It’s an early morning in Room 236 of the Quinlan/Brown Academic Innovation Center and classmates Brandyn Durand ’26, Olivia Morrill ’27, and Lily Kimball ’27 are discussing velocity, kinetic energy, and the values they’re solving for in their physics problem. Together, they draw visuals on a whiteboard, talk through what they do and do not understand, and snap pictures of their answers, which they will submit online for class credit.
The questions they’re answering would traditionally be completed for homework, but Biological and Biomedical Sciences Professor Brian Blais, Ph.D., has implemented a flipped classroom model where students take the course’s lectures outside of class and ‘homework’ is worked on when students meet.
Having taught Bryant’s introductory physics course for the past 25 years, Blais has previously made small changes to its content and structure, but the rise of artificial intelligence has prompted him to think about content delivery.
“In this age of AI, it is too easy for students who experience some level of discomfort with the challenging task of learning a new subject to lean on the technology to solve problems for them,” says Blais. “Because AI is so accessible, one has to ask what the role of education is, what the role of teachers should be, and how can students effectively face challenges.”
Out of class, students watch recorded lectures at their own pace — whether that means rewinding to grasp a particular concept or playing at 2x speed because they’re confident in the topic. During this time, Blais encourages them to use a range of tools, including AI, to help explain ideas, create tutorials, and generate practice problems.
For Biology major Bethany Marsella ’27, the course’s format was surprising at first, but she has since found it beneficial.
“It’s helpful because he’s here when you’re working through problems and can help you figure things out in the moment,” says Marsella, noting that if her work is heading in the wrong direction, it can easily be fixed, and the mistakes explained.
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That real-time feedback is exactly what Blais aimed for.
The resulting class, he adds, is also more active: students discuss, debate, map out solutions, ask questions, and work with more autonomy. Blais even recalls a stand-out moment when he arrived at class five minutes early and found nearly all the undergrads at the whiteboards working.
“That level of independence and direction is completely different than in my previous versions of this class,” he says. “I can't imagine going back to it now.”