Beyond the conventional flipped classroom: Exploring the efficacy of the 5I model of flipped learning in senior secondary school mathematics

Adekunle Ibrahim Oladejo; Taibat Tejumola Olateju; Adekunle Ibrahim Oladejo; Taibat Tejumola Olateju

doi:10.3934/steme.2025043

STEM Education

2025, Volume 5, Issue 6: 974-999. doi: 10.3934/steme.2025043

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Research article

Beyond the conventional flipped classroom: Exploring the efficacy of the 5I model of flipped learning in senior secondary school mathematics

Adekunle Ibrahim Oladejo ^{1
,
,},
Taibat Tejumola Olateju ²

1.
Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos State, Nigeria; ibrahim.oladejo@lasu.edu.ng
2.
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria; tejutejumola@gmail.com

Academic Editor: Zlatko Jovanoski

Received: 24 April 2025 Revised: 29 July 2025 Accepted: 11 August 2025 Published: 28 August 2025

In most African nations, including Nigeria, the persistent underperformance of students in mathematics is largely attributed to the effectiveness of the instructional delivery. Research has shown that the flipped classroom is an effective strategy for enhancing students' understanding and engagement in mathematics. However, earnest efforts to effectively adapt the flipped classroom strategies to an African context, where infrastructural and motivational barriers present notable challenges, remain a palpable gap in the literature. This study explored the effectiveness of a flipped model structure—the 5I model of the flipped classroom—in improving mathematics learning outcome of senior secondary school students in Nigeria. The 5I model consists of five phases of learning activities: Immerse, Interact, Illustrate, Illuminate, and Incentivize. An explanatory sequential design involving quasi-experimental and interview phases was adopted for this study. A total of 208 senior secondary two (SS2) students from conventional flipped classrooms (control group) and 5I model flipped classrooms (experimental group) participated in the study. The results show that the 5I model significantly improves the students' mathematics achievement, scaffolding engagement, knowledge retention, and deep inquiry skills among the students. Within the limitations of the study, it was concluded that the 5I model is a viable approach for effectively implementing the flipped model in mathematics classrooms in Lagos, Nigeria. Suggestions for future explorations are highlighted.
- 5I-flipped learning approach,
- mathematics,
- secondary school,
- meaningful learning,
- flipped classroom
Citation: Adekunle Ibrahim Oladejo, Taibat Tejumola Olateju. Beyond the conventional flipped classroom: Exploring the efficacy of the 5I model of flipped learning in senior secondary school mathematics[J]. STEM Education, 2025, 5(6): 974-999. doi: 10.3934/steme.2025043

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Abstract

In most African nations, including Nigeria, the persistent underperformance of students in mathematics is largely attributed to the effectiveness of the instructional delivery. Research has shown that the flipped classroom is an effective strategy for enhancing students' understanding and engagement in mathematics. However, earnest efforts to effectively adapt the flipped classroom strategies to an African context, where infrastructural and motivational barriers present notable challenges, remain a palpable gap in the literature. This study explored the effectiveness of a flipped model structure—the 5I model of the flipped classroom—in improving mathematics learning outcome of senior secondary school students in Nigeria. The 5I model consists of five phases of learning activities: Immerse, Interact, Illustrate, Illuminate, and Incentivize. An explanatory sequential design involving quasi-experimental and interview phases was adopted for this study. A total of 208 senior secondary two (SS2) students from conventional flipped classrooms (control group) and 5I model flipped classrooms (experimental group) participated in the study. The results show that the 5I model significantly improves the students' mathematics achievement, scaffolding engagement, knowledge retention, and deep inquiry skills among the students. Within the limitations of the study, it was concluded that the 5I model is a viable approach for effectively implementing the flipped model in mathematics classrooms in Lagos, Nigeria. Suggestions for future explorations are highlighted.

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Author's biography Adekunle Ibrahim Oladejo is an academic staff at the Department of Science and Technology Education, Lagos State University, Ojo. He holds a master's degree in educational technology and a PhD in ICT Education with specialization in Artificial Intelligence. He is an Associate Expert at the UNESCO Institute for Culture and International Understanding (IACIU). Adekunle is the Academic Programmes Officer of the Africa Centre of Excellence for Innovative and Transformative STEM Education (ACEITSE). He is a member of several professional bodies including the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), USA. His publications feature in high impact factor journals indexed in Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Adekunle Oladejo's current research is at the intersection of culture, technology and context and how artificial intelligence can be safely adopted in the classroom to break barriers to students' learning of STEM and promote equity in STEM classrooms; Taibat Olateju is a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University. She has been teaching mathematics since she graduated in 2015. She has served as data analyst for different projects and firms including Vantage Analysis and Research and she's currently an associate researcher at Bold Gold Educational Consultancy

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