How do students prepare in the pre-class setting of a flipped undergraduate math course? A latent profile analysis of learning behavior and the impact of achievement goals

Pre-class preparedness is critical to students' in-class learning and overall success in the flipped classroom. This study used both trace data and self-report data to identify students' pre-class learning behavior profiles and investigate the relations of the identified learning profiles with the achievement trajectory over time and students' perceived achievement goal orientations in a flipped undergraduate math class. Three distinctive types of pre-class learning profiles emerged from the study, including the lecture-focused and low time-spent profile, lecture-quiz-balanced and average time-spent profile, and quiz-focused and high time-spent profile. The results show that students' performance trajectories were significantly different among the three learning profiles. In addition, achievement goals significantly impacted the membership of the learning profiles, indicating students' perceived goal orientations shape their pre-class learning behaviors. The theoretical and instructional implications are discussed, and specific design suggestions were provided to improve students' pre-class preparedness in the flipped math classroom.