The Effectiveness of a Technology-Based Isometrical Transformation Flipped Classroom Learning Strategy in Improving Students' Higher Order Thinking Skills

The study addresses persistently low performance by Malaysian students in higher-order thinking and geometry as evidenced by international (TIMSS, PISA) and national assessments. Despite policy emphasis on HOTS aligned with the revised Bloom’s taxonomy, mathematics classrooms often rely on conventional instruction, and teachers face difficulties implementing HOTS-oriented pedagogy. Isometric Transformation, an important Form Two topic (translation, reflection, rotation, isometry, congruence, rotational symmetry), is particularly challenging. The research aims to: (1) develop technology-based FCLS activities for teaching Isometric Transformation; and (2) evaluate the effectiveness of these activities in improving students’ HOTS (applying, analyzing, evaluating, creating) compared with conventional instruction. The work is motivated by the need for student-centered, technology-integrated strategies that reduce cognitive load, promote active learning, and situate concepts in real-life contexts consistent with Social Constructivism.

The review highlights widespread difficulties in transformation geometry, including confusion with terms, inaccurate drawings (especially rotation), and challenges in connecting concepts to everyday contexts. TIMSS 2015 reported only 30% of Malaysian Form Two students correctly answered symmetry/reflection items, far below international averages. Students struggle to obtain and integrate mathematical information across subtopics (translation, reflection, rotation, isometry, congruence, rotational symmetry) and to solve non-routine, hands-on HOTS problems. Conventional, teacher-centered pedagogies and limited exposure to open-ended tasks exacerbate these issues. Flipped Classroom Learning Strategy (FCLS) is identified as a promising approach due to flexible environments, student-controlled pacing, and opportunities for active, collaborative learning. Prior studies suggest flipped learning can enhance motivation, conceptual understanding, and problem solving, but few detail activity designs across pre-, in-, and post-class phases in secondary mathematics, creating an implementation gap. Grounded in Social Constructivism and a flipped classroom model, the authors propose structured, technology-based FCLS activities aligned with HOTS levels and the curriculum sequence of Isometric Transformation.

Design: Two-stage study comprising (1) design and development of FCLS activities and (2) effectiveness testing via quasi-experiment. Stage 1: Design and Development - Guiding model: Design and development research (Richey & Klein) aligned with Social Constructivism and a flipped classroom framework. Activities were organized into three phases: exploration (pre-class), application/strengthening (in-class and continued outside), and reflection (post-class). - Needs analysis: Preliminary survey of students’ learning difficulties at each HOTS level for Isometric Transformation. - Activity design: Sequenced subtopic-specific activities (translation, reflection, rotation, isometry, congruence, rotational symmetry) including pre-class videos, additional references, online quizzes (e.g., via WhatsApp/Google Classroom), in-class group tasks targeting applying/analyzing/evaluating/creating, and post-class reflections and projects linking concepts to daily life. - Expert validation: Iterative reviews by 11 experts (senior mathematics lecturers, excellent teachers, lead trainer, language expert). Revisions followed expert and student (n=5) feedback for content validity and language clarity. Stage 2: Effectiveness Testing - Design: Non-equivalent groups pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design. - Participants: 131 Form Two students from two secondary schools in Johor; treatment group (n=66) received FCLS activities; control group (n=65) received conventional instruction (textbook, PowerPoint, workbooks/worksheets). Different schools were used for groups to mitigate validity threats. Duration: 8 weeks. - Procedure: Week 1 pretest; Weeks 2–9 instruction (FCLS vs conventional); Week 10 posttest. Timing aligns with recommendations to minimize maturation threats. - Instrument: Isometric Transformation HOTS test comprising equivalent pre/post forms with four higher-level subjective items spanning HOTS levels (applying, analyzing, evaluating, creating). Development steps included a Test Specification Table aligned with the national curriculum, adaptation of items from the MOE HEBAT module, teacher discussions, and expert validation. - Psychometrics (Rasch Model): Cronbach’s alpha for applying/analyzing = 1.00; evaluating = 0.86; creating = 0.82; overall (22 items) = 0.81. Item reliability = 0.95; item separation = 4.34 (four difficulty strata). PTMEA CORR positive (.12–.74) for all items, indicating correct polarity. Five items showed outfit MNSQ outside 0.5–1.5 range and were flagged for refinement. PCA of residuals indicated explained variance 47.9% and first contrast 10.3% (moderate unexplained variance), supporting acceptable dimensionality. - Analysis: Normality tests (Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Shapiro-Wilk) indicated non-normal distributions (p<.05). Non-parametric tests used: Mann-Whitney U for between-group comparisons, Wilcoxon signed-rank for within-group pre-post comparisons, both overall and by HOTS level.

- Sample: Control n=65 (46.2% male), Treatment n=66 (41.0% male). - Pretest equivalence: Mann-Whitney showed no significant differences between groups at all four HOTS levels and overall (e.g., overall p=.146 > .05). - Within-group gains: - Control: Significant pre-post improvements in applying, analyzing, and creating (p=.000<.05), but not in evaluating. - Treatment (FCLS): Significant pre-post improvements at all four HOTS levels (applying, analyzing, evaluating, creating) (p=.000<.05). - Posttest between-group: Mann-Whitney revealed significant differences favoring the FCLS group across all HOTS levels and overall (all p=.000<.05). - Instrument quality: Rasch analyses indicated strong reliability (overall alpha .81; item reliability .95; item separation 4.34). PTMEA CORR positive for all items (.12–.74). PCA explained variance 47.9%; first contrast 10.3%. - Duration and implementation: Eight-week intervention with structured pre-class videos/quizzes, in-class collaborative HOTS tasks, and post-class reflections/projects linked to real-life contexts contributed to observed gains. Overall, technology-based FCLS activities significantly enhanced students’ HOTS in Isometric Transformation relative to conventional instruction, including at the evaluating and creating levels.

The study demonstrates that a technology-based, three-phase FCLS grounded in Social Constructivism effectively improves HOTS in Isometric Transformation. Pre-class materials (videos, readings, quizzes) scaffold knowledge acquisition at students’ own pace, lowering cognitive load and enabling more productive in-class application. In-class collaborative tasks and teacher facilitation help diagnose misconceptions and promote analytical reasoning. Post-class reflections and projects strengthen transfer to real-life contexts, supporting evaluating and creating. Compared with conventional instruction, FCLS yielded superior posttest performance across all HOTS levels, addressing the research question about efficacy. The findings underscore the importance of intentional activity design before, during, and after class; integration of ICT (e.g., WhatsApp/Google Classroom); and peer collaboration aligned with the Zone of Proximal Development. The gains at evaluating and creating levels suggest that FCLS not only enhances procedural application but also supports higher-level reasoning, critique, and invention, critical for mathematics learning and national goals for HOTS.

This work contributes a validated set of technology-based FCLS activities for the Form Two Isometric Transformation topic, complete with implementation guidelines across exploration, application, and reflection phases. Empirical evidence from a quasi-experimental study shows significant improvements in students’ HOTS—applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating—compared to conventional instruction. Practically, the FCLS package supports student-centered pedagogy, active learning, and integration of real-life contexts, offering teachers lesson plans and structured activities to embed HOTS in mathematics. Theoretically, the results reinforce Social Constructivism’s emphasis on guided interaction and scaffolding in flipped environments. Future research could expand to more schools and regions, examine long-term retention and transfer, analyze differential effects across student subgroups, and refine flagged test items while exploring additional technologies and gamified or project-based enhancements.

- Quasi-experimental, non-equivalent group design limits causal inference compared to randomized trials; potential threats to internal/external validity remain despite mitigation steps. - Sampling from only two secondary schools in Johor and a single grade level (Form Two) may limit generalizability. - Intervention duration was eight weeks; longer-term retention and transfer were not assessed. - Some HOTS test items showed misfit (five items with outfit MNSQ outside recommended range), suggesting room for instrument refinement.