Generation Z students have their learning preferences. They like to learn independently, advocate for what they believe in, and work hard to achieve their goals. However, there are significant gaps between Generation Z students’ expectations for learning and prior experiences, especially for three domains of motivation in online learning environments: relatability, affirmation, and opportunity. This study aims at exploring the effectiveness of a progressive teaching method designed for Generation Z students in computer networking courses. This study proposes a progressive three-stage teaching method that gradually implements traditional lecture, individual flipped learning, and cooperative flipped learning methods over a semester. The design principle of this study differs from most existing studies that focus on the effectiveness of specific teaching methods. This study encourages each student to learn sequentially through three teaching stages. The purpose of this study is to investigate the changes in students’ learning experiences, particularly in terms of learning comprehension and learning motivation. The research results show that the proposed progressive teaching method can improve students’ understanding of computer networking courses and enhance their learning motivation. Participants agreed that the proposed progressive pedagogy can improve their teamwork skills and provide a different learning experience in the computer networking courses.

Computer networks are a professional subject of the Computer Science Department. Traditional teaching methods are not suitable for business school students who think the content is too theoretical to understand. Therefore, this research proposes a three-stage progressive teaching method, which divides the teaching process into three teaching stages according to the depth of knowledge of the teaching content. The teaching process gradually adopts traditional instruction, digital storytelling teaching methods, and visual narrative creation projects to guide students’ learning methods. The objective of this research is to adopt a step-by-step three-stage teaching method to gradually increase students’ interest in learning and make computer network learning more effective. The research results show that this innovative teaching method can cultivate learners’ computational thinking and deepen their understanding of corresponding knowledge. The students stated that the anthropomorphic situational narrative materials in the course increased their understanding and enjoyment, thereby improving their learning motivation and effectiveness.