Undergraduate Perceptions of Flipped Classrooms in Medical Instrumentation Courses: Insights and the T.I.C.E.F. Framework from a Cross-Sectional Psychometric Evaluation

Background The flipped classroom approach has become an innovative teaching method that reverses traditional instructional sequences, allowing students to engage with lecture content outside the classroom and use in-class time for interactive, collaborative learning. Rooted in constructivist principles, this model promotes active learning, enhances student engagement, and fosters higher-order thinking skills. Despite its growing adoption, particularly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, there remains limited evidence of its long-term impact on student performance and effectiveness in specialised contexts, such as medical education and instrumentation courses. This study evaluates undergraduate students' perceptions of the flipped classroom's effectiveness in enhancing student engagement, instructor support, technological design, and the overall learning environment within medical instrumentation courses. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with 237 third-year undergraduate students enrolled in the Medical Laboratory Science program at Fakeeh College for Medical Sciences, Saudi Arabia. The flipped classroom model was implemented in two courses—Instrumentation and Electronic Microscope—over three 50-minute sessions per course. Pre-class materials were provided one week in advance through Blackboard, and in-class activities included quizzes, case discussions, and assignments, followed by constructive feedback. Student satisfaction was measured using a 30-item questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis were performed to assess the questionnaire's psychometric properties. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS, with statistical significance at p < 0.01. Results The findings demonstrated strong internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha values ranging from 0.86 to 0.94. The flipped classrooms significantly foster student engagement and collaboration, improve the role of instructors, and enhance the learning environment through technology-driven, self-paced learning. Conclusion Based on these findings, practical recommendations were developed for instructors, including the creation of high-quality pre-class materials, optimisation of in-class activities for active learning, and the redefinition of the instructor’s role as a facilitator. The study also emphasises the importance of leveraging technology, cultivating a supportive learning environment, and implementing continuous assessment and feedback mechanisms. These insights led to developing the T.I.C.E.F. Framework (Technology, Instructor, Content, Environment, and Feedback), which offers a structured guide to optimising flipped classroom implementations and improving teaching strategies and student learning experiences.