With advances in learning technologies, new pedagogical models are being developed to improve students' learning performance. One notable model is the flipped classroom, which has attracted the attention of many researchers, particularly in K-12 education. However, research on effective approaches for managing the flipped classroom model to improve mathematics learning is lacking. This study explored approaches to manage the flipped classroom in a Chinese context and designed an approach to improve the mathematical learning performance of middle school students. In a flipped classroom teaching and learning, students took notes while watching videos at home and then teacher utilized the notes for in-class discussion. A total of 88 sixth-grade students in a secondary school in mainland China participated in this study. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach by situating the experimental and control groups in flipped and traditional classrooms, respectively. The results show that the proposed flipped classroom approach significantly improves the students' mathematical learning performance. The proposed approach is more beneficial to students at the middle mathematics level comparing to those at high or low levels. Furthermore, some suggestions are provided for teachers to manage flipped classroom more effectively.