Evaluating the effectiveness of a MOOC-based flipped classroom approach in occupational health and occupational medicine education

The “New Medical Science” initiative in China calls for the integration of digital technologies into medical education. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a blended learning approach, incorporating the Chinese University Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform and a flipped classroom model, compared to traditional lecture-based teaching in a compulsory “Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine” course. A comparative study was conducted among preventive medicine undergraduates at Nanchang University, in China. The 2016 cohort ( n = 84) participated in the MOOC-based flipped classroom (intervention group), while the 2017 cohort ( n = 97) received traditional lecture-based teaching (control group). The primary outcome was the final examination score. A comprehensive analysis, including test paper quality (difficulty, discrimination, reliability, validity), normality of score distributions, and between-group comparisons (t-test, multiple linear regression and chi-square test), were performed to ensure a rigorous comparison. The final examination papers for both groups were of comparable quality, with appropriate difficulty and good discriminative power. Score distributions for both groups were normal. Students in the MOOC-based flipped classroom group achieved a significantly higher mean exam score (68.95 ± 8.75) than those in the traditional lecture-based teaching group (64.29 ± 12.48), a difference that was statistically significant ( P = 0.005). The finding remained robust after adjusting for baseline covariates (adjusted mean difference = 3.48 points, 95% confidence interval: 0.44 to 6.53, P = 0.025). Furthermore, the pass rate (≥ 60) was significantly higher in the intervention group (85.71% vs. 72.16%, P = 0.026). The MOOC-based flipped classroom approach was associated with better academic performance and higher pass rates compared to traditional teaching in the course of “Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine”. This model represents a promising strategy associated with enhanced medical education quality and supporting the goals of the “New Medical Science” reform.