Taxation, Innovation and Education: Reflections on a Flipped Lecture Room

In recent times the use of flipped classrooms in tertiary education has become more prevalent. This article considers the implementation of a flipped classroom structure to deliver Taxation Law at the University of Western Australia. The Taxation Law unit is a core subject in the Business Law major with over 150 students. The unit examines the basic concepts and fundamentals of Australian taxation law. Delivery of the unit was changed from a traditional lecture and tutorial model to a blended learning or flipped classroom. The current delivery mode includes a combination of short videos, online reading materials, online learning activities, and in-person workshops and tutorials. This article identifies why and how change was implemented and the pedagogical theory underlying the change in delivery mode, and discusses the effectiveness of the change using an action research design. In particular, the article will examine key risks in developing and implementing this type of delivery mode, along with quantitative and qualitative data to highlight changes in student perceptions, student motivation and engagement, student achievement, and teacher perceptions.