The Impact of Flipped Project-Based Learning on Self-Regulation in Higher Education

Abstract

Student-centered learning approaches such as project-based learning and flipped classroom stress the active role of the learner by applying knowledge rather than absorbing knowledge, and preparing higher education students for professional development. Student-centered learning environments are more effective when students regulate their learning and learn autonomously. There-fore, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of a proposed ap-proach of flipped project-based learning on various facets of students' self-regulated learning, including motivational beliefs and learning strategies in higher education. A flipped project-based learning environment was designed and developed to improve students' self-regulated learning skills. In this regard, multiple case studies were conducted according to a pretest-posttest quasi-experiment design to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed approach by four groups of students from different disciplines. The study employed a mixed-method research approach for data collection. Overall, the results re-vealed that the flipped project-based learning approach significantly enhanced students' self-regulated learning skills. It was found that the approach fostered the students' self-regulation performance among different groups across dif-ferent disciplines and levels. Moreover, participants also claimed that the approach was useful and ef-fective. The findings indicated that students who actively engaged within flipped PBL activities demonstrated increases in cognitive and metacognitive functioning both individually and collaboratively. This study contributes to an advance in the understanding of how the development of SRL can be inte-grated into a flipped project-based learning environment in higher education.