Preservice Physical Education Teachers’ Perceptions of a Flipped Basketball Course: Benefits, Challenges, and Recommendations

Purpose: Information and communication technologies can enable educators in the development of innovative and contextually relevant approaches for the provision of enhanced learning experiences. This study examined preservice physical education teachers’ perceptions of a flipped learning basketball course in a physical education teacher education program. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight preservice physical education teachers (three females; Mage = 23.5 years) who had completed the course. Interview data were coded using inductive and deductive thematic analysis. Results: Six main themes were identified reflecting benefits, challenges, and recommendations of flipped learning: (a) facilitate student-centered learning, (b) promote self-directed learning, (c) encourage real-world application, (d) insufficient avenues to assess understanding, (e) preclass preparation too time consuming, and (f) modification of materials and structure. Discussion/Conclusion: Flipped learning can potentially enhance preservice physical education teachers’ motivation for learning and increase active learning time in the sport-based courses in physical education teacher education. The identified challenges and recommendations are valuable for physical education teacher education educators to effectively prepare and execute flipped learning-based courses.