Sport Psychology for Teachers and Coaches

PEXS 555

Summer, 2000

Instructor information

Instructor: Sandra E. Short, Ph.D. Martin W. Short, Ph.D.

Office: Room 202C Hyslop Sports Center Room 305C Hyslop Sports Center

Email: sandra_moritz[at]und.nodak.edu martin_short[at]und.nodak.edu

Phone: 777-4325 777-2992

Office Hours: By appointment

Class Location and Time: Hyslop Sports Center 318

M/T/W/R 6-9 pm (June 12-July 6)

Final drop date:

Course Description

• Knowledge and application of learning theories and principles to the acquisition of motor skills, as well as consideration of the psychological factors affecting skill acquisition and performance.

Course Objectives

• To increase your understanding of the factors affecting motor skill acquisition and performance.
• To increase your understanding of how psychological factors influence involvement and performance in sport, exercise, and physical education settings.
• To increase your understanding of how participation in sport, exercise, and physical education influences the psychological makeup of the individuals involved.
• To help you acquire skills and knowledge about sport psychology and motor learning that you can apply as a coach, teacher, or exercise leader.

Course Requirements

1. Readings
1. The readings will be assigned per content area and will be available either on the web, or in the PEXS main office. More information will follow.
2. Assignments
1. Quizzes or Journal (60%)

i. Quiz #1

ii. Quiz #2

iii. Quiz #3

iv. Quiz #4

2. WWW Assignment (5%)
3. Applied Case Study or Design a Research Study (15%)
4. Class and Research Participation (20%)

3. Note on Plagiarism

· Plagiarism is using ideas or writings of another as one’s own. It varies in degree of severity. The most severe is the use of another’s entire paper word for word. The least severe is the use of another’s sentence, paragraph or idea without giving credit to that individual (i.e., without providing a reference). If I discover an instance of plagiarism, the student will receive a failing grade for the assignment in the least severe case, and a failing grade for the course in the most severe case.

4. Grading Scale

A = 90 and above; B = 80-89; C = 70-79; D = 60-69, F = less than 60

5. Rules for giving incomplete grades

· UND Policy - The mark of “I” for Incomplete shall be assigned only to the student who has been in attendance and has done satisfactory work up to a time within 1 week of the close of the semester including the examination period, and whose work is incomplete for reasons satisfactory to the instructor.

6. Obligation of the student

· It is the student’s obligation to work through the following channels to resolve problems before going to the chairperson or dean.

Student – Instructor – Division Chairperson (PEXS) – Dean

· The student (not the instructor) has complete responsibility to initiate drop procedures for this course. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Tentative Course Schedule

Project and Reading Assignment Due Dates

Date	Topic	Reading	What’s due?
June 12	Introduction to Sport Psychology: Definitions Scientific Method
June 13	Introduction to Motor Learning: Classification and Measurement Measuring Performance Learning and Stages of Learning PSTs
June 14	Characteristics of the Learner: Attention / Concentration Memory
June 15	Arousal / Anxiety
June 19	Individual Differences		Exam #1 or Journal #1
June 20	Characteristics of the Environment: Transfer Organization of Practice / Training Effective Demonstrations Feedback Behavior Modification Positive Coaching		Web Assignment Due
June 21	Motivation <Participation Motivation>
June 22	Motivation and Attributions
June 26	Facilitating Performance: Mental Imagery		Exam #2 or Journal #2
June 27	Self and Team Confidence
June 28	Goal Setting
June 29	Group Dynamics
July 3	Group Dynamics		Exam #3 or Journal #3
July 4	Independence Day NO CLASSES
July 5	Gender differences
July 6	Eating disorders		Exam #4 or Journal #4

1. QUIZZES

· There will be 4 quizzes throughout the course. They will cover approximately 3-4 content areas each. Questions will be multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank, and short answer.

2. JOURNAL

· This course introduces you to many important topics in sport and exercise psychology and motor learning. Successfully completing the course will provide you with ample academic knowledge in the area. However, learning about sport and exercise psychology and motor learning and successfully applying it in professional practice are two different matters. You must spend time thinking about what the various topics mean to you; you must actively analyze how to incorporate this knowledge into professional practice guidelines. Logging your remarks or keeping a journal will assist you in accomplishing this important task.

· In particular, your task is to keep a course journal or log in which you'll write approximately one – two pages summarizing what each content area means to you and how you can use the knowledge to guide your future professional practice, whether as a physical education teacher, coach, fitness leader, athletic trainer, or sport psychologist. Look over the sample journal or log entry shown here. I'd prefer that you type your log, but if that's a problem, I'll accept handwritten copies (neatness counts). Grading criteria will include the quality and extent of your thoughts for guiding practice, the depth of your knowledge, and the completeness of your work.

· Sample Journal/Log Entry: Personality and Sport (Session/Chapter 2)

To be honest, I'd never really thought much about personality and sport and how the two might influence my teaching and coaching. The point that will stick with me most about this chapter is the idea that you cannot predict behavior from personality alone. The section of the personality test we took in class made sense to me, but I could see how I would answer the questions differently based on different situations. I learned that you need to consider the athlete's personality and how it interacts with the situation in which he or she is placed. So, if I want to better understand the people I'll be working with, I should get to know them as individuals and also study the situation I create or work in. After reading the chapter and hearing the lecture, I'll be extra careful about using personality tests in the future. The iceberg profile described in the book did not impress me much. Athletes who have more vigor and are less depressed perform better than those who do not. Of course!

3. WWW ASSIGNMENT

• Your assignment is to search the World Wide Web and find a topic that is connected to something in sport psychology. For example, you might find a person, an event or a certain sport that is associated with the home advantage, loss of self-confidence, or how rewards influence motivation. It is NOT acceptable to pick a celebrity athlete and describe his/her statistics (e.g., RBI’s, home runs etc.). For example, detailing Donovan Bailey’s or Michael Johnson’s track careers would NOT contribute to understanding racial issues in sport. Your topic needs to be more substantial and influential.
• Print out the information you find on the “web” and write a 1-2 page summary of your topic. Be sure to answer these questions: (1) My topic is on _____. (2) I picked this topic because _____. (3) This topic is related to sport psychology by _____ (4). This topic is important because _____.
• Turn in both the summary and the printed information. If you have questions, email me at sandra_moritz[at]und.nodak.edu

5. APPLIED CASE STUDY OR DESIGN A RESEARCH STUDY

• This assignment will be completed in class.

6. PARTICIPATION

• Information on this assignment will be provided in class.