The flipped classroom approach has been gaining substantial momentum and is well received in Asia. Using a qualitative approach, this study examined how the flipped classroom approach affects the teaching and learning experiences of students and teachers in Asian higher education. Five Faculty of Education courses were examined in this study. Five individual interviews were conducted with the course instructors and three focus-group interviews were conducted with a total of 12 students. Data was analysed by thematic analysis. Using the self-determination theory (SDT) as a theoretical framework, five themes emerged. The results of this study suggest that the flipped classroom approach has substantial potential to fulfil the three basic cognitive needs among university students in the field of education. Most students in this study felt positive about the flipped classroom approach and students' and instructors' positive feelings can be explained using the main components of the SDT. Subsequently, this paper presents a summary table on recommended strategies for before, during and after-class implementation of the flipped approach.