A C-Flex model for advancing flipped learning through collaboration, equity, and experience in higher education

The flipped classroom has gained traction as a pedagogical strategy aimed at enhancing student engagement, autonomy, and active learning. However, despite its widespread adoption, the model often lacks structured mechanisms for embedding meaningful collaboration and ensuring equitable participation, particularly in resource-constrained and culturally diverse higher education contexts. This paper introduces the Collaborative Flipped Learning for Equity and eXperience (C-Flex) model, a structured framework designed to address critical gaps in existing flipped learning practices. Grounded in constructivist, sociocultural, and equity-focused theories, the C-Flex model is built on five interdependent principles: Collaboration, Flipped (strategy), Learning (active and reflective), Equity, and eXperience. The paper systematically maps the limitations of prevailing models, including deficiencies in collaborative design, teacher support, and inclusive assessment and presents C-Flex as a pedagogically sound, contextually adaptable, and practically implementable alternative. By aligning ethical imperatives with real-world classroom demands, C-Flex offers a theoretically grounded framework that may support the advancement of flipped learning in diverse higher education settings. The model is proposed as a conceptual foundation for future empirical testing and refinement.