The International Cooperation Office acted as institutional mediator between student groups from both countries
The State University of Maringá (UEM) and the Catholic University of Maule (UCM) promoted a virtual exchange that connected Brazilian and Chilean students in a collaborative experience focused on Physical Education Teaching Methodology and Sports Pedagogy.
The activity brought together students from the Physical Education Teaching Methodology course at UEM and the Sports Pedagogy course at UCM, under the coordination of professors Ana Luiza Barbosa Anversa and Carlos Herold Junior, from the Physical Education Department at UEM, and Ricardo Souza de Carvalho, a professor at the Chilean institution.
With the assistance from the Office of International Cooperation (ECI/UEM), especially the Division of Internationalization at Home, coordinated by Professor Fabiana Andrade Machado, the project received institutional mediation, technical support, and guidance for its implementation.
The exchange lasted approximately two months, from planning to final evaluation. The professors defined a common theme for both courses and developed collaborative activities carried out by mixed groups of students from Brazil and Chile, who worked together through digital platforms to complete tasks and analyze issues related to physical education in schools.
For Professor Carlos Herold Jr., the experience allowed students to learn about different educational realities: Brazilian students had contact with the organization of classes in Chile, while Chilean students were able to understand the Brazilian scenario in sports education in basic education, promoting transnational and multicultural learning.
In addition to academic content, participants faced challenges such as language differences, scheduling conflicts, and developing communication strategies, extending their learning beyond the traditional classroom.
The ECI's role was fundamental to the initiative's success. Professor Fabiana Machado points out that the Office provided support ranging from the search for international partners to mediation between faculty members and final guidance for registering the activity. “Actions such as this strengthen existing partnerships and can generate new cooperation agreements, expanding connections and opportunities for academic collaboration,” she added.
The exchange brought multiple educational benefits by strengthening ties between UEM and UCM, broadening students' education with new practices and challenges in the field, promoting multicultural experiences, and encouraging communication in another language. For Anversa and Herold Jr., the initiative also generates significant gains for professors by making classes more dynamic and interesting, benefiting both students and professors.
After the activities, the experience was evaluated by collecting feedback from participants. Among the positive aspects, the clarity of the objectives, the relevance of the activities, and the richness of the cultural exchange stood out, while the main challenges involved reconciling schedules, linguistic differences, and variation in group engagement. This data should guide the continuity and improvement of the project, with the prospect of new editions in the coming years.
Ana Luiza Barbosa Anversa, professor at the Physical Education department and responsible for the Physical Education Teaching Methodology course in the evening program, also participated in the planning process for the virtual exchange alongside Professor Herold Jr. and Professor Ricardo from the Chilean university. “The proposal was very significant, as it allowed academics to learn about the regulatory documents in Chile and understand their impact on Physical Education in schools and Sports Pedagogy.”
The students reported that the experience sparked their curiosity to deepen their understanding of the Chilean reality, especially with regard to teacher training, supervised internship practices, and school Physical Education. In addition, they highlighted the challenge and opportunity of communicating with students from another country, which broadened their perspective on different educational contexts.
Translation team:
Felipe Amorim Piva
Julia Pedriali Rosa