The relationship between non-cognitive student attributes and academic achievements in a flipped learning classroom of a pre-dental science course

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine whether non-cognitive student attributes such as learning style and personality type affected academic performance in a flipped learning classroom of a pre-dental undergraduate science course. METHODS: 'Biodiversity and Global Environment,' a 15-week, 3-credit course, was designed as a flipped class in Seoul National University School of Dentistry in 2017. Second-year pre-dental students were required to enroll in the course and to engage in online learning and in-class discussion. The Kolb's Learning Style Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator were conducted to measure non-cognitive student factors. Independent samples t-test and multivariate regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between self-rated measurements and academic achievement. RESULTS: More than half of the students enrolled in the flipped science course had an assimilator learning style (50%), followed by convergers (24%), accommodators (16%), and divergers (10%), and their personality types were dominated by the introverted, sensing, thinking, and judging types, respectively. Examining group differences using the t-test demonstrated a significant relationship between the diverger group and higher academic success. In particular, the multivariate regression analysis indicated that both thinking types and female students performed better in discussion than feeling types and male students. CONCLUSION: To operate the flipped learning classroom more effectively in medical and dental education, the instructor should carefully develop and apply a more tailored facilitation and relevant assessment by considering student learning styles and personality types.