Abstract:

Challenge-Based Learning (CBL), has increasingly been adopted in initial teacher education to promote active, experiential, and professionally relevant learning. Grounded in cooperative problem solving, authentic tasks, and structured reflection, CBL strengthens the connection between theory and practice by engaging students in real-world scenarios that build professional confidence. Within this institutional framework, the University of Barcelona has implemented several RIMDA-e projects across different programmes.
This study reports the results of a CBL intervention in Introduction to Team Sports, a 3-ECTS course (15 in-person sessions) for fourth-year students in the Primary Education degree (Physical Education). The methodology was organized around student working groups who completed four sequenced challenges: curriculum analysis to understand educational content, methodological study to explore teaching strategies, collaborative planning to design lessons, and simulated teaching to practice delivery. A Lesson Study session with an external observer provided additional formative insights. The sample included 57 students, divided into a control group and an intervention group.
Data were collected using an ad hoc pre–post questionnaire, that included seven thematic blocks, each measured by specific items: learning processes, methodological aspects, interest and motivation, evaluation, autonomy, collaboration, and creativity/problem solving. Items were rated on 5-point Likert or 5-point semantic scales (stars/check marks), allowing for a multidimensional analysis of students’ perceptions of CBL.
Post-test scores showed a consistent trend towards improvement, with significant gains in the evaluation block for the intervention group: a clearer shift towards practical, situation-based assessment (Pre M=3.78; Post M=4.60; d≈1.2) and increased peer assessment (Pre M=3.63; Post M=4.12; d≈0.64). The overall evaluation block also improved (Pre M=3.85; Post M=4.28; d≈0.8). The intervention group demonstrated higher collaboration compared to the control group (Control M=3.93; Intervention M=4.35; d≈0.9). Qualitative feedback highlighted stronger theory-to-practice connections, deeper collaborative planning, and increased confidence during simulated teaching.
The comparison with the control group—who covered the same content and also worked in groups but followed a traditional session structure without challenge-based sequencing—suggests that the iterative and practical nature of CBL led to more significant improvements in student engagement and learning outcomes. While both groups experienced similar assessment formats, only the CBL students engaged in iterative challenges and produced a final product with societal transfer: the collaborative webpage. This enhanced their perception of meaningful evaluation and strengthened collaborative engagement. The next stage will focus on consolidating the benefits of CBL, particularly enhancing collaborative engagement and practical evaluation, while refining components such as the integration of societal transfer in final products.
Finally, the next phase will focus on refining the structure of challenge sequences to ensure progressively higher levels of cognitive demand, while expanding opportunities for students to co design aspects of their final products to increase ownership and societal transfer.

Keywords:

Educational Innovation, Challenge-Based Learning, Higher Education Pedagogy, Initial Teacher Education, Physical Education, University of Barcelona.