Table 1 An overview of flipped classroom research through “six thinking hats” model

White hat (information)

Focusing on facts and information about flipped classroom approach

Administrating a quasi-experiment to compare flipped classroom and traditional classroom (Bhagat et al. 2016); describing the types of out-of-class and in-class activities of flipped classroom approach (DeLozier and Rhodes 2016)

Red hat (feelings)

Considering students’ emotions and feelings of flipped courses

Investigating student engagement and course satisfaction of flipped courses (Gilboy et al. 2015; Gross et al. 2015)

Blue hat (thinking about thought)

Thinking about the thoughts required in flipped classroom approach

Discussing the pedagogies and theories that can be applied in flipped classroom approach (Bishop and Verleger 2013; Abeysekera and Dawson 2015)

Green hat (creative)

Integrating new elements into flipped classroom approach

Attempting to use student-created digital videos (Engin 2014) or mobile-assisted learning system (Wang 2016) in flipped courses

Black hat (challenges)

Focusing on the challenges of using flipped classroom approach

Identifying challenges of implementing flipped classrooms in nursing education, such as more lecture preparation efforts were required (Betihavas et al. 2016)

Yellow hat (constructive)

Constructing design guidelines for flipped classroom approach

Proposing design principles or guidelines for flipped classroom approach, such as providing an incentive for students to prepare for class (Kim et al. 2014)