Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of a flipped–collaborative instructional model in enhancing Chinese pre-service physics teachers’ instructional design skills. Forty participants completed a nine-week intervention within a teacher education program. A one-group repeated-measures design was adopted, with six assessment points: a baseline Pre-test, four process-based instructional design tasks, and a final Post-test. Instructional design performance was evaluated using the Instructional Design Text Assessment Rubric (IDTAR) across five skill dimensions—background analysis, learning objectives, instructional process planning, assessment design, and tool selection—independently scored by two raters. Quantitative analysis revealed significant overall improvement, with mean scores rising from M = 50.68 (SD = 5.60) to M = 73.83 (SD = 7.83) (t(39) = 12.93, p < .001, d = 2.05). The mean normalized gain (ḡ = 0.47) indicated moderate-to-high progress, while repeated-measures ANOVA confirmed a strong time effect (F(1.54, 59.95) = 398.30, p < .001, partial η² = .91). The five instructional design skill dimensions did not develop uniformly but followed differentiated developmental rhythms: background analysis and instructional process planning deepened progressively across iterative practice; learning objectives development underwent a reconstruction–consolidation shift; assessment design stabilized early; and tool selection improved gradually through exploratory internalization. Qualitative text analyses showed a shift from descriptive lesson drafts to measurable, inquiry-oriented designs with strengthened alignment among objectives, activities, and assessment. Student satisfaction was high (M = 4.75, SD = 0.47), emphasizing the value of collaboration and formative feedback. Collectively, the flipped–collaborative model not only enhanced instructional design skills but also supported differentiated internalization pathways, demonstrating scalability and theoretical grounding in physics teacher education.

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