Flipped-classroom learning has been shown to improve students' learning experience and performance in tertiary education. However, few studies have been done in Asia where the learning culture is vastly different from the West. Here, we studied the effect of flipped-classroom learning with the use of interactive videos on the academic performance of a group of first year undergraduate physics students in Hong Kong. By employing a conceptbased pre-test and post-test, normalized gains of 35% and 13% were obtained for the flipped and control class, respectively. A very strong correlation (r = 0.72, p <.001) was shown between the post-test score and the exam results of the flipped class, while the control class showed a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.37, p =.013). Our results showed that the conceptual knowledge of students taught in flipped-classroom improved significantly more than the students taught traditionally, and that their understanding in conceptual knowledge served as a stronger indicator of their exam performance. The interactive videos were well-received and were shown to be one of the most valued components by the students. Copyright © 2019 SPIE.

In Hong Kong, student interest and achievement in science have been declining in recent years. We thus aim to seek ways to improve our science education. This paper reports an attempt of using the flipped classroom approach together with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to deliver a science unit ("electrical conductors and insulators"). This exploratory study was divided into two stages. In Stage 1, the teacher-researcher designed the science lessons using the NGSS and prepared flipped learning materials (e.g., pre-class videos, online exercises, class activities). In Stage 2, these lessons were implemented in a Hong Kong secondary school, involving a total of 32 ninth-graders from two classes. At the end of this study, two focus group interviews (five students each) were conducted to understand student perceptions of flipped science learning. Teacher reflections of the implementation were also collected and analyzed to reveal his experiences of flipping with the NGSS. Overall, the findings suggest that the students perceived flipped science learning positively because of the ability of self-paced learning, better class preparation, and more in-class interactions. From the teacher's point of view, however, the science curriculum in Hong Kong and the NGSS are different in terms of their focus and content. Time constraint and inadequate laboratory equipment in school also hindered the implementation of the NGSS in Hong Kong. We recommend further research be conducted to investigate how to adopt the NGSS in other topics of Hong Kong science education and examine its effects on student interest and achievement in the long run. Copyright © 2018 Copyright is held by the owner/author(s).