungraded simple math exercises  


We had several technical issues the first week including having to move roughly 80 students rather than the anticipated 20 students to their predefined Zoom breakout rooms 

Daily Structure 

At the end of every class, each group submitted a survey to identify (1) difficulties encountered, (2) their current status in solving the homework problems, (3) and their assessment of the group collaboration. 


Before the next class, we prepared a few slides summarizing the responses in all three dimensions along with 2-3 quoted comments that best captured the current student sentiment. 
At the start of the next class, we spent roughly 20 minutes covering those slides. 
Afterwards, groups began their collaborative work in their assigned breakout rooms 
The instructional team moved through the groups to help as needed for both content and to enforce good group dynamics. 
The work done in class was submitted as (lightly graded) homework to ensure that it was completed 

Common Difficulties 

Internet issues 
Some students not watching the videos before class 
Freeloaders: some students not participating on a regular basis but getting the same homework grade leads to resentment from those that do participate. 
Groups were not perfectly synchronized; leading groups might be 2-3 assignments ahead of trailing groups. 

Lessons Learned 

# instructional staff needs to be about 1/3 # of groups 


This implies we can have at most ~20 groups with current instructional staff size 


Need better mechanisms to address freeloaders 


Perhaps more frequent individual assessments to ensure all students are participating and learning 


Each class/week must have specific deliverables to ensure group synchronization 
Stricter enforcement of requirements to watch videos before class 

 Survey 

Administered by Qualtrics 
Roughly 1/3 of students (65) responded 

Selected Comments 

I think the flipped model is much more effective when it has to be online and potentially I think it could work when in person classes are able to be taught again. I think some students learn a bit differently than others so I think having the option of flipped classes (maybe every other semester) could be beneficial to some and hindering to others.  


I feel like there would be more participation if the flipped class happened in person rather than zoom. People would likely hold themselves more accountable.  
I think the reason group work helped me learn was because it was over zoom. This way everyone is able to see a screen and hear each other. If it had been an in-person flipped class it would have been more difficult to communicate with such a large group, so groups would have to be smaller. The people sitting furthest away from wherever the work is being done would not participate. I think I learned the most when I was doing problems as a group.  
Flipped classroom in person is very nice.  For example CMSE 201, 202 and STT 180 all do very nice jobs of balancing the in class work and the pout of class lecture.  Also, having TA's walking around to help is very nice.  

 Information from Graphs 
Most students preferred flipped class 
There was a preference towards flipped in-person class 
Most students reported that they learnt a great deal from their peers 
49% students preferred flipped class, 5% preferred any option, Remaining students were ok with either.