Analysis of competence acquisition in a flipped classroom approach

Higher Education Institutions are interested in describing qualifications in terms of competences and abilities that prepare graduates best for their future professional and social life. This study aims to analyze students' acquisition of competences, on one hand, inside the classroom using a flipped learning approach, on the other hand, outside the classroom through students' self-study using information and communication technology resources such as teaching videos, virtual labs, simulations, or game-based learning. The study also wants to shed light on the relationship between the achieved competences and the learning outcomes. The analysis was based on the data collected from a core subject in the first year of the Computer Engineering and Information Systems degree courses. The answers to an online survey (n=285) were examined by using a structural equation model with 13 observed and seven latent variables. The results obtained show that the learning environment created inside and outside the classroom plays a key role in the acquisition and development of the three competences analyzed: systematic, personal, and cooperative. Our findings also suggest that competence or skills acquisition, despite being considered one of the main issues in the higher education qualifications framework, does not exactly match the academic results measured during the assessment process.