'Learning Styles' and 'Approaches to Studying' in Sports-Related Programmes: Relationships to Academic Achievement and Implications for Successful Learning, Teaching and Assessment: Project Report Summary

There are relatively few recent investigations that have addressed the issues of preferred learning styles and approaches to studying in sports-related disciplines such as: Sports Studies; Sports and Exercise Science; Coaching Science; Sport and Leisure Management and Outdoor Recreation Management. The purpose of this study was therefore to examine student learning across a range of sport-related programmes at a UK University College. It applied tools from two related, but different, educational research paradigms: approaches to learning and learning styles analysis. Thus, these differing means of researching student learning were tested against the same student group. Results were compared to students’ perceptions of their own developing autonomy of learning and achieved grades; insights were generated into the particular learning approaches and styles of sports students; and tentative recommendations are made on the implications of the findings for higher education teachers seeking to promote improvements in the learning of sports subjects

Participation Motivation in Martial Artists in the West Midlands Region of England

The objectives were to identify the participation motivations and the perceived importance of certain participation factors in martial artists in the West Midlands, England, UK. A 28-item adapted version of the Participation Motivation Questionnaire with additional demographic questions was distributed to 30 martial arts clubs in the West Midlands region. Eight questions that assessed the perceived importance for participation of progression through grades, learning self defence skills, technical ability of instructors, cost of participating, development of confidence, underpinning philosophy and instructional style were included. Seventy-five questionnaires were returned from a total of 11 clubs from across representing practitioners in Tai Chi, Karate, Kung fu, Aikido, Jeet Kune Do, British Free Fighting, Taekwon-Do and Jujitsu. Results indicated that the rank order in terms of participation motives was: 1- Affiliation; 2-Friendship; 3-Fitness; 4-Reward/status; 5-Competition; 6-Situational and 7-Skill development. Participants who trained for more than 4 hours per week placed greater importance on the underpinning philosophy of the martial art. Findings suggest that whilst there is a gender discrepancy in participation level, once engaged, females were equally committed to weekly training. The ‘style’ of the instructor is of paramount importance for enhancing student motivation to participate. High volume practitioners would appear to be fully immersed in the holistic appreciation of the martial art through increased value placed on its underpinning philosophy

A Computer Model of Drafting Effects on Collective Behavior in Elite 10,000 m Runners

Purpose Drafting in cycling influences collective behaviour of pelotons. Whilst evidence for collective behaviour in competitive running events exists, it is not clear if this results from energetic savings conferred by drafting. This study modelled the effects of drafting on behavior in elite 10,000 m runners. Methods Using performance data from a men’s elite 10,000 m track running event, computer simulations were constructed using Netlogo 5.1 to test the effects of three different drafting quantities on collective behaviour: no drafting, drafting to 3m behind with up to ~8% energy savings (a realistic running draft); and drafting up to 3m behind with up to 38% energy savings (a realistic cycling draft). Three measures of collective behaviour were analysed in each condition; mean speed, mean group stretch (distance between first and last placed runner), and Runner Convergence Ratio (RCR) which represents the degree of drafting benefit obtained by the follower in a pair of coupled runners. Results Mean speeds were 6.32±0.28m.s-1, 5.57±0.18 m.s-1, and 5.51±0.13 m.s-1 in the cycling draft, runner draft, and no draft conditions respectively (all P<0.001). RCR was lower in the cycling draft condition, but did not differ between the other two. Mean stretch did not differ between conditions. Conclusions Collective behaviours observed in running events cannot be fully explained through energetic savings conferred by realistic drafting benefits. They may therefore result from other, possibly psychological, processes. The benefits or otherwise of engaging in such behavior are, as yet, unclear

A Preliminary Investigation of Child, Parent and Programme Leader Reflections on Participation in and Delivery of a Family- Based Weight Intervention Programme.

Childhood obesity is considered to be the greatest public health risk to children today, placing young people at considerable risk for adult obesity and consequent CVD, diabetes, liver dysfunction, and other morbidities (Doro-Altan et al., 2008; Singh et al., 2008). As a result numerous interventions with the potential to reduce obesity levels or associated risk of chronic diseases have been devised (Steinberger et al., 2003; Flynn et al., 2006). Not withstanding the need for further quantitative evaluation of the effect of such interventions, key publications have now called for qualitative evaluations to be undertaken in order to create an evidence base from the views of participants that may highlight why certain interventions may be more, or less successful (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, 2006; Luttikhuis et al., 2009). In response to these very recent calls, this abstract intends to present, from qualitative methods of enquiry, preliminary findings of parent, child and programme leader experiences of, reflections on and future intentions following participation in and delivery of a nationally implemented family-based weight intervention programme in the UK. Data from semi-structured interviews with 6 families who completed the programme in December 2008 and 1 programme leader will be presented. Informal thematic analysis will be utilised to identify emergent themes with data presentation accentuating the qualitative, ‘lived’ experience of the programme and the impact of the various aspects of the intervention on intentions for future behaviours. It is anticipated that the outcomes of this study will help to inform the organisation, content, implementation and nature of future intervention programmes in order to enhance their effectiveness

Regional Evaluation of Weight Management Programmes for Children and Adults. Commissioned by the Department of Health West Midlands

In response to the increasing prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents, numerous interventions with the potential to reduce obesity levels or associated risk of chronic diseases in children and youths have been implemented across the UK, including the West Midlands. However, few of these interventions have been systematically evaluated and consequently, there is a need to examine their effectiveness. This report outlines an evaluation of seven child weight management programmes that were in place in the West Midlands region during July 2007-July 2009

Exploring How Well UK Coach Education Meets the Needs of Women Sports Coaches

Inclusive and equitable processes are important to the development of sports coaching. The aim of this study was to explore how well UK coach education meets the needs of women sports coaches in order to make recommendations to further enhance the engagement of, and support for, aspiring and existing women coaches. The national governing bodies (NGBs) of four sports (Cycling, Equestrian, Gymnastics and Rowing) volunteered to participate and semi-structured interviews using the tenants of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) within a Self Determination Theory (SDT) framework were undertaken with 23 coaches, eight coach educators and five NGB officers. The data themed into an analytic structure derived from SDT comprising ‘Autonomy: Freedom to coach’, ‘Coaching competence’, and ‘Relatedness and belonging’. The coaches perceived potential benefit from enhanced relatedness and belonging within their sport with the findings suggesting that NGBs should embrace coach-led decision making in terms of the developmental topics which are important and should adopt the development of competence, rather than assessing technical understanding, as the foundational principle of more inclusive coach education. Future research should investigate the impact of the inclusive practices which are recommended within this investigation such as the softening of the technocratic focus of formal coach education

Age and Grip Strength Predict Hand Dexterity in Adults.

In the scientific literature, there is much evidence of a relationship between age and dexterity, where increased age is related to slower, less nimble and less smooth, less coordinated and less controlled performances. While some suggest that the relationship is a direct consequence of reduced muscle strength associated to increased age, there is a lack of research that has systematically investigated the relationships between age, strength and hand dexterity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the associations between age, grip strength and dexterity. 107 adults (range 18-93 years) completed a series of hand dexterity tasks (i.e. steadiness, line tracking, aiming, and tapping) and a test of maximal grip strength. We performed three phases of analyses. Firstly, we evaluated the simple relationships between pairs of variables; replicating the existing literature; and found significant relationships of increased age and reduced strength; increased age and reduced dexterity, and; reduced strength and reduced dexterity. Secondly, we used standard Multiple Regression (MR) models to determine which of the age and strength factors accounted for the greater variance in dexterity. The results showed that both age and strength made significant contributions to the data variance, but that age explained more of the variance in steadiness and line tracking dexterity, whereas strength explained more of the variance in aiming and tapping dexterity. In a third phase of analysis, we used MR analyses to show an interaction between age and strength on steadiness hand dexterity. Simple Slopes posthoc analyses showed that the interaction was explained by the middle to older aged adults showing a relationship between reduced strength and reduced hand steadiness, whereas younger aged adults showed no relationship between strength and steadiness hand dexterity. The results are discussed in terms of how age and grip strength predict different types of hand dexterity in adults