Flipping the Graduate Nursing Classroom: An Integrative Review

Background:This integrative review examined whether academic performance and student satisfaction increased in graduate nursing students when using a flipped classroom (FC) modality compared with traditional classroom methods. The FC model is an instructional design in which students perform traditional learning activities at home via an online platform in preparation for performing higher order in-class activities. This model has been proven efficacious in many disciplines but has been studied only recently in graduate nursing education. Method: A literature search identified five articles. Articles were evaluated, and themes were identified. Results: Articles were analyzed for rigor using standards outlined by Shavelson and Towne. No one operational definition of an FC was identified in graduate nursing education. Most studies reported positive trends in student performance; however, student and faculty satisfaction varied. Conclusion: Current evidence on FC in graduate-level nursing education demonstrates an overall lack of rigor. The FC model has been inconsistently operationalized in graduate-level nursing, prohibiting comparison among studies. This limits the ability of evidence-based experts to reproduce studies.