Geology was previously taught in a traditionally facilitated environment where students would attend class to passively receive information. A major challenge in teaching geology is that it is made up of a range of topics with a high volume of specific terminology, hence students found it difficult to retain knowledge, and then to apply the new learning to contextualised (and examinable) situations. In addition, the need to use the limited time available each week to teach course content meant there was little time available for engaging class activities to reinforce or construct new knowledge.

To create more learning opportunities the course was redesigned into an inverted classroom. Repeatable online activities were created to investigate each topic, complemented by in-class workshops where students worked collaboratively on a range of activities. This mix was designed to increase retention of knowledge by creating situations in class where the students would use the geology concepts they had learnt online.

Results were compared with the previous year to evaluate the new approach and the external exam result showed a statistically significant increase in marks. The redeveloped course environment was supported by the students, with significant positive feedback in the end of year evaluation forms.