Flipped and Experiential Learning Models in STEM Education: Design, Implementation, and Impact

STEM Education has long relied on lecture-based instruction, which research links to weaker conceptual understanding, poorer retention, and lower engagement compared with active-learning approaches. Two evidence-based models have emerged as leading alternatives for STEM teaching and learning: the flipped classroom, which moves direct instruction outside class time and reserves in-class time for problem-solving, discussion, and application; and experiential learning, which builds understanding through hands-on, inquiry-based, and real-world tasks. Both approaches have independently shown gains in engagement, conceptual mastery, and skill development across STEM disciplines. However, most studies evaluate these models in isolation, within a single course, discipline, or institution, using inconsistent outcome measures. This leaves open questions for curriculum designers, teacher educators, and policymakers about which design choices reliably improve learning outcomes, how the two models can be combined, and how they transfer across educational settings and contexts.

This Research Topic consolidates evidence-based research on the design, implementation, and measurable impact of flipped and experiential learning in STEM teaching and learning. It connects research, policy, and practice by bringing together empirical studies, curriculum and instructional-resource evaluations, and teacher professional-development perspectives from diverse institutional and geographic settings. The goal is to identify which design features and implementation conditions most reliably improve conceptual understanding, engagement, equity, and retention, and to translate that evidence into practical guidance for curriculum reform and teacher training.

We welcome contributions addressing: instructional design frameworks that combine flipped and experiential elements; classroom, laboratory, and field-based implementations at school, undergraduate, and graduate levels; technology-enhanced and AI-supported STEM learning environments; teacher training and professional development for active-learning pedagogies; curriculum and policy reforms supporting active learning at scale; and assessment and evaluation of learning outcomes, engagement, equity, and retention. Comparative and cross-disciplinary studies examining how these models transfer across engineering, physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and computer science are especially encouraged, in support of Quality Education (SDG 4) and Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9).

We invite Original Research, Brief Research Reports, Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy articles reporting real-world implementations, Systematic Reviews synthesizing prior work, and Conceptual Analysis, Hypothesis & Theory, and Perspective articles advancing the field’s understanding of active learning at scale. Contributions from researchers, teacher educators, and practitioners worldwide are welcome, with particular interest in work that connects classroom-level findings to institutional or policy-level implications for STEM education.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Flipped classroom, Experiential learning, STEM education, Active learning, Instructional design

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.