2026 ASM Conference for Undergraduate Educators

MGI 301 is an introductory upper-level microbiology course. The course employs a flipped classroom model where students are expected to self regulate a significant portion of their learning outside of the classroom. We have observed that students that struggle in this course often do not utilize formal time management strategies to manage their learning. Our study aims to determine whether teaching students formal time management can improve their performance in a flipped classroom. Students are required to watch an online lecture that introduced multiple time management strategies, explains their benefits, and demonstrates how to apply these strategies in the context of a flipped classroom. We then periodically surveyed students about their use of time management and strategy used throughout the semester. At the start of the semester 74% students report not using time management and 26% of students reported using time management in their academic studies (n=244). Students who switched from not practicing time management strategies to utilize them performed better in the course than students that continued to not use formal time management strategies to manage their studies. We also see students that practice time management that identify as first generation student see improved student outcomes. Future studies will include analyses in analyzing gender, socioeconomic status, and major. We will also further look into how their study habits change and the amount of time that is put into the course throughout the semester, and the differences in time utilization. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that formal instruction in time management improves outcomes in a flipped course for students who had not previously utilized time management.