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Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title Decision Making in Elite Sport Performance
Module Code SPO1049 (ITS: SS506)
Faculty Health & Human Performance School Science & Health
NFQ level 9 Credit Rating 7.5
Description

In this module, students will deepen their understanding of the decision making literature, the research and practice underpinning how decision making is acquired and the metacognitive skills that underpin effective decision making. Students will explore philosophical (e.g., ethics and values) underpinnings of their own practice, and how it pertains to issues concerned with knowledge and practice in sport. Specifically, students will have the opportunity to consider the application of these theoretical concepts in elite sport environments. On this basis, students will critically consider the evidence base underpinning knowledge and practice in their domain and how people reason, learn and make decisions for practice.

Learning Outcomes

1. Critically analyse information relating to professional practice and make informed judgments on professional practice issues relevant to their sport performance domain
2. 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
3. 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.
4. Critically evaluate the decision making process in their professional context


WorkloadFull time hours per semester
TypeHoursDescription
Online activity25Students will engage with online material via Loop including but not limited to webinars, online tasks, quizzes, and tutorials
Independent Study100Independent 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
Directed learning25Stimulus presentations and discussion, delivered online 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.
Assignment Completion37.5Students will individually complete assignments
Total Workload: 187.5
Section Breakdown
CRN21073Part of TermSemester 2
Coursework0%Examination Weight0%
Grade Scale40PASSPass Both ElementsY
Resit CategoryRC1Best MarkN
Module Co-ordinatorRosie CollinsModule TeacherRobin Taylor, Áine MacNamara
Assessment Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
AssignmentA written report exploring decision making processes in the student's professional context. 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)70%n/a
PresentationIn an oral presentation, students will summarise and challenge an identified common assumption from their performance domain and reflect critically on the implications for applied practice30%n/a
Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories;
RC1: A resit is available for both* components of the module.
RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module.
RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element.

* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite None
Co-requisite None
Compatibles None
Incompatibles None

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

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.

The decision making process in sport
Students will explore the processes involved in decision making at an individual, group and organizational level and the heuristics and biases involved

Indicative Reading List

Books:
  • Lyle, J., and Cushion, C: 2919, Sports Coaching: Professionalisation and Practice., Churchill Livingstone, Oxford,
  • Kahneman, D.: 2911, Thinking, fast and slow, Penguin, London,
  • Bar-Eli, M., Plessner, H., & Raab, M.: 2011, Judgement, decision making and success in sport.,, Wiley., Sussex,


Articles:
  • Abraham, A., and Collins, D.: 2011, Taking the next step: ways forward for coaching science, Quest, 63, 366, 66583
  • 2015: The illusion of competency versus the desirability of expertise: seeking a common standard for support professions in sport., Sports Medicine, 45, 1–7, 66584, 1
  • Integration of professional judgement and decision-making in high-level adventure sports coaching practice: Journal of Sports Science, 33, 622, 66585, 1, Cotterill, S., & Discombe, R.
  • Sport & Exercise Psychology Review: 12, 24, 66586, 1, Kirschner P and van Merriënboer J, 2013
  • 48: 169, 66587, 1, Kirschner, P, 2016, Stop propagating the learning styles myth
  • 106: 66588, 1, Bailey RP, Madigan DJ, Cope E and Nicholls AR, 2018, The Prevalence of Pseudoscientific Ideas and Neuromyths Among Sports Coaches, Frontiers in Psychology
  • 66589: 1, Pennycook, G., Cheyne, J. A., Barr, N., Koehler, D. J., & Fugelsang, J. A., 2015, On the reception and detection of pseudo-profound bullshit., Judgment and Decision Making, 10(6), 549,
  • 1: Kirschner PA, Sweller J and Clark RE, 2006, Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching., Educational Psychologist, 41, 75,
  • Collins, L, & Collins D.: 2020, Developing coaches’ professional judgement and decision making: Using the ‘Big 5’, Journal of Sports Sciences, 66592
  • 2015: The epistemological chain in high-level adventure sports coaches, Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 15, 224,
Other Resources

  • Website: Jones, J., 2017, Carl Sagan Presents His “Baloney Detection Kit”: 8 Tools for Skeptical Thinking. Open Culture, http://www.openculture.com/2016/04/carl-sagan-presents-his-baloney-detection-kit-8-tools-for-skeptical-thinking.html

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