A flipped classroom practice that combines gamification and analogy to improve learning outcomes for online students

ERCT Criteria Breakdown

• Level 1 Criteria

  • C

    Class-level RCT

    • The study allocated students to groups via purposeful (non-random) sampling rather than randomisation, so it is not a class-level RCT.
    • "Purposeful sampling was employed to select participants and ensure balanced groups in terms of prior academic achievement, socio-economic diversity, sex, and age distribution."
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "A pretest-posttest controlled design involving an experimental group and a control group was employed to measure learning outcomes before and after the intervention." (p. 7-8) 2) "A total of 250 Year 9 students from the Academy of Oujda in Morocco participated in the study. Participants were divided into an experimental group (n = 155) and a control group (n = 95). Purposeful sampling was employed to select participants and ensure balanced groups in terms of prior academic achievement, socio-economic diversity, sex, and age distribution." (p. 8) 3) "Students were assigned to groups based on comparable prior knowledge, as objectively assessed through previous physics grades." (p. 9) 4) "Allocation to the experimental and control groups was carefully balanced to prevent systematic differences that could confound comparisons." (p. 9) Detailed Analysis: Criterion C requires that the study be a Randomised Controlled Trial with randomisation clearly described and implemented at the class level or stronger. The paper describes a "pretest-posttest controlled design" but the allocation method is explicitly "purposeful sampling" employed to "ensure balanced groups," and students were "assigned to groups based on comparable prior knowledge." No random assignment of any unit (student, class, or school) is described anywhere in the paper. The allocation was deliberately non-random (purposive) to balance groups. Therefore there is no randomisation at all, and the unit of randomisation requirement cannot be satisfied. Criterion C is not met because the study used purposeful (non-random) sampling rather than randomisation, so it does not constitute an RCT at the class level or stronger.
  • E

    Exam-based Assessment

    • The study used a custom-developed test rather than a widely recognised standardised exam, so criterion E is not met.
    • "A school assessment test has been developed to assess understanding of the basic concepts of electrical circuits. It consists of ten questions..."
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "A school assessment test has been developed to assess understanding of the basic concepts of electrical circuits. It consists of ten questions, five of which are fairly easy and five of which have additional levels of difficulty." (p. 8) 2) "The wording of these questions has been based on previous studies [5, 18] to ensure that knowledge of electric current, resistance, voltage, etc. is correctly assessed." (p. 8) 3) "Then, in order to assess the reliability of the test, in particular its internal consistency, we administered the test to thirty students, collected their responses and calculated Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The alpha value of 0.87 obtained confirms the reliability of the test for assessing academic success in this field." (p. 8) Detailed Analysis: Criterion E requires the use of a standardised, widely recognised exam-based assessment that was not specially designed for the study. Here the assessment is explicitly a test that "has been developed" by the author for this study, with wording based on the author's own previous studies, and whose validity and reliability were established by expert review and a pilot administration to thirty students. This is a custom, researcher-made instrument, not a national or state-wide standardised exam. Criterion E is not met because the study used a custom-developed ten-question test rather than a recognised standardised exam.
  • T

    Term Duration

    • The intervention covered only a 6-hour unit with immediate post-testing, far shorter than one academic term, so T is not met.
    • "The Moroccan curriculum proposes to deal with the unit of electricity after the unit of the atom. It devotes 6 h to this unit."
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "The Moroccan curriculum proposes to deal with the unit of electricity after the unit of the atom. It devotes 6 h to this unit." (p. 8) 2) "The intervention took place in three phases: before, during and after the intervention." (p. 8) 3) "After the intervention, the academic performance of both groups was assessed." (p. 8) 4) "Other limitations include the study's short duration and small sample size..." (p. 12) Detailed Analysis: Criterion T requires that outcomes be measured at least one full academic term (approximately 3-4 months) after the intervention begins. The electricity unit is allotted only 6 hours of instruction, and the post-test was administered immediately after the intervention. The author explicitly acknowledges the study's "short duration" as a limitation. There is no term-long interval between intervention start and outcome measurement, and no term-long follow-up tracking. Criterion T is not met because the intervention spanned only a 6-hour unit with immediate post-testing, far shorter than one academic term.
  • D

    Documented Control Group

    • The control group's size, demographics, baseline scores, and conditions are clearly documented, so criterion D is met.
    • "The mean age was 15.3 years (SD = 0.61) in the experimental group and 15.2 years (SD = 0.71) in the control group. Prior to the intervention, the average academic performance in physics was 11.01 (SD = 4.34) and 11.51 (SD = 4.81), respectively."
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "Participants were divided into an experimental group (n = 155) and a control group (n = 95)." (p. 8) 2) "The mean age was 15.3 years (SD = 0.61) in the experimental group and 15.2 years (SD = 0.71) in the control group. Prior to the intervention, the average academic performance in physics was 11.01 (SD = 4.34) and 11.51 (SD = 4.81), respectively." (p. 8) 3) "The control group received education on the unit preceding the unit of electricity, namely the atom. This was given in the form of emergency synchronous distance education." (p. 8) 4) "During the intervention, the control group followed an emergency synchronous distance education on the simple electrical circuit..." (p. 8) 5) Table 5 reports control group N = 95, pre-test and post-test min-max, median, mean and SD. (p. 10) Detailed Analysis: Criterion D requires the control group to be well-documented, including size, demographics, baseline performance, and the conditions/treatment received. The paper provides the control group size (n = 95), mean age and SD, baseline physics performance with SD, and a clear description of what the control group received (emergency synchronous distance education on the simple electrical circuit). Table 5 reports detailed descriptive statistics for the control group. This level of documentation is sufficient. Criterion D is met because the control group's size, demographics, baseline performance, and conditions are clearly documented.

• Level 2 Criteria

  • S

    School-level RCT

    • The study was conducted in a single school with non-random student allocation, so school-level RCT criterion S is not met.
    • "A total of 250 Year 9 students from the Academy of Oujda in Morocco participated in the study."
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "A total of 250 Year 9 students from the Academy of Oujda in Morocco participated in the study. Participants were divided into an experimental group (n = 155) and a control group (n = 95). Purposeful sampling was employed to select participants and ensure balanced groups..." (p. 8) 2) "It should also be noted that the pupils in both groups were divided into sub-groups of four pupils before and during the intervention." (p. 8) Detailed Analysis: Criterion S requires randomisation at the school level (whole institutions/units). This study took place within a single school (the Academy of Oujda), and allocation was by purposeful sampling of students into two groups within that one school, not by randomly assigning multiple schools. There is neither school-level randomisation nor any randomisation at all. Criterion S is not met because the study was conducted within a single school using non-random allocation, with no school-level randomisation.
  • I

    Independent Conduct

    • The author designed, delivered, and evaluated the intervention with no independent third-party conduct, so I is not met.
    • "To ensure instructional consistency and control for potential variability in teaching style and interaction, all lessons were delivered by a single teacher."
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "The flipped classroom practice that combines gamification and analogy (FCPCGA) was developed and tested for this purpose." (p. 2) 2) "To ensure instructional consistency and control for potential variability in teaching style and interaction, all lessons were delivered by a single teacher." (p. 9) 3) "These exercises are based on partially constructed illustrations and manipulable objects." (p. 3) The sole author designed the Dynamics Arena analogy and the entire FCPCGA (Sections 2.1-2.3, pp. 3-6). Detailed Analysis: Criterion I requires that the study be conducted independently of the people who designed the intervention, with a third-party evaluator or external oversight. Here the sole author (A Hachmi) designed the FCPCGA intervention, developed the assessment instrument, delivered the lessons (a single teacher), and conducted the analysis. There is no indication of any independent or third-party evaluation; the intervention designer is also the implementer and evaluator. Criterion I is not met because the same author designed, delivered, and evaluated the intervention with no independent oversight.
  • Y

    Year Duration

    • The study lasted only a 6-hour unit, far short of an academic year, and T is not met, so Y is not met.
    • "Other limitations include the study's short duration and small sample size..."
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "The Moroccan curriculum proposes to deal with the unit of electricity after the unit of the atom. It devotes 6 h to this unit." (p. 8) 2) "Other limitations include the study's short duration and small sample size..." (p. 12) Detailed Analysis: Criterion Y requires outcomes to be measured at least 75% of a full academic year (~9-10 months) after the intervention begins. Per the prompt's criterion-specific instruction, if criterion T (Term Duration) is not met, then Y is not met. Criterion T is not met here, and the intervention spanned only a 6-hour unit with immediate post-testing and no year-long follow-up. Criterion Y is not met because the study duration was far shorter than an academic year and criterion T was not met.
  • B

    Balanced Control Group

    • Both groups received the same electricity unit over comparable time, and the differing pedagogy (with its integral pre-training) is itself the treatment variable.
    • The intervention followed these guidelines for both groups. It should also be noted that the pupils in both groups were divided into sub-groups of four pupils before and during the intervention.
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "The Moroccan curriculum proposes to deal with the unit of electricity after the unit of the atom. It devotes 6 h to this unit... The intervention followed these guidelines for both groups." (p. 8) 2) "During the intervention, the control group followed an emergency synchronous distance education on the simple electrical circuit, while the experimental group followed a course based on the FCPCGA." (p. 8) 3) "Prior to the intervention, the experimental group benefited from pre-training. The control group received education on the unit preceding the unit of electricity, namely the atom." (p. 8) 4) "In line with Clarke et al [21], the pre-training phase focuses on secondary knowledge-procedural or instrumental competencies that support, but do not replace, the primary conceptual objectives." (p. 3) Detailed Analysis: Criterion B asks whether both groups received comparable time, budget, and resources, unless additional resources are the explicit treatment variable. Both groups were taught the same simple electrical circuit unit during the intervention, following the same 6-hour curriculum guidelines ("The intervention followed these guidelines for both groups"). The control group received emergency synchronous distance education on the same content during the same period, so instructional time on the electricity unit was comparable. The intervention being tested is the FCPCGA pedagogical method (analogy + gamification + flipped classroom) versus business-as-usual emergency online teaching, not a difference in instructional time or budget. The experimental group additionally received pre-training on the digital tools and pedagogical strategies, but the paper explicitly frames this pre-training as an integral component of the FCPCGA design (it focuses on "secondary knowledge-procedural or instrumental competencies that support, but do not replace, the primary conceptual objectives" and ensures "the FCPCGA framework is implemented effectively"), rather than as a separable add-on of extra subject-matter instruction; the control group meanwhile spent its pre-intervention time on the preceding (atom) unit. Applying the decision tree: extra resources are present (pre-training given only to the experimental group), but these resources are integral to the FCPCGA treatment package being tested rather than a non-integral, unmatched add-on of extra subject-matter time, and the core electricity instruction time is comparable across groups. Criterion B is met because both groups received the same electricity unit over comparable instructional time, and the differing pedagogical approach (including its integral pre-training on the method's tools) is the treatment variable being tested rather than an unmatched extra resource.

• Level 3 Criteria

  • R

    Reproduced

    • The intervention is described as novel and no independent replication was found, so criterion R is not met.
    • "This combination of analogy, gamification and the flipped classroom is a first in the e-learning literature."
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "This combination of analogy, gamification and the flipped classroom is a first in the e-learning literature." (p. 2) 2) "The aim of this study is to determine the impact of this combination on students' learning outcomes when studying a simple electrical circuit." (p. 2) Detailed Analysis: Criterion R requires the study to have been independently replicated by a different research team in a different context, published in a peer-reviewed journal. The author explicitly describes the FCPCGA combination as "a first in the e-learning literature," indicating it is novel and not a replication. An internet search (Google/Scholar-style queries on the FCPCGA, the author A Hachmi, and the combination of analogy + gamification + flipped classroom for electrical circuits) returned only this 2026 paper and the author's own related prior works (e.g. A Hachmi et al, J. Educ. Res. 118 (2025) 450-474, and Phys. Educ. 56 (2021) 065020); no independent replication of this specific study by a different research team was found. Criterion R is not met because the intervention is described as novel and no independent replication of this study by a different research team was found.
  • A

    All-subject Exams

    • Only the single subject of electricity was assessed via a custom test and criterion E is not met, so A is not met.
    • "A school assessment test has been developed to assess understanding of the basic concepts of electrical circuits."
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "A school assessment test has been developed to assess understanding of the basic concepts of electrical circuits. It consists of ten questions..." (p. 8) 2) "The unit on electricity includes the concepts of current, voltage, resistance and series and parallel circuits." (p. 8) Detailed Analysis: Criterion A requires that impact be measured across all main subjects taught at that level using standardised exams, and it is conditional on criterion E. Per the prompt's criterion-specific instruction, if E is not met then A is not met. Criterion E is not met (custom test). Additionally, the study assessed only physics (electrical circuits) outcomes, not other core subjects. Criterion A is not met because the study assessed only the single subject of electricity using a custom test, and criterion E was not met.
  • G

    Graduation Tracking

    • Outcomes were measured immediately post-intervention with no follow-up to graduation, and Y is not met, so G is not met.
    • "After the intervention, the academic performance of both groups was assessed."
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "After the intervention, the academic performance of both groups was assessed." (p. 8) 2) "Other limitations include the study's short duration and small sample size, and the absence of an assessment of motivational factors such as flow and anxiety." (p. 12) Detailed Analysis: Criterion G requires tracking participants until graduation to assess long-term impact, and it is conditional on criterion Y. Per the prompt's criterion-specific instruction, if Y is not met then G is not met. Criterion Y is not met here. Furthermore, the study measured outcomes immediately after the intervention with no follow-up beyond the post-test, and there is no graduation tracking. An internet search for subsequent follow-up papers by the same author tracking this cohort to graduation found no such publication. Criterion G is not met because outcomes were measured immediately after the intervention with no graduation tracking, and criterion Y was not met.
  • P

    Pre-Registered

    • The paper contains no reference to pre-registration on any registry, so criterion P is not met.
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "This research was conducted in accordance with the Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research, as issued by BERA in 2018..." (p. 12) 2) "In accordance with local institutional regulations, formal ethics committee approval was not mandatory for this type of minimal-risk educational research." (p. 12) 3) "Data availability statement: No new data were created or analysed in this study." (p. 12) Detailed Analysis: Criterion P requires that the full study protocol be pre-registered on a recognised registry before data collection began, with hypotheses, methods, and planned analyses. The paper contains no mention of any pre-registration, registry platform, registration ID, or registration date. It only references ethical guidelines and states that formal ethics approval was not mandatory. As the paper provides no registration identifier, there was no registry to verify online. Criterion P is not met because there is no mention of any pre-registration of the study protocol.