Tuesday, July 10, 2007
School Research Day 5th July 2007-- Abstracts
“Arousal makes us stupid!” (
Louise Ansell
The Human Givens approach claims to provide a synthesis of current brain and social research. It has been suggested that it can provide “templates for understanding how to unlock the best in human nature” (Zeig, 2004). Whilst this approach was initially developed to provide greater understanding of mental health, its broader applications are now being recognised. This short presentation details the key principles and research findings underlying this approach and explores the potential applications within Higher Education. In particular it highlights the possible relevance for lecturers, school teachers and outdoor practitioners.
Whether the employment of a participation Framework can help structure the practice of mentors in the search for consistency of experiential learning in school based training.
Jackie Arthur
Mentoring is claimed to contribute significantly to the professional development of trainee and mentor teachers alike. Colley (2002) defines it as the “in” thing and the preferred method of initial training within the public services sector. Mentoring has, for over a decade, formed a very profound strategy, through which to nurture the professional development of both serving teachers and trainees embarking upon one of the various programmes available to learn the art of teaching.
The enormity of the mentoring role as Roberts’ (2000) identifies as ranging from the development of a supportive relationship; to a helping process; a teaching-learning process; a reflective process; a career development process; a formalized process; and a role constructed for or by the mentor, requires considerable understanding if the practice of a mentor is to consistently guide the trainee in the dynamic environments of a school.
The aim of this, small scale, research is to consider the use and effectiveness of a participation framework in helping to establish consistency of practice by mentors in two of our training school.
The influence of physiological workload on game-related decision making in soccer referees
Recent reviews of the literature have suggested that referees are likely to reach oxygen uptake levels of around 80% of maximal uptake during matches (Reilly & Gregson, 2006).
Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of differing physiological workloads on referees’ decision making performance.
Methods: Participants in this study undertook decision making trials across three levels of the independent variable; at rest, following 20 minute treadmill running at 60% of maximal oxygen uptake, and following 20 minute treadmill running at 80% of maximal oxygen uptake.
The accuracy of participants’ refereeing decisions was assessed by developing a bank of 100 “decision making video clips,” consisting of critical decision making situations in soccer. Participants received a total composite decision making score based upon the accuracy of their decisions in a series of 25 clips that were presented to them at the end of each trial.
Result and discussions: Results suggested a lower level of decision making following exercise at 80% of maximal oxygen uptake and at rest. Following exercise at 60% of maximal oxygen uptake, decision making displayed increase accuracy. Furthermore, as participants recovered during the decision making task their accuracy further improved.
A Year Older, A Year Wiser (?): Reflecting on lessons learned.
Aaron Beacom
Charged with a new found enthusiasm, I travelled north in September 2006 to present the first of three conference papers delivered during this academic year. Ten mouths later, bruised and a little battered, it is time to reflect on what went right, what went wrong and why.
While the presentation will provide an overview of content of my research over the past year, I felt it might be more helpful to colleagues if I focused primarily on ‘process’ - sharing something of what I have learned along the way. To that end, I will refer to:
- Interfacing – navigating the no-man’s land between academia and the professions
- Publication – Highs and lows on this long and winding road.
- Blogs – one dinosaur’s approach to the brave new electronic world.
- Collegiality – Beginning to appreciate the efforts and help from others.
Season-of-Birth Birth Bias in Elite Female Football Players
Saul Bloxham
It has been documented that a season of birth bias exists in association football. This age effect has been identified at all levels of the game including professional football (Richardson and Stratton, 2002) elite male youth football (Simmons and Paull, 2001) and those selected for school representative football teams (
The use of thermal imaging to assess surface temperature within a paediatric context
Caroline Brokenshire
During thermoregulatory research core and peripheral temperatures are monitored to assess thermoregulatory strain. To date published paediatric thermoregulatory work has calculated mean skin temperature (Tsk) from adult weighted, unweighted or variable formula equations.
It is well documented that children have a higher surface area to body mass ratio than adults. The alterations in surface area through maturation may impact upon the validity of adult based Tsk equations to the paediatric population. Furthermore, during the adolescent growth spurt it is acknowledged that children experience accelerated growth in different regions that may impact upon peripheral temperatures and the surface area used for weighted equations.
Goss et al., (1989) document that to find an accurate and procedurally convenient index of global skin temperature is challenging. Choi et al., (1997) indicate that the only way to determine true mean skin temperature is to obtain measurements of an infinite number of sites. With this in mind it is reasonable to consider that the accuracy of Tsk is increased in proportion to the number of measuring sites.
Infrared thermography is a technique which allows detection of entire body surface area. Through combined monitoring of a thermal imaging camera and skin thermistors; the validity of adult based equations can be assessed.
In order to confidently assess thermoregulatory responses within a paediatric sample in future investigations; the validity of using adult based Tsk for children must first be established.
Keeping the ‘balls in the air’ whilst ‘the plates are spinning’.
This presentation considers the challenges of an eclectic mix of research and scholary activity from the past 12 months.
The presentation does not attempt to focus on a specific area of research. As the title suggests the presentation will explore the competing demands of research and scholarly activity across a number of different areas which include; the Higher Education Academy (HEA) PG Cert modules; the Northumbria University MSc Distance Learning Sports Management Modules in Strategic Sports Management, Human Resource Management and Accountancy; and the Local Exercise Action Pilot (LEAP) consultancy work for Plymouth City Council and Plymouth Primary Care Trust.
BASES accreditation
It will be presented as to what the British Association of Sport & Exercise is and what the accreditation process entails. Also how it is achieved through supervised experience, with specific relation to the psychological components. The psychological components to be considered are core psychology, sport & exercise psychology, counselling skills, communication and presentation skills, assessment and evaluation, practical experiences as a sport and exercise psychologist, and finally practical experiences of sport, exercise and physical activity.
The Sport Scientist as a Coach – A Case Study
Lance Doggart
Historically sport scientists have been a support service for coaches. Coaches and coaching governing bodies have utilised the skills of the sport scientist to enhance training and fitness regimes (Bangsbo, Mohr & Krustrup, 2006), maximise technical performance (McGinnis, 2005), improve mental preparation prior to competition (Jarvis, 2006) and reduce the risk of injury through equipment design (Bartlett, 1997). Increasingly sport scientists are being asked to not only design and implement the theoretical concepts but to act as surrogate coaches during the implementation period. Furthermore sport scientists have taken prominent roles in coordinating national coaching programmes in the
The coach, athlete, parent and child scenarios have been well documented (Abraham, Collins & Martindale, 2006) and research has offered guidelines on how to cope with such situations (Sportscoach
The aim of the research was, using a case study, identify the challenges experienced by an individual acting as sport scientist and as a coach and how the dual role affects athlete performance.
Playtime Physical Activity in Primary Children.
Erica Eaton Quinn
Physical activity guidelines put forwards by the Health Education Authority (1998) suggest that children should engage in 30 to 60 minutes of moderate physical activity daily, however, there is a concern that many children are not reaching recommended levels of physical activity. Whilst schools provide an opportunity to contact most children, pressures on classroom time over recent years have had a negative effect on physical activity across a variety of curriculum subjects. The use of playtimes as an opportunity to increase children’s activity levels is both feasible and exciting. Playtimes take up almost a quarter of the primary school day and could contribute towards the daily total recommended levels of physical activity. Playtimes provide the safe setting that restricts many children out of school. Data gathered (Eaton Quinn, 2006) further suggests that playtimes can provide the opportunity to raise the heart rate to 140 bts.min-1 or higher in proportions of available time comparable to 50% suggested by Stratton and Mullan, (2005) as guidelines for PE lessons. The sensible utilisation of this playtime period could enthuse those children who do not enjoy curriculum PE providing an opportunity for them to experience the pleasure of being physically active within a different context.
The organisation and management of playtimes directly affects opportunities to be physically active. Knowledge of the non-modifiable factors that affect a child’s choice to be physically active allows specific groups to be targeted, whilst modifiable factors can be directly manipulated. Plymouth City Council has agreed to fund an action research project to apply the possible interventions identified (Eaton Quinn, 2006) as effective to a case study school in the
Evaluating reusable learning objects for visually and aurally impaired students
Ian Gilhespy
(Not presenting on the day)
I have been producing re-usable learning objects for undergraduate students of Leisure, Outdoor Adventure and Sports Development. They have been produced using the free software MS Producer and have consisted of lecture slides and digital images that play alongside a spoken commentary often based on existing lectures or on ‘key concepts’. The production of these objects was, in part, motivated by an interest to develop materials that would be accessible to students who had been gifted a laptop.
The specific purpose of this research project is to create an opportunity – in the form of time principally- to develop an existing interest in the creation and use of re-usable(or digital) learning objects. In particular, this project concerns the evaluation of the effectiveness of re-usable learning objects in the learning and teaching process. The evaluation will consist of qualitative research in the form of listening, recording and assessing the views of students.
My interest in re-usable learning objects has already led to a successful bid to the Higher Education Academy in conjunction with the J.I.S.C. through their Higher Education Assistive Technology project (HEAT). The success was in the form of equipment. The aims of the equipment bid were as follows:
i) to produce learning objects relevant to the study of leisure, outdoor adventure and sports development with enhanced visual materials;
ii) to liaise with visually and aurally impaired students concerning the design of RLOs; specific to their learning requirements (including the adaptation of existing RLOs accordingly);
iii) to explore the scope for the software in the production of innovative educational materials and approaches.
A successful bid was made for a College Teaching Fellowship this year. In the next academic year, I shall be able to develop the project both in the form of making more reusable learning objects and engaging in their evaluation using student feedback. A selection of these R.L.Os may be viewed and listened to from Dave Harris’ website
Strengthening the Special Educational Needs element of Initial Teacher Training: A report on TDA Development Programme: ITT placements in specialist special education provision.
In the academic year 2006-2007 the Teacher Development Agency (TDA) set up a development programme to enable ITT placements in specialist special education provision. The goal of the programme was to enhance knowledge, skills and understanding of inclusive practice for SEN and disability among those joining and relatively new to the teaching force. This report outlines one such project and the outcomes against the TDA’s objectives for both trainee teachers on a 3 year B.Ed secondary course in the southwest and the special schools they were attached to.
Researching ‘Otherness’ in Sport and Leisure
Dave Harris (Dr)
There is a substantial background of interest in understanding people who are ‘others’ (i.e. not like ‘self’). Options range from trying to render other people as less complete (usually inferior) versions of ourselves to trying to grasp ‘otherness’ as a perfectly viable and genuine alternative way of life. The latter might be more ethical but it is also much harder to actually research. The presentation outlines a big project on ‘otherness’ and then considers some more specific projects to understand others in different ways. Specific projects include trying to see ‘unhealthy’ activity and ‘sportophobia’ as embodying various kinds of ‘otherness’.Presentation (as an RLO here)
Measuring Effective Leadership
Gareth M Jones
Effective leadership eludes many people and organisations. A principle reason is the lack of understanding about the precise leadership behaviours that promote the best results.
A raft of studies suggest that the higher individuals move up in an organisation, then the more likely they are to over-rate themselves and develop ‘blind spots’ that hinder their effectiveness as leaders.
An appropriate research tool relating to leadership styles can help leaders discover where their strengths and areas for development actually are in terms of the six recognised leadership styles i.e. the Directive/Visionary/Affiliative/Participative/Pacesetting/Coaching. The appropriate tool can thus measure the leadership styles that the leader believes he or she demonstrates in the work place. These are the leader’s intended styles, but they might not be what others experience…. as was discovered by the Senior Managers at the Rugby Football Union that were assessed as part of my PHD study. The research tool will be examined on the research day.
Remember – no one leadership style is correct. Effective leadership is usually the direct consequence of using the appropriate styles(s) to deal with specific people in specific situations.
Internationalising a
A commitment to
In 2004, for the first time, a college-wide commitment to Internationalisation was clearly embedded in the College’s Strategic Plan. Since this time there has been a drive, to embed the underlying values and practices within INTEC into other departments and therefore make them part of the academic practices of all departments within the institution. This task is not an easy one to achieve. The challenges faced by one department, The School of Sport, Physical Education and Leisure (SSPEL), during the process of and drive towards internationalisation, and the strategies that have been employed to overcome these challenges, are the focus of the paper.
The Impact of the Student Associate Scheme on Selection and Recruitment for Initial Teacher Training
Nicky Jones
The Student Associate Scheme (SAS) is becoming increasingly well known nationally since its introduction in 2003 as part of the Teacher Training Agency strategic aim of increasing the number and quality of recruits into teaching. The scheme gives students ‘the opportunity to discover what teaching is really like, to work alongside experienced teachers and develop new skills’ (TDA 2005). The SAS has two aims, to raise levels of attainment and aspiration of young people in schools (widening participation) and to contribute to the recruitment of able and committed students to initial teacher training (ITT).
The research explores how the students perceive the SAS to prepare them to make the choice about going into teaching.
Ofsted (2006) and the Association for Physical Education highlight concerns over the lack of relevance of first degrees in preparing students for a PGCE in Physical Education. It is hoped that the results could show that the SAS could help to bridge some of the gaps by better preparing students for a career in teaching
Bridging the Gap Between Participation and Performance in
Volleyball Coaching
This Action Research project seeks to produce an instructional digital video disc (DVD) which it is anticipated will become an effective component in the teaching/learning process. The aim of the study is to develop this teaching/coaching resource that will assist in taking the volleyball player from participation to a performance level (Cross and Lyle, 1999; Crisfield et al, 1996) in a more efficient manner. Cross and Lyle (1999) consider there to be two discrete forms of coaching: participation and performance. They expand upon these differences by stating, “participation and performance coaching are two very distinct roles and not two stages on a continuum” (Cross and Lyle, 1999;p12).
Having been involved over a considerable time with the teaching of the sport of volleyball to complete beginners and the coaching of experienced players, it has become increasingly apparent that a lack of resources to assist deliverers in linking these areas exists. Existing literature adequately covers the introduction of the teaching and coaching of the key elements of the game of volleyball to enable players at participation, or beginner, level to gain simple enjoyment of the game (English Volleyball Association, 2004; Neville, 1990). There is a similarly adequate level of writing which covers the delivery of the more complex levels of the game (Shondell and Reynaud, 2002; Scates and Linn, 2003; Neville, 1990). Experience has highlighted that there are minimal resources which can support the coach or teacher in taking the player from the beginner phase of the game to the performance level, which can include rather multifaceted demands.
This DVD will use video analysis techniques to visually teach the elements of ‘position specialisation’, ‘specialist roles’, ‘stacking’ and perhaps even pre-set 1st tempo attack options, all of which are requirements needed to play at a competitive level. Participant players usually make the transition to performance, and hence learning these phases, by joining an existing team and learning through a combination of instruction by the coach and playing alongside an experience team of players. This is less feasible when working with a large number of beginner players, and it is perceived that this video resource could minimise the problem.
Personal Journeys
An 8 day ski-touring trip in
An illustrated description and analysis of the journey will allow an exploration of some key themes that have helped support and inform my professional practice at Marjons.
Themes that emerged for intellectual exploration:
ü Physical challenge
ü Emotional challenge
ü Personal development
ü Connections with nature
ü Outdoor Philosophies ~ Friluftsliv
ü Why am I here at Marjon?
ü The journey – literal and metaphorical
ü Finding spaces ~ reflection, growth + CPD
Developing a new teaching and learning resource for examination PE.
Balls Sports Magazine launched in September 2006 and subsequent issues were published in Jan and May 2007. The Magazine resulted from a desire to more closely relate the experiences of elite sports performers, coaches and teams to the theoretical content of PE examination. In essence the aim was to ‘bring to life’ the exam board’s specifications. Evolving from a perception that whilst many curriculum areas appreciate the motivational benefits of using sport to enhance their subject delivery, existing examination PE resources were not fully exploiting this. To this end ‘text book’ resources were often ‘dry’ and ‘out of date’.
This presentation will outline the shift in philosophy of the magazine and explain how the product has developed to become two separate magazines, an electronic resource and powerpoint lessons. Future directions will be also be discussed along with the ‘problems’ that have arisen from this project.
The Role of Metacognitive Ability in Coach Education
Cassidy, Jones & Potrac (2004) argued that coach education must help coaches to reflect and think critically about their practice. However, it has been argued that such self-reflection and, indeed, self-regulation would require coaches to understand their own personal learning processes, and to acknowledge that it is their own cognition that determines the quality of their instruction (Manning & Payne, 1989; Fishman et al., 2003). The implication is that metacognitive ability, the higher order control and utilisation of the cognitive process involved in thinking and learning (Flavell, 1979; Luke & Hardy, 1999), could have a significant role in coach education programmes. Whilst resistance to such ‘metacognitive’ training has been noted (Jing, 2006), teacher education programmes have had success in developing teachers’ ability to self-monitor and self-regulate their cognitive processes (Manning & Payne, 1989). As such, the key focus of the study would be how to develop a metacognitive ability ‘package’ in coach education and to assess its impact on both coaches and those who are coached.
My presentation proposes a philosophical approach to undergraduate curricula and discusses selective recommendations from an empirical study of curriculum at the College, conducted as part of my doctoral research. I present a rationale for a Higher Education (HE) curriculum philosophy, conceptualised as ‘socially critical vocationalism’ (SCV) and suggest why I believe that SCV could be an appealing approach to underpin a curriculum strategy at the College. I recognise that SCV may be perceived as contentious and radical and therefore hope that the presentation will stimulate a much needed debate about the curriculum. I also discuss a number of proposals and recommendations from the study pertinent to learning, teaching and research developments at the College. These include the introduction of a quarterly in-house publication on ‘curriculum matters’, the creation of curriculum fellowships, enhancing the theoretical curriculum knowledge and understanding of academics via staff development mechanisms and the introduction of a College curriculum strategy
Outdoor Challenges as Therapy
Su Porter
(not presenting on the day)
The use of the outdoors and outdoor challenges is well documented as a means of promoting positive outcomes in peoples wellbeing in its broadest sense. This has now reached our television screen through such programmes as Brat Camps, to a lesser extent reality television such as I’m a Celebrity, Castaway etc. Awareness of potential Outdoor Programmes has grown.
Aim of this research is to undertake a series of Outdoor Programmes with Adults who stammer and their therapists to explore new ways of assisting them to address their everyday issues. It is hoped that there will be a positive outcome that in no way will be a quick fix but may go some way assisting in the therapeutic process.
A combined project with Speech and Language Therapy, staff and students, NHS staff and Out staff and students.
Patients’ and doctors’ attitudes towards health and fitness during the course of an exercise referral scheme.
The process so far!
Martyn Queen
The idea for this study developed from reviewing literature on health and fitness. The literature identified significant material on the contrasting views between the bio-medical and socio-medical models of health. It was then decided to use an exercise referral scheme (ERS) as a way of evaluating the affects that exercise could have on health, as this would provide a starting point for a person who had been diagnosed as unhealthy. There is a dearth of information on the evaluation of ERS’s and the literature available focuses on randomized control trials using physiological change, for example blood pressure and lung function to assess effectiveness. Therefore, as physical activity is a lifestyle habit and a complex social phenomenon, it was decided to locate this study in the socio-medical domain.
The purpose of this research is to provide important qualitative information on the effectiveness of ERS on the health of patients; patients and doctors perceptions of health and fitness; the effectiveness of exercise on treating hypokinetic diseases; and the long term (12 months) adherence rates to physical activity post ERS. Such information would be of significant value to the National Health Service, health professionals and patients. Whilst contributing to the body of knowledge in this area.
The Hub Club at the College was initiated two years ago with some funding from Sport England as a national demonstration project. This facilitated the appointment of Chris Mather as a Community Sports Development Tutor. Until now, working with local clubs in the focus sports of basketball, netball and hockey and the two Plymouth SSPs at Plymstock and Sir John Hunt, much of the work has centred on multiskills development in the primary schools. The success of this project has been acknowledged at national level and has spawned a collaborative project based on the Hub Club concept and closely aligned to coaching, with the Universities of Bath and
A bid to HEFCE for funding as part of the 2012 Olympic Legacy initiative is currently in preparation. The proposal is that the Hub Club concept provides a model of best practice nationally for HEIs to work with their local communities from grass roots to elite level in sport, whilst impacting on the strategic objectives required by HEFCE.
Ian Roberts
The role of the academic is often regarded as remote and clinically objective however when working within and for a community research will becomes far more subjective and enters the political dimension. Current work with
An Investigation into the Necessity for a Longitudinal Study for the Development of Young Association Football Players
Chris Smietanka
Talent may not be evident at an early age in association football. However, there will be some indicators that enable trained people to identify its presence and may provide a basis for predicting those individuals who are likely to succeed at a later stage (Howe et al, 1998).
Several studies have used youth players (11 – 16 yrs) in terms of anthropometrical, physiological and skill acquisition predictors in association football (Vaeyens et al, 2006, Malina et al, 2004 & 2005, Reilly et al, 2000,). These studies in particular have considered growth and maturation on performance and their implications to talent identification.
There is minimal published information into the development and collection of data for young children within association football (Malina, 2003). At the very least skill acquisition, anthropometric and physiological collection of measures particularly through childhood would ensure coaches are better informed how these factors have an effect on player development and possible talent identification (Drust and Reilly, 1997). Longitudinal research of this nature would also help the predictive utility of these tests with young players (Williams & Reilly 2000).
Developing e-learning opportunities & resources.
Caillods (2001:9) suggests that ‘e-learning is more than just on-line distance education.’ With that in mind, the application of ICT to teaching within the HEI setting should be a consideration for further development. Whilst teaching a practical invasion games module to a group of Yr 1 Bed students an interactive and ‘hands on’ approach through the use of video material was explored. The aim was for the students to produce the content for an interactive DVD resource tool that would be useful in their future development; both as an ITT student and as a fully qualified teacher of Physical Education. Topics were shared amongst the group so that students had to develop an understanding for content material, delivery methods and embrace the learning opportunity available through this e-learning medium. It was hoped that by proposing such a task it would, ‘provide the potential to stimulate depth of learning by encouraging students to engage more fully with the topics and issues covered,’ (Pavey & Garland, 2004:305). Furthermore, the use of ICT and e-activities in this manner targeted the ITT process of accreditation towards QTS standards (1.7, 1.8, 2.1, 2.1c, 2.5, 3.3.2c, 3.3.8 – TDA, 2006).
‘Moving the goalposts’. Discussing the challenges of modifications in research focus for a new academic
Approximately 12 months ago, I gave a brief presentation regarding my research interest of the role of Talent Identification (TID) in Football. Work was to focus on TID from a sports development perspective, specifically analysing the role of Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) in creating enhanced opportunities for mass participation and elite performance in the ‘beautiful game’.
This presentation will discuss how continued work on an MSc programme has signified a change in focus for future research activity. It will examine units of work covered to date, in addition to those due to be completed in the next academic year. This will give me the opportunity to explore potential areas of research based upon the experiences gained whilst completing a Higher Degree.
Using newspapers in sports history research
In a recent text on sports historiography, Douglas Booth states that if sports historians were asked to ‘…formally define the objectives, assumptions, methods and forms of presentation of their field […] they talk in vague terms about facts, narratives, context and theory.’ (2005: 5) In particular he suggests, ‘[i]t is not much of an exaggeration to say that sport history rests on newspapers as historical sources,’ yet ‘…few sport historians pay enough attention to interrogating newspaper sources.’ (2005: 94).
In acknowledgement of this and in an attempt to provide an introductory chapter for my PhD thesis, which will include a section on research methods, the intention in this presentation is to provide a tentative rationale for the use of newspapers in sports history research. In particular the presentation will explore the reliability of newspaper sources; the justification of regarding newspapers as ‘primary’ evidence; ways to critically analyse newspaper sources.
Booth, D. (2005) The Field: Truth and fiction in sport history.
Friday, July 06, 2007
In-house journal launched
