Comparison of knowledge acquisition and retention following traditional didactic vs. flipped classroom education utilizing a standardized national curriculum: a randomized controlled trial

Objective: Measure the effectiveness of and preference for a standardized, national curriculum utilizing flipped classrooms (FC) in neonatal-perinatal medicine (NPM) fellowships. Study design: Multicentered equivalence, cluster randomized controlled trial of NPM fellowship programs randomized to receive standardized physiology education as in-class lectures (traditional didactic, TD arm) or as pre-class online videos followed by in-class discussions (FC arm). Four multiple-choice question quizzes and three surveys were administered to measure knowledge acquisition, retention, and educational preferences. Results: 530 fellows from 61 NPM fellowships participated. Quiz performance was comparable between groups at all time points (p = NS, TD vs FC at 4 time points). Post intervention, more fellows in both groups preferred group discussions (pre/post FC 42% vs. 58%, P = 0.002; pre/post TD 43% vs. 60%, P = < 0.001). FC fellows were more likely to rate classroom effectiveness positively (FC/TD, 70% vs. 36%, P < 0.001). Conclusions: FCs promote knowledge acquisition and retention equivalent to TD and FC modalities are preferred by fellows.