The Flipped Classroom Method in Basic Life Support Training

Basic life support (BLS) is a basic practice that increases survival after cardiac arrest and does not require medication. Cardiac arrest may occur due to various reasons. BLS ensures adequate blood flow to the tissues by pumping blood from the heart. BLS can be applied by all healthcare personnel and people trained in this field. The most important factors affecting survival in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests are the timely arrival of the medical team to the scene and basic life support immediately initiated by those who witnessed the arrest.

Today, students mostly consist of Generation Y and Z. People in this generation have an advanced mindset and a rapid process of acquiring information. They are willing to change and always want to be involved in new approaches. People in this generation are defined as a generation that is smart, fond of freedom, fond of technology and knows how to use technology well. For these generations, technology is the symbol of many things in their lives, and it is one of the issues in which generations Y and Z are superior to Generation X. It is stated that these two generations should be supported with student-centered and technology-based activities rather than traditional teaching.

Developing technology offers many options regarding educational environments, methods and tools. Educators who use these options improve educational processes that include information and communication technologies to help students learn. One of these innovations is the "Inverted classroom model".

In general terms, the flipped classroom completely reverses the traditional learning flow and envisages students learning the subject taught by the instructor in the classroom, outside class hours, from materials recorded electronically. It is possible to deepen and reinforce learning by discussing the subject during class hours and doing reinforcing studies. This process is the exact opposite of the traditional classroom model. In the traditional method, the instructor teaches the lesson in the classroom and the student listens passively. In the flipped classroom, students do the listening part of the lesson on their own at home. On the other hand, they practice the difficult and complex upper steps in the classroom with active learning methods and with the guidance of an instructor.

Due to the increasing number of students and resource scarcity in our country, the use of new methods and models in education is a necessity. In a study, it was determined that Generation Z students preferred the flipped classroom teaching method instead of traditional teaching.

In our country, no teaching example of the flipped classroom learning method has been found in Basic Life Support training. However, the requirements and conditions include exploring the implementation and use of new models such as the flipped classroom learning method; It was decided to conduct this research because it was necessary to collect data on whether the application of this learning method was appropriate for the paramedics who will work in the 112 emergency ambulance team to immediately initiate Basic Life Support and apply it consciously and correctly.