This paper, based on a winning entry to the Institution’s Excellence in Structural Engineering Education Award 2015, provides an account of action research in the application of inverted classroom principles to teaching first-year undergraduate civil engineering students, which was undertaken as a response to disappointing academic performance of the 2012/13 cohort. The process was based around a virtual learning environment.
The effect upon engagement was better than expected, and demonstrated that it is possible to engineer enhanced performance by increasing student interaction with a virtual learning environment in conjunction with a structured learning schedule.