El decreto 951 del 24 de mayo del 2001

Cognitivist and constructivist principles have several immediate implications for the design of classroom instruction. Ertmer and Newby (2013) summarise each of these principles in four basic assumptions and outline the possible applications of those assumptions in instruction (see Table 2.1).

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Table 2.1 Applications of Cognitive and Constructivist Assumptions in Instruction

Paradigm Basic Assumptions Instructional Design Applications

Cognitivism

 The learner is an active participant in the learning process

 Hierarchical analysis is utilised to establish and represent pre- existing relationships

 The focus is on the facilitation of information processing through structuring, organising and sequencing

 The learning environment should inspire the learner to establish linkages between current and previously acquired knowledge

 The learner is in control of his/her learning through self- planning, monitoring, etc.

 The learner is trained to use cognitive task analysis techniques

 The learner is trained to use cognitive strategies such as outlining, summarising, synthesising, etc.

 The learning environment recalls already acquired skills, makes use of appropriate examples, etc.

Constructivism

 The environment in which to learn and apply skills is significant

 The learner is in control of learning and is capable of manipulating knowledge

 Information is to be offered in numerous ways

 Go beyond the specified information through the use of problem-solving skills

 Learning must occur in meaningful contexts

 The learner should use what s/he has learned actively

 Content is to be revisited in different settings and for a variety of purposes

 Present problems in several alternative ways, develop learner’s pattern recognition abilities

The flipped classroom structure reflects the abovementioned principles in several aspects. Firstly, learners in a flipped classroom are expected to participate actively in the learning process. They engage in activities which require them to use both lower- and higher-order thinking skills (Hettler, 2015). Theintroductory knowledge acquisition phase which occurs prior to class involves lower-order thinking skills such as remembering and understanding, while more advanced in-class active learning tasks involve higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, evaluation and creation. Secondly, the flipped classroom design encourages learners to be

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responsible for their own learning through the use of multiple cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies such as note-taking, organising, summarising, paraphrasing, concept mapping, self- monitoring and revising. The use of these strategies helps learners to comprehend and accommodate the new information effectively and, consequently, to apply it successfully in new contexts. Thirdly, although instruction in the flipped classroom is pre-designed, the activities still require learners to use their pre-existing knowledge to evaluate and update it and to construct new knowledge as they collaborate with each other during the three lesson phases to achieve shared goals. The instructor’s role in this classroom design is to guide learners in this process through training and modelling (Ertmer & Newby, 2013).

As a type of blended learning environment, the flipped classroom utilises technologies which support both cognitivist and constructivist learning principles. For instance, several modalities, including recorded presentations, videos and online reading materials, are utilised to present information to learners (Graham, 2006; Gruba & Hinkelman, 2012). This gives them an opportunity to use their cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies to comprehend, organise and store the information they receive and retrieve it later. The flexible access to learning materials and online tasks enables learners to exercise agency over their learning (Cottrell & Robison, 2003; Graham, 2006; Osguthorpe & Graham, 2003), which helps them to manage their working memory better and, consequently, reduces the cognitive load (Clark, Nguyen & Sweller as cited in Abeyskera & Dawson, 2015). Moreover, technology is employed in the flipped classroom to engage learners in several authentic and meaningful offline and online activities (Smelser, 2002). For instance, technology-mediated synchronous and asynchronous communication tools such as emails, messaging applications and learning management systems (LMS) facilitate student- teacher and student-student communication, and collaboration. These tools enable information

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exchange to ask questions, share insights and clarify ambiguities, which enhances the learning process.

The cognitivist and constructivist theoretical principles and their corresponding pedagogical implications discussed above by no means imply that a unique flipped classroom design already exists. Rather, the discussion indicates that educators need to envisage a particular design while taking those principles and implications for pedagogies and the specificities of their local educational contexts into consideration.

2.4 Summary

According to Al-Issa and Al-Bulushi (2012) and Al-Mahrooqi and Denman (2015), traditional approaches still dominate EFL teaching practices in Omani educational institutions. Traditional instructional approaches in writing courses result in students’ lack of interest and disengagement (Al-Mahrooqi & Denman, 2015), which impacts negatively on their academic progress (Reeve, 2012). The current practice-based study was conducted to address this problem and to contribute to our understanding of effective EFL teaching practices in this setting and knowledge about a vital aspect of student learning, i.e. engagement. Jamaludin and Osman (2014) advocate flipped teaching as an instructional model which makes English language teaching and learning more active, student-centred and engaging. Furthermore, Lane-Kelso (2014; 2015) argues that further research is required to explore the way the flipped instructional method supports teaching and learning in the Omani context, illustrating the need for and importance of this study.

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The literature review established the conceptual framework of the research and focused on the two central concepts in the study, i.e. student engagement and flipped instruction. The next chapter will clarify the research design and methodology.

51 Chapter Three

Methodology

3.1 Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the research design and methodology and to provide an overview of the flipped writing class on which the study focuses. Firstly, the chapter reviews the main research paradigms identified in the literature and explains the rationale for the choice of mixed methodology in the current study based on the research problem, purpose and questions. Secondly, the chapter outlines the pilot test and its implications for the main study. Then, it clarifies the recruitment and selection of participants and data collection and analysis procedures followed in the main study. The chapter also provides a description of the procedures adopted in the flipped academic writing course on which the study is based and concludes with a discussion of the ethical issues the research raised along with the measures taken to overcome them.