DCU Home | Our Courses | Loop | Registry | Library | Search DCU
<< Back to Module List

Module Specifications.

Current Academic Year 2024 - 2025

All Module information is indicative, and this portal is an interim interface pending the full upgrade of Coursebuilder and subsequent integration to the new DCU Student Information System (DCU Key).

As such, this is a point in time view of data which will be refreshed periodically. Some fields/data may not yet be available pending the completion of the full Coursebuilder upgrade and integration project. We will post status updates as they become available. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Date posted: September 2024

No Banner module data is available

Module Title
Module Code (ITS)
Faculty School
Module Co-ordinatorSemester 1: Aine MacNamara
Semester 2: Aine MacNamara
Autumn: Aine MacNamara
Module TeachersRosie Murphy
Jamie Speiran
Aine MacNamara
Robin Taylor
Stephen Behan
NFQ level 9 Credit Rating
Pre-requisite Not Available
Co-requisite Not Available
Compatibles Not Available
Incompatibles Not Available
Coursework Only
Description

The aim of this module is to enable students to systematically explore, identify and classify pertinent disciplines, bodies of knowledge and constructs which impact of performance, both generically and in their own sporting domain. Reflecting the complexity of sport performance, students will explore epistemology and how it pertains to issues concerned with knowledge and how we acquire it across performance domains. Specifically, students will be introduced to contemporary debates in epistemology - the nature of knowledge - in order to allow them provide a clear analysis of complex arguments and to engage with these arguments critically. Students will also examine the literature underpinning professional judgement and decision making and its application to their professional context and practice in sport. Through reflection, discussion, and the use of case studies, and employing a critical enquiry lens, student will complete a final assignment that allows them arrive at a justified and practical ‘balance’ of knowledge sources which can effectively and efficiently account for both the level and enhancement of performance in their domain. Against this evidence base, students will also examine the importance of professional and ethical standards within their performance domain and the impact of this on professional practice in sport performance.

Learning Outcomes

1. Critically analyse information relating to professional practice and make informed judgments on complex professional practice issues relevant to their performance domain
2. Explain the importance of the highest ethical standards in both professional practice itself, and in its communication to general and academic audiences
3. Summarise and challenge common assumptions and reflect critically on their own applied practices, along with the applied practices of others
4. Examine the central problems in epistemology in the area of sports performance, and explain and identify some major contributions to recent debates in the area
5. Investigate, interpret and discuss the available information on professional judgement and decision making in their professional domain
6. Critique the literature into professional expertise and its application to their professional context
7. Critically reflect on the extent to which research-informed practice is a feature of their current professional context and propose strategies which will enable it to shape future practice.



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Independent Study200Independent pursuit of relevant issues and ideas raised during the module. Participants will be expected to engage in reading and critical review of literature relevant to the module
Online activity50Students will engage with online material via Loop including but not limited to webinars, online tasks, quizzes, and tutorials
Assignment Completion75Completion of assessment
Directed learning50Stimulus presentations and discussion, delivered using blended learning formats, will be used to tease out possible contributing topics and test the student’s current levels of knowledge and experience with them.As their reading progresses, students may be directed towards relevant recent investigations in their own and parallel domains.
Total Workload: 375

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Critical Thinking in Performance Domains
Students will critically examine the theory and practice of problem solving and critical thinking in complex environments by considering how individuals in performance domains think critically and creatively. Students will examine metacognitive skills and how they apply to learning and development in their performance domain. Students will further consider the evidence base underpinning our understanding of how people reason, learn and make interpretations about their domain and how this impacts on decision making in performance domains.

Expertise versus competence in performance domains
Students will critically review contemporary research focusing on expertise and expert performance in sport. Students will examine competency and expertise-focused approaches to the develop of elite performance and as a means to drive elaborative and adaptive thinking, judgment and growth. The study of expertise and expert performance in sport promotes an understanding of the factors that constrain human achievement and the extent to which these may be overcome by systematic engagement in practice and training. Various theoretical framework for studying expertise in sport are presented and appraised and their application to specific sport envrionments and domain are explored.

Professional Judgement and Decision Making
Carr (1999) has identified that professions are defined by their recourse to theoretical and/or empirical knowledge in making judgements. Students will explore the decision making literature and the extent to which practitioners in sport engage in professional decision making in all of their decisions. Professional judgement and decision-making (PJDM) is an important skill for applied sport practitioners, because decisions made by the practitioner hold an influential role in the selection, design, and implementation of successful interventions. Students will explore how decision making is acquired and the cognitive skills that underpin effective decision making in complex environments such as sport.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment% Examination Weight%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
PresentationStudents will summarise and challenge an identified common assumption from their performance domain and reflect critically on their own applied practices, along with the applied practices of others. The oral presentation (30 minutes plus 15 minutes defence), and submitted visuals, will provide the opportunity to critically analyse information relating to professional practice and make informed judgments on complex professional practice issues relevant to their performance domain. Students will respond to questions, and defend their proposal, in a viva format.20%n/a
AssignmentThe assignment will allow the student the opportunity to develop a report exemplifying knowledge bases pertinent to performance in their domain utilitsing where appropriate an interdisciplinary focus. The assessment format is flexible. Indicative assessment formats are below: (a) Written report – 8000 words (b) Journal article – 3000 - 8000 words depending on target journal (c) Portfolio submission (e.g., powerpoint slides, visual data, AV data) with accompanying narrative (3000 - 5000 words)80%n/a
Indicative Reading List

  • J. L. Starkes &K.A.Ericsson(Eds.),: 0, Expert performance in sports:Advances in research on sport expertise, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL,
  • Bar-Eli, M., Plessner, H., & Raab, M.: 2011, Judgement, decision making and success in sport., Wiley., Sussex,
  • J. Baker, S. Cobley, J. Schorer, & N. Wattie (Eds.): 0, Routledge handbook of talent identification and development in sport, Routledge, London,
  • J. Baker, & D. Farrow: 0, Routledge handbook of sport expertise, Routledge, London,
Other Resources

None

<< Back to Module List