Yan Shiyu, Jiang Lisheng, Zuo Zhili, An Lixuan, Wang Li
College of Management Science, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China.
KERMIT, Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical Modelling, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Front Psychol. 2025 Jun 9;16:1617001. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1617001. eCollection 2025.
Flipped classrooms move education toward a more student- and learning-centered pedagogy and practice. When flipped classrooms are applied, a free-riding phenomenon may occur when certain students in a group do not participate completely in group tasks but receive the same grade as the other students, which creates unfairness and is not conducive to the sustainable development of university education. As far as we know, quantifying the unfairness caused by free-riding in flipped classrooms is still a problem that needs to be addressed.
This paper proposes a fair assessment framework to unravel and rectify student free-riding in flipped classrooms. Firstly, the uninorm DEcision-MAking Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method is proposed to generate comprehensive indices of students. Secondly, the unfairness indices of groups and the discount parameters of students are determined based on the comprehensive index. The discounted scores are employed to modify students' achievement to ensure fairness.
A case study involving 57 students is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method, and a sensitivity analysis is conducted to assess its robustness. Four findings are uncovered. (1) Free-riding behavior exists in university flipped classrooms, and quantifying unfairness enables more targeted pedagogical interventions. (2) Discounted scores can enhance student motivation while promoting fairness. (3) Group scores do not show a direct correlation with unfairness indices. (4) The number of students does not exhibit a direct correlation with unfairness indices.
The fair assessment framework provides educational administrators with a tool for quantifying the effectiveness of course implementation, promoting the positive development of collaborative learning and the effective implementation of flipped classrooms, and contributing to the sustainable development of university education.
翻转课堂将教育转向一种更以学生和学习为中心的教学法与实践。当应用翻转课堂时，若小组中的某些学生未完全参与小组任务却获得与其他学生相同的成绩，就可能出现搭便车现象，这会造成不公平，不利于大学教育的可持续发展。据我们所知，量化翻转课堂中搭便车导致的不公平仍是一个有待解决的问题。
本文提出一个公平评估框架，以揭示并纠正翻转课堂中学生的搭便车行为。首先，提出单形决策试验与评价实验室（DEMATEL）方法来生成学生的综合指标。其次，基于综合指标确定小组的不公平指标和学生的折扣参数。采用折扣分数来修正学生的成绩以确保公平。
给出一个涉及57名学生的案例研究以证明所提方法的适用性，并进行敏感性分析以评估其稳健性。发现了四个结果。（1）大学翻转课堂中存在搭便车行为，量化不公平能实现更有针对性的教学干预。（2）折扣分数能提高学生的积极性，同时促进公平。（3）小组成绩与不公平指标没有直接关联。（4）学生人数与不公平指标没有直接关联。
公平评估框架为教育管理者提供了一种工具，用于量化课程实施的有效性，促进合作学习的积极发展和翻转课堂有效实施，为大学教育的可持续发展做出贡献。
