SP5000 - Continuing Professional Development in Sports Science

The teaching on this module is essentially problem-based and you will be required to apply the academic subject knowledge you have gained from earlier on the course to help solve real-world, employer driven problems and to design your own CPD programme. Lectures/workshops and on-line tasks will introduce you to key concepts such as project planning, project management, creative problem solving, divergent and convergent thinking and innovation as well as ethics and professional behaviour, self-reflection and appraisal . On-line tasks will introduce you to common problem solving and idea generating tools such as ‘webbing’, ‘brainstorming’, ‘devil’s vs angel’s advocate’ and ‘value vs do-ability, as well as traditional personal development tools and reflective self-assessments’ Additional supporting materials will include practice case studies and relevant reading material, example CPD logs and information from the Careers Service. Small group seminars will help you to apply what you have learnt in lectures and workshops to your real world project brief and your personal CPD programme.

At the start of the module you will meet with employers to receive your ‘brief’ and to form your interdisciplinary teams. You will have access to the employer to get feedback on your proposal prior to submission and you will have an academic supervisor who will support you throughout the module and will advise on CPD. Your academic supervisor will meet with you via small group seminars and will help you to apply your CPD ideas, as well as your project planning and management skills. The academic tutor will also provide coaching to support you in the development of problem solving skills and creative thinking. Support materials for sessions will be available to you on the eLP including the lecture slides, suggested reading, access to relevant exercises and tasks, and other useful resources such as discussion boards, websites and invitations Careers Service events. Information about additional personal development assessment tools can be accessed via the careers service and you will be provided with a variety of tools to assess your own skills and competencies.

Formative preparation will take place via discussions with your academic tutor throughout the module and via a session with the employer half way through the module. A lecture will highlight the requirements of the oral presentation and the CPD log. Feedback will be provided for both parts of the summative assessments.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:
On successful completion of the module you be able to:
1. apply creative and logical problem solving to real world questions from sport and exercise science;

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
On successful completion of the module you be able to:
1. take ownership of your own continued professional development and academic learning.
2. work collaboratively and communicate effectively with employers and interdisciplinary teams.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
On successful completion of the module you be able to:
1. behave in a manner consistent with professional and ethical standards;
2. take a questioning and critical approach to problem solving;

The summative assessment for this module comprises a:
1. CPD log detailing key CPD activities undertaken worth 50% of the module total assessment. (MLO IPS 1),
and
2. a group presentation of your project plan (50%) plus accompanying materials (Max of 6 pages) which details how you will address your employer driven problem. (MLOs KU 1, IPS 2, PVA, 1 & 2 )

A combination of lectures, workshops, small group seminars and on-line tasks will support you in developing a plan to address your project brief and to complete your CPD log.

Directed tasks whilst on the module will ensure that you develop skills in project planning and creative thinking as well as continuously reflecting upon your personal skills and how to enhance them.
Regular contact is maintained between you and academic tutors throughout the module in order to ensure that you are supported in the CPD experience.

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Designed and delivered in collaboration with sport and exercise employers, this module will appeal to students who want to work with real employers to solve real problems. Using a unique ‘problem-based’ approach to learning, this module gives you the opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary team and to apply your academic skills and knowledge to real world problems. Taking you through the process of engaging with project briefs and supporting you to develop innovative, creative and exciting but workable solutions, this module will help you to develop the type of employability skills that employers want. Highlights of this module include the opportunity to network with real world professionals in your field and the chance to develop of career relevant personal skills to go with your academic knowledge. On this module you will learn about the world of work, about employers and most importantly you will learn about yourself.

The main focus of the module is career specific learning within a sport and exercise context. This module builds upon the career development learning you completed at L4 and prepares you for the work placement module at L6. Employers are looking for graduates who are creative, self-motivated, able to problem solve, and able to work both independently and collaboratively. It is those highly valued personal and professional attributes that you will develop on this module.

Delivered in conjunction with employers, this module takes an innovative, ‘problem-based learning approach’ to teaching, moving away from traditional, lecture-seminar approaches and towards a more independent style of learning. This module will require you to undertake your own personally tailored CPD and to engage with real (either live or previous examples) of sport and exercise related ‘problem briefs’ from real employers working in the field of sport and exercise. Working as part of a team you will engage with employers to develop innovative, but viable, solutions to employer generated problems. You will learn how to plan and manage projects and teams, how to engage in creative problem solving, how to work as part of an interdisciplinary team and how to communicate effectively with clients. By the end of the module you will submit your final solutions in the form of a presentation and each group member will have identified their own personal strengths and how they have contributed to the team. The module will end with groups presenting their ideas to employers. Running alongside the development of your project proposal, you will design and engage with your own personal CPD plan to develop your personal employability skills.