'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 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

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

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

The effect of acute fatigue on countermovement jump performance in rugby union players during preseason training

This study aims to capture and explore my personal experiences of trust whilst working as a performance analyst. I began working as a PhD research student and a high performance Paralympic sport performance analyst in April 2014. To critically analyse my role within the team as the sole sports performance analyst, an autoethnographic approach was adopted. Following ethical approval, I maintained a self-reflective diary drawing on my thoughts, opinions and experiences during a fifteen-month period between April 2014 and June 2015. I conducted an inductive thematic content analysis on the recorded reflections whereby the phenomenon of trust emerged as a key theme. To explore the importance of trust, I engage with key theoretical concepts (Hoy and Tschannen-Moran, 1999, Journal of School Leadership, 9, 184-208; Day, 2009, Journal of Educational Administration, 47 (6), 719-730; Sztompka, 2000, Trust: A sociological theory, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; Hardin, 2002, Trust and Trustworthiness, New York: Russell Sage Foundation) and draw upon the key personality traits and characteristics identified for effective sport science practitioner to excel within their respected discipline (Partington and Orlick, 1987, The Sport Psychologist, 1, 309-317; Lubker et al., 2008, Journal of Sport Behaviour, 31 (2), 147-165). Four essential components for establishing trust between myself, and the athletes and staff were identified: appearance and visibility, confidence, honesty and integrity, and self-care. Stronger athlete-coach-analyst relationships were established once each team member articulated the four components. Athletes and coaches became attuned to the importance of performance analysis and a greater utilisation of the discipline was observed within the team’s practice. Trust therefore must be established by a performance analyst between athletes and coaches in order to advance the provision of performance analysis within a high performance sport system

Key Determinants of Team Success in Elite Men’s Wheelchair Basketball

Performance Analysis has become an integral part of the coaching process within elite wheelchair basketball, assisting staff with the delivery of augmented feedback (Fliess-Douer et al. 2016). Whilst previous attempts to explore the key determinants of success within wheelchair basketball have identified that stronger teams accumulate a greater number of assists, turnovers, free-throw and field goal shooting attempts (Gómez et al. 2015; Molik et al. 2009), the use of secondary box score data in such studies has been questioned for both its validity and reliability (Ziv et al. 2010). The purpose of this study, therefore, was to explore the key determinants of team success within elite men’s wheelchair basketball using a valid and reliable wheelchair basketball data collection system using primary data collected from match notation (see Francis et al., 2015). Following University ethical approval, footage from 31 men’s games at the 2015 European Wheelchair Basketball Championships was coded using a developed template in SportsCode (V10, SportsTec Inc.) that included 108 action variables grouped into 19 categorical variables: Time, Home Team, Away Team, Offensive Unit (3.0/3.5), Offensive Unit (4.0/4.5), Defensive Unit (3.0/3.5), Defensive Unit (4.0/4.5), Match Status, Start of Possession, Man Out Offence, Shot Taken, Shot Point, Shot Outcome, Shot Location, Shot Clock Remaining, End of Possession, Defensive System, Defensive Outcome and Possession. The template’s reliability had been assessed by Francis et al. (2015) (inter-observer reliability: 0-5% error; intra-observer reliability 0-5% error). The data was subjected to a two-stage statistical analysis procedure in R (R Core Team 2015). Stage 1: Chi-squared tests highlighted 15 categorical variables that were significantly (p<0.05) associated with final game outcome (winning versus losing). The category with the highest level of statistical significance was Match Status (p<0.001). Stage 2: The multicollinearity between explanatory categories were explored. Categories that demonstrated perfect collinearity were removed. Using a 70% sample of the data (4,288 possessions), a forward and backwards stepwise elimination approach was used to build a final model, which included seven categories comprising of 37 action variables: Match Status, Defensive Unit (3.0/3.5), Offensive Unit (3.0/3.5), Offensive Unit (4.0/4.5), Stage, Defensive System and Start of Possession. When tested against the remaining 30% data set an area under the curve value of 0.749 was achieved which suggests the model has ‘fair’ predictive qualities. The final model indicates the importance of maintaining a winning state throughout the game, selecting a unit which predominately comprises of three point players and countering when the defence are pressing. Coaches, players and support staff can utilise the findings from the study to assist with the planning of offensive and defensive game strategies by identifying areas for development within training sessions, supporting selection and line-up combinations and informing the decision-making process of coaches and players during performances