Palomas, David; (2025) Match Point! Reducing International Students' Resistance to Active Learning with Sports Coaching Strategies. Presented at: Advance HE Teaching and Learning Conference 2025, Sheffield, UK.

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Abstract

International students often struggle to adapt from traditional, lecture-based education to active learning environments like the flipped classroom. While the flipped classroom is an inclusive approach with benefits that include improved academic performance and engagement, many international students resist this approach due to a lack of understanding of its rationale. Finding strategies to reduce this resistance is critical to improving the experience of international students and ensuring their success in a globally connected world. Typical approaches to address resistance to active learning include explanation techniques that clarify purpose and expectations, and facilitation strategies to maintain engagement. This session proposes an alternative strategy based on the use of sports coaching to ease international students into active learning. Students are introduced to a familiar context by establishing parallels between the flipped classroom and sports training. Traditional lecturing is compared to watching professionals play sports before practicing alone, while the flipped classroom is compared to learning the fundamental skills of the sport independently and developing them further with an expert coach. This analogy highlights the importance of hands-on practice and guidance in achieving success and is particularly aimed at international students with no previous experience in active learning.

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