SSPEL Newsletter: Research and Scholarly Activities

Tomorrow, Thursday 28 June, The School of Sport, Physical Education and Leisure (SSPEL) will be welcoming in the region of 100 young people from schools across the South West for the second Marjon Sport Courses Conference.

The attendees will spend the morning listening to the presentations about the benefits of HE and in particular Marjon, the courses that SSPEL offers and the facilities we have on site. The young people will then take part in a tour of the College campus. After lunch in the dining hall attendees will take part in practical sessions which capture the essence of the courses offered by SSPEL

Colleagues in PE have been playing an active part in scholarly activity and in developing research infrastructure, largely via the HEI ITT Network, which provides funds for a series of Regional Coordinators and regional conferences. SSPEL colleagues have been presenting papers and running workshops, including a national workshop on assessment. Published outputs include contributions to resource packs and an article for the Association for PE (AFPE) Magazine.

Another colleague has been contributing to the British Educational Research Association Conference and is a member of the special interest group for PE.

I can't disclose too much detail for obvious reasons, but I had two bids to consider. They were quite different, ranging from setting up a research institute with postgraduate study to thinking about the impact of undergraduate course design on first year students. The first year experience seems to be a hot issue at the moment, prompted, no doubt, by substantial drop out rates in a number of universities.

The whole process seemed pretty open and transparent. The guidelines for bids were clear, and the template for referees complemented them precisely. Referees could also add comments although everything suggested that long-winded, self-pitying rants in pursuit of private agendas were not really required (damn!).

In one case in particular, the bid was particularly tightly written to focus precisely on the required issues. That one got through as well.

Dave Harris

It was interesting to attend the C-SAP meeting of the National Reference Group for Sociology on a muggy Friday in London. The Reference Group exists to offer feedback to the LTSN and to share ideas. We discussed a number of new initiatives to develop an interest in 'critical pedagogy'. We shared some ideas about e-teaching, and I told them about our growing collection of RLOs using the Producer software. New items are likely to include the employability agenda.
My next task for C-SAP is to referee some applications for funding. Should be good experience in working up to a bid of my/our own.
Dave Harris

Erica Eaton has gained her MPhil from Exeter University. Her dissertation was based upon how effective organization and management of school playtimes can contribute to physical activity levels of primary-aged children. As a result, Plymouth City Council has agreed to provide £5000 to put the recommendations of the thesis into a action research project locally.