In flipped learning, students initiate studies before class using materials such as videos and readings. The class time is dedicated to interactive activities, discussions, and problem-solving. By reversing the traditional learning process, flipped classrooms bring many benefits to the students involved, including better concept understanding and retention, active learning and engagement, and encouragement of self-learning and responsibility. However, students may face challenges that prevent them from preparing effectively before class.

Students may experience a lack of motivation by not seeing value in studying before class and skimming passively through content without deep understanding. Students may not maintain the self-discipline needed to study effectively on their own. Complex materials can make students give up or misunderstand key concepts. A poor time management can make students struggle to balance pre-class work with competing priorities. Aiming to guarantee students’ preparation, professors can also request pre-class activities. However, it requires students to put in extra effort, bringing pressure and frustration instead of motivation.

When students miss the foundational knowledge needed for in-class activities, it can create several negative impacts. There can be low engagement since unprepared students feel lost and do not participate. The class progress can be compromised, since the professor may need to re-explain topics instead of focusing on application, reducing time for deep learning. Finally, there is a risk of failure of the flipped model, when the class resembles a traditional lecture, defeating the purpose. It is then important to study flipped learning approaches to overcome the difficulties of students’ preparation while keeping the benefits of meaningful in-class activities.

This paper presents a flipped classroom designed for an Engineering school. Initially, we provided optional pre-class work to encourage students to study materials beforehand. We added a brief in-class explanation to highlight key concepts and clarify doubts. We divided the active learning activities into two parts following Bloom’s taxonomy, starting with remembering and understanding and moving to applying, analyzing, and creating. In the first part, we proposed a guided practice for direct learning by recalling content and developing a clear understanding. In the second part, we actively used the learned concepts in applications, requiring deeper analysis and creative problem-solving. In this stage, students were invited to work in a lab to apply what they learned to new problems, to compare and critique ideas and approaches, and to propose solutions.

The paper also shows initial results based on the feedback from students after experiencing the entire course with the structured flipped classroom. Students enjoyed the course organization, the initial brief lecture, the in-class focus on activities, the collaborative aspect of the activities, and the grading criteria. Students highlighted the quality of pre-class materials, the importance of the guided practices to their comprehension and to their prime for labs, and the relevance of the labs in bringing theory into analytical practices. By sharing our findings and insights with the flipped learning experience, we intend to influence and inspire other educators in the ongoing refinement of their teaching strategies.

Keywords: Flipped Learning, Higher Education, Learning Engagement.