A design-based approach to collaborative learning in flipped classrooms: Fostering socio-cognitive and psychological competencies among female Saudi postgraduates

Although flipped learning has gained global attention, its implementation in traditionally teacher-centered and culturally conservative contexts such as Saudi Arabia remains underexplored. This study examined how integrating collaborative learning within a flipped classroom can support socio-cognitive and collaborative competencies associated with 21st-century learning, including communication, critical thinking, learner agency, and teamwork. The study involved 28 female postgraduate Education students at a public Saudi university. Grounded in socio-cultural and dialogic learning theory, a two-phase design-based research (DBR) approach was implemented to iteratively refine instructional design and examine interactional change over time. Qualitative data were collected through classroom observations, focus groups, teacher–researcher discussions, and reflective journals. Reflexive thematic analysis and socio-cultural discourse analysis were conducted to identify patterns of participation, interaction, and collaborative regulation. Findings showed that collaborative learning in the flipped classroom was not automatic, but emerged through specific psychological and instructional conditions. These included emotional safety (evidenced by increased willingness to speak without fear of evaluation), guided teacher mediation that redistributed participation, and scaffolded interaction through structured tools that externalized thinking and supported shared meaning-making. Learners also demonstrated gradual development of agency and self-regulation, reflected in increased peer negotiation, monitoring of participation balance, and adjustment of communicative behavior during group tasks. The study contributes to educational psychology by demonstrating that flipped collaborative learning operates as a socially mediated and culturally situated process in which cognitive engagement, emotional regulation, and participation are co-constructed through interaction. It further highlights the importance of iterative pedagogical design in enabling inclusive and effective collaborative learning in traditionally teacher-centered higher education contexts.