Implementation of flipped classroom pedagogy to enhance students' performance and retention of electron configuration concepts

Abstract Electron configuration is a fundamental topic in chemistry education at the senior high school level such that failure to understand the basic concepts will gravely affect students’ comprehension of several other chemistry topics as they progress. This study investigated the implementation of flipped classroom pedagogy to enhance students' academic performance and retention of electron configuration concepts in a senior high school setting. The study, conducted at a selected Senior High Technical School in Ghana, addressed the prevalent issue of students' inadequate conceptual understanding resulting in low performance and retention of electron configuration concepts. Utilizing a single group, a classroom action research design guided this study. The intervention involved a four-week implementation of the flipped classroom learning approach. The instrument used was test, which was developed in a form of pre- intervention test, post-intervention test and delayed post-intervention test. Participants were selected by purposive sampling, by engaging students in an intact class with the challenge of understanding electron configuration. The findings revealed a significant enhancement in students' academic performance in electron configuration due to application of the flipped classroom pedagogy. The study further found that the magnitude of the effect the flipped classroom pedagogy had on the students’ performance was large. The study also found that the flipped classroom pedagogy was effective in retaining electron configuration concepts among the students. Consequently, the study concludes that flipped classroom learning is a valuable pedagogical tool for improving students' academic performance and retention of electron configuration concepts in chemistry education. The study recommends the integration of flipped classroom methodology by chemistry teachers in teaching electron configuration and other chemistry topics in the selected school.