FLIPPING A CORE CURRICULUM

The undergraduate core curriculum presented at the University of the Free State, UFS101, is one of the first undergraduate core curriculum modules in South Africa that involves all first-year students across all faculties in a common intellectual experience. The purpose of this module is to equip students with the skills necessary to understand and engage with complex human problems from multiple perspectives by providing them with the opportunity to develop critical thinking. Critical thinking, for the purposes of this module, is defined as the process of actively and skillfully conceptualising, applying, analysing, and evaluating information [1]. UFS101 uses a blended learning approach as its educational perspective. Presenting this module is exceptionally challenging within the context of large class teaching. UFS101 was piloted in 2011 with 200 students, and by 2013 the number had increased to 4 000. In 2014 the implementation team expect 6 000 students to register for UFS101 on the main campus. To manage the increase in student numbers the implementation of the core curriculum has to be restructured in order to ensure greater student engagement. The flipped classroom approach has been making headlines in the education community and has led to success at several institutions around the world. The aim of this article is to share the lessons learned in presenting lectures to a cohort of 4 000 students and how, through action research, the core curriculum will be "flipped" to serve 6 000 students in 2014.