Overview
Course Summary
A two-year foundation degree intended to develop sports coaching skills. The course will focus on practical coaching skills development in a range of activities, so it's not specific. Students can choose to focus on a sport of their choice and apply their course to their sport.
Drawing on year of sports coaching expertise at the Football and Rugby academies at at UCS Bury St Edmunds, student will taught by experienced coaches, and highly qualified academic staff, covering not only the basics of sports coaching but advanced issues such as adapted physical activity, and sports development in the community.
IT can be used as first two years of a path towards a Physical Education teacher. Students can stay at UCS Bury St Edmunds for a third year top up in Professional Studies, which develops management skills needed for the contemporary sport and active leisure industry.
The course will require two periods of work placement, which can be an existing employer or a bespoke arrangement supported by UCS.
The Sports Academy at West Suffolk College is involved in the delivery of this programme and is a likely source of work experiences. Work placements will allow students the opportunity to put into practice what they have been taught on the course, and then bring it back to the classroom and discuss pertinent incidents. Work placement will also provide a valuable insight into potential student destinations within the Sport and Active Leisure Industry.
Course Aims
In designing the learning outcomes for the programme, both generic foundation degree benchmark statements published by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAAHE), Sector Skills Agreements in development by the relevant Sector Skills Councils, in this case SkillsActive and Skills for Health, and subject specific statements need to be addressed. In conjunction with these statements the ethos and philosophy of the Dept for Education and Skills will be reflected in this proposal.
Learning Outcomes
These course aims are broken down into sets of related skills, which are known as learning outcomes.
A. Knowledge and Understanding
By the end of the course you should be able to:
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Have a good understanding of the biological basis of human movement
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Have a working knowledge of training responses
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Have an awareness of the sociological and psychological issues relevant to the contemporary sports coach
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Understand the challenge of sports development and barriers to sports participation
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Have working knowledge of the structure of UK sport, and relevant qualification and CPD pathways
B. Mental or Cognitive Skills
By the end of the course you should be able to:
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Integrate the knowledge acquired from the study of a range of subjects and formulate solutions to relevant problems (QAA)
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Understand and apply appropriate levels of numeracy, communications and ICT competence (QAA)
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Process technical information, to be able to relate this to a broader context and will have begun to understand the relationships between the individual modules
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Evaluate alternative theories and techniques both in the broad context of sports coaching issues and in relation to specific specialist sports coaching situations
C. Subject Specific and Practical Skills
By the end of the course you should be able to:
Key Skills, also known as graduate key skills, transferable skills or general skills, comprise communication, information technology, problem solving, numeracy, working with others and improving own learning.
By the end of the course you should be able to:
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Access reliable, peer reviewed research relevant to the role of the sports coach
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Demonstrate competent interpersonal skills in a practical sports situation facilitating the sports coaching process
Module Framework
Full-time Course Structure: FdSc Sport, Health and Exercise
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Year 1
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Semester 1
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Semester 2
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Anatomy and Physiology for Sport, Health and Exercise
(L1, 20 credits)
Introduction to the principles of coaching (L4,
20 credits)
Personal development (L4, 20 credits)
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Introduction to Sports Development (L1, 20 credits)
Social and psychological perspectives
in the sport, health and exercise industry
(L4, 20 credits)
Work experience as a resource for learning
1 (L4, 20 credits)
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Year 2
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Semester 1
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Semester 2
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Advanced Coaching Skills (L5 20 Credits)
Peformance analysis and improvement (L5, 20 credits)
Skills in research and problem solving (L1, 20 credits)
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Sport Development in the Community
(L5, 20 Credits)
Contemporary issues in a modern
sporting environment (L5, 20 credits)
Work experience as a Resource for for learning 2
(L2, 20 Credits)
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Teaching, Learning and Assessment
The variety of assessment methods used reflects the demands of the sport, health and exercise industry, and have been designed in consultation with both academic and vocationally experienced team members.
Case Studies
The inclusion of case studies at both Level 1 and 2 will facilitate the use of work experience as a central theme of the programme.
This will allow students to apply in the workplace the range of knowledge and skills learnt as part of the programme (QAAHE 2004 Foundation Degree Generic Learning Outcome 2)
Case study work will also allow the student to apply underlying concepts and principles outside the context in which they were first studied, and the application of those principles in a work context. (QAAHE 2004 Foundation Degree Generic Learning Outcome 3)
Additionally it is the intention of the programme team to engage employers fully in the assessment process, as recommended by the QAAHE (QAAHE 2004). It is acknowledged that this will necessitate the support of work placement providers in the assessment process.
The use of case study material could prove useful to both student and work placement provider alike.
Essays and Examinations (Level 2 only)
These more traditional forms of assessment are included to reinforce academic rigour and to facilitate the progression on to the final year of a suitable degree programme. This supports the QAAHE 2004 Foundation Degree Generic Learning Outcome 9, developing qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment and progression to other qualifications, and Outcome 1, knowledge and critical understanding of the well established principles in the field of study, and the way in which those principles have been developed.
Presentations and Seminars
Vocationally active part time lecturers assess the current Dip HE Sport, Health and Exercise students, and this will continue with the proposed development. QAAHE 2004 Foundation Degree Generic Learning Outcome 7 states the need for effective communication of information, arguments and analysis in a variety of forms, to specialist and non-specialist audiences. The proposal team will seek to expand employer involvement by utilising their input on presentation and seminar assessment.
Practical Assessment
The Introduction to Coaching and Personal Training, and Exercise Physiology and Testing module requires a level of practical competence assessed by vocationally experienced coaches / trainers. This allows the student to develop practical, workplace skills recognised as essential by both the vocationally experienced course team members, and Skills for Health, who identified several competences in the Allied Health Professions Competence Framework, AHP6 and AHP7.
Reflective Analysis
Reflective Analysis is a key skill introduced at Level in Nutrition and Lifestyle for Health. This supports the QAAHE 2004 Foundation Degree Generic Learning Outcome 6, which requires a Foundation Degree student to use a range of established techniques to initiate and undertake critical analysis of information, and to propose solutions to problems arising from that analysis in their field of study and in a work context. Specifically in
Each student registered for the FdSc Sport, Health and Exercise programme is allocated to a personal tutor. The personal tutor will normally teach on the programme for which the student is registered and is expected to:
this module reflection allows the student to examine a case study and evaluate different interventions options, reflecting on the possible merits of different approaches. This module supports the Skills for Health Allied Health Professions Competences AHP8 and AHP 9.
Negotiated Assessment
The two professional development modules, Personal Development, and Skills in Research and Problem Solving facilitate the student’s career awareness and development, and enable the student to contextualise the programme in terms of the limitations of knowledge. This assessment method supports the QAAHE 2004 Foundation Degree Generic Learning Outcomes 4, 5, 8 and 10. It is feasible that the second year Negotiated Assessment will be a project of relevance to the workplace provider.
Timetable
The teaching is divided into two semesters, semester one runs from September to January and Semester Two from February to June. A full time student is expected to take three modules each semester, making six modules in one year. A part-time student will take one or two modules each semester. Students can expect to have to attend UCS for four to five hours per module for the twelve weeks of the semester and to spend at least an equivalent amount of time per week in independent study. Students will be provided with timetables when they join the course.
Course Delivery
This course is delivered at UCS Bury St Edmunds mainly in Gibraltar House and the Sports Centre.
Placements/Work Based Learning/Work Experience
A significant element of learning for this course takes place in the work place and students are expected to have a work placement or current employment in the sport or health sector. For those who do not have appropriate employment in the sector, assistance will be given in securing an appropriate work placement.
Tutorial and Study Support
Each student registered for the FdSc Sport, Health and Exercise programme is allocated to a personal tutor. The personal tutor will normally teach on the programme for which the student is registered and is expected to:
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Be allocated up to 12 tutees
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Arrange to meet each allocated tutee formally on a one-to-one basis at least once per semester
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Make themselves reasonably contactable and available to offer advice and support to their tutees on an ad hoc basis
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Be aware of specialist services available at the College to which the tutee may be referred to if necessary.
Opportunities on Completion of the Course
Graduates will have developed knowledge of sport, exercise, health, fitness training and sports development and will be better placed for professional employment and career development in those sectors. Alternatively students could progress to the final year of a related Honours degree at UCS.