THE WUWEI OF THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM: RETHINKING LEARNER AUTONOMY IN MODERN LITERATURE EDUCATION

Abstract

Abstract: In this study, I propose a groundbreaking philosophical-methodological approach by integrating the Daoist concepts of Wuwei (non-action/effortless action) and Qiwu (equality of things) into the flipped classroom model within modern literature education. Drawing upon empirical pedagogical data from my own master's thesis regarding the instruction of canonical 11th-grade modern Vietnamese short stories (Chí Phèo, Chữ người tử tù, Hai đứa trẻ), this paper redefines the essence of self-study capacity and learner autonomy. Rather than treating the flipped classroom as a purely digital mechanism for grade optimization, I interpret this model through the ontological lens of the Daodejing. The educator practices Wuwei er wu bu wei (acting through non-action)—intentionally receding into the background to cultivate an invisible, nourishing pedagogical space via pre-designed digital courseware, thereby yielding the center of the pedagogical stage to the learners' spontaneous self-actualization. My empirical findings demonstrate that when liberated from the traditional instructor's dogmatic intervention and discursive imposition, students not only exhibit profound development in literary argumentative text-creation skills but also attain a state of Ziran (spontaneity) in artistic and literary appreciation. Consequently, this study inaugurates a new horizon in academic discourse, demonstrating that the synthesis of ancient Eastern philosophy and contemporary educational technology not only optimizes pedagogical efficacy but fundamentally emancipates the learner's subjecthood in contemporary humanities education.