Flipped classrooms have become widely adopted in educational settings (e.g., in higher education) worldwide. However, there is a need for more precise understanding of the ingredients for student satisfaction in a flipped setting. The aim of this paper was to investigate university students' experiences of the factors that create a successful flipped course. Ten measures were used to investigate the hypothesized factors affecting satisfaction, which were chosen based on the results from previous flipped classroom studies and higher educational research. These measures were grouped into three dimensions: (1) pedagogical (five measures), (2) social (three measures), and (3) technological (two measures). Exploratory factor analysis was run to analyze the adequacy of the instruments. Results revealed that the factor structure was as expected and that the instruments measuring all ten factors of teaching and learning in a flipped classroom were adequate. Furthermore, confirmatory factor analysis was used to formally operationalize the hypothesized latent constructs, and to build a structural equation model for predicting the student satisfaction of a flipped classroom. In the end, seven factors were found to predict student satisfaction with flipped courses. The highest predictor was guidance from the dimension of pedagogy, and the second-best predictor was experienced teaching for understanding. The results, limitations, and conclusion are discussed in terms of key issues and the development of a flipped classroom pedagogical design for higher education.

The use of information and communication technology (ICT) is important in today’s higher education. ICT has a central role in the skill set students are expected to master during their studies. The fast development of technology poses both possibilities and challenges for teachers. This paper is part of a larger project aimed at implementing the flipped classroom (FC) model and supporting ICT integration in higher education. In this project, teachers receive systematic support for implementing the FC model. The aim of this paper is to investigate how students assess their teachers’ knowledge of pedagogy, content and technology before and after a course using the FC model. In total, 317 students responded to the pre-post-test surveys. The data were analyzed as a single group and separately for students in different year groups. Results indicate that there are statistically significant differences between the results of the pre- and post-tests. Students assess their teachers content-specific pedagogical skills and technological pedagogical skills in teaching their subject higher after the FC courses. Students also perceived their teachers as having more positive attitudes to using technology in teaching. It was found that the difference was more apparent in second-year and higher students. Students perceived FC positively in general.

Finnish permanent residents are covered by social security insurance administered by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. The procedure of insurance is initiated with medical certificate written by the treating doctor. Thus, the doctor must have certificate writing skills accompanied with the knowledge of the content and goals for insurance. Quality certificates are important part of doctors’ professional skills worldwide and most effective teaching methods for learning these should be investigated.

The ray tracing method is widely used in teaching geometrical optics at the upper secondary and university levels. However, using simple and straightforward examples may lead to a situation in which students use the model of ray tracing too narrowly. Previous studies show that students seem to use the ray tracing method too concretely instead of as a conceptual model. This suggests that introductory physics students need to understand the nature of the ray model more profoundly. In this paper, we show how a virtual ray tracing model can be used as a tool for image formation in more complex and unconventional cases. We believe that this tool has potential in helping students to better appreciate the nature of the ray model.

This study explores first-year university students‟ understanding of magnetic field and force. Students‟ conceptions were investigated by means of a written test (N=38), and a sample of students (N=7) participated in a semi-structured interview. According to our findings, students do not produce coherent explanations for magnetic field and force. Furthermore, understanding the use and the basis of the specific Right-Hand Rules for the magnetic field and force is challenging for students since they do not possess a proper physical foundation for those rules. Typically, the students tend to explain the magnetic phenomena by using an incorrect analogy related to electrical phenomena. In addition, the reasoning behind the Right-Hand Rules in magnetostatics is remarkably vague. The study introduced in this article provides an empirical context for developing instruction in magnetostatics in the introductory university course in electromagnetics that will be reported in Part 2.

In this study the model of Educational Reconstruction was used to develop a teaching sequence in university magnetostatics to help students to learn the concepts of magnetic field and force. A developed teaching sequence with novel multi-step tasks was implemented and student learning was monitored. The results indicate that students‟ learning results were better after implementation of the teaching sequence and some typical misconceptions could be avoided. In addition, the students learned to use vector relations as a powerful method in support of their thinking and in problem-solving in magnetostatics. It seems that Educational Reconstruction is a functional method for making use of recognized learning difficulties, the physical content and the aims of the instruction in developing effective teaching in physics. This article is the second part of a study whose empirical background is reported in Part 1.

Building up a comprehension of electrostatics and especially Gauss's law depends on understanding the concept of an electric field. Previous studies demonstrate several learning problems that occur in relation to electrostatics, and the concept of an electric field is one of them. By eliciting information about a student's thinking, it is possible to address the common denominators that form the main obstacles to learning the scientific content of electrostatics. Physics theory at university level is traditionally presented in an abstract and compact form as a result of the evolution of its theory. In this study we approach the problems involved in the teaching and learning of electrostatics by applying the method of educational reconstruction in order to devise more effective teaching. In doing so, we hope to improve students' performance in their adoption of the electrostatics content aimed at in the course.