The Effects of Flipped Classroom in Higher Education on Learning Outcomes and the Heterogeneity by Group Member Characteristics

While peer effects in higher education, particularly through random roommate assignments, have been extensively studied, research on in-class peer effects, especially in group work settings, remains limited. Simultaneously, flipped classrooms are gaining increasing attention in higher education as a popular form of active learning, where students watch lecture videos before class and engage in group discussions or assignments during class. This study aims to estimate the heterogeneous impact of flipped classrooms on college students' learning outcomes by examining how these effects vary according to the characteristics of group members (i.e., math and English placement test scores, learning motivation, and attitude toward group learning). This study uses random assignment of first-year college students to sections of an introductory economics course and random assignment of group members within the flipped classroom (totaling n=3749), to examine the impact of the flipped classroom teaching method. The study finds that the presence of highly motivated group members significantly improves students' learning outcomes. The results provide suggestive evidence that peer characteristics could positively influence learning outcomes in in-class activities within flipped classrooms.