A Flipped Classroom Intervention for Fostering Academic Achievement and Learning Motivation for Chinese Higher Vocational Students

Abstract

Against the background of high-quality development of China’s higher vocational education, traditional teacher-centered classrooms generally face problems such as weak practical ability of students, insufficient learning motivation, and disconnection between theory and practice. This study took the course Mental Health Education for College Students as the research carrier, and selected 30 freshmen majoring in Digital Media Art from Quanzhou Light Industry Vocational College as research subjects. Adopting a one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design, this study constructed and implemented a three-stage flipped classroom teaching model of "pre-class micro-lecture foundation laying + in-class situational practice + post-class transfer and application", integrated information technologies including Xuexitong platform, AI teaching assistants and VR scenario simulation, and carried out an 8-week teaching intervention. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through academic achievement tests, learning motivation scales, satisfaction questionnaires, classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. Statistical analysis showed that after the intervention, students’ scores in theoretical knowledge and practical application improved significantly (p<0.001), with growth rates of 26.1% and 25.4% respectively. Students’ intrinsic learning motivation was effectively activated, and the improvement of underachieving students was more prominent. The overall student satisfaction with the teaching model reached 4.42/5. This study verifies that the flipped classroom adapts to the competency based orientation of higher vocational education, and has significant effects on improving academic performance and stimulating learning motivation of vocational college students, providing empirical evidence and practical paths for the teaching reform of humanities and social science courses in higher vocational colleges.