Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse student performance and perceptions when a flipped classroom setting is used, in comparison with the traditional model. Design/methodology/approach: The inverted learning model or "flipped classroom" is a pedagogical approach that attempts to reverse the traditional teaching and learning process, making the student the protagonist of their own learning, and is characterised by the theoretical contents being taught "outside the classroom", allowing students to spend more class time carrying out other types of more practical activities that encourage much more active learning, such as enquiry exercises, problem solving, collaborative projects and so on. The study was conducted on a biology course of the Primary Education Bachelor's Degree during the 2017/2018 academic year (n = 240). Findings: The results revealed that better learning outcomes were achieved by students when the flipped classroom methodology was proposed. It has also been found that student perceptions of the teaching approach were more positive when the flipped model was followed. The flipped classroom methodology also seems to foster student participation and motivation more effectively than traditional teaching formats, mainly because the active learning activities that are carried out in this new educative approach manage to involve the students in their own learning processes. Originality/value: Despite the enhanced popularity of flipped classroom research in multiple educational contexts and the growing number of studies published in recent years, there is little empirical evidence regarding the effect of the flipped classroom on learning outcomes and satisfaction in pre-service teachers.