The instructor-student collaborative partnership has potential to transform education from a traditional, instructor-directed teaching to an active student-centred learning. However, it is not easy to promote the instructor-student collaborative partnership in the Eastern education contexts like China, due to the didactic, instructor-directed, centrally-organised educational structure. The current research conducts a three-iterative action research to practice and investigate the instructor-student collaborative partnership in China's higher education. The instructor uses and modifies pedagogical strategies to foster the instructor-student collaborative partnership iteratively in three graduate-level courses. Furthermore, a qualitative research method is used to investigate the collaborative partnership across three courses. Results indicate a gradual development of the superficial, medium and high levels of the instructor-student collaborative partnership across three courses. Based on the results, this research provides conceptual, analytical and pedagogical implications that are beneficial to understand and foster the instructor-student collaborative partnership in higher education.