Physical Education BSc (Hons)

Teaching

You are taught through a combination of interactive lectures, seminars and practical workshops. These approaches enable the discussion and development of understanding of topics covered, through group work, question and answer, planning tasks, sharing of ideas, presentations, etc. whilst also developing subject specific skills.

There are many opportunities to work with pupils from schools across the region in order to develop your understanding of teaching and to evaluate different strategies used.

There is also a school based or professional placement in your final year where you will experience being in one school or work environment in order to consolidate many of the skills developed throughout the course.

Contact time

In a typical week you will have around 12-16 contact hours of seminars, practical workshops and group work but this will vary according to the modules you are following. The precise contact hours will depend on the optional modules selected and in the final year you will normally have slightly less contact time in order to do more independent study. Typically contact time will be structured around:

• 3 hours of (large group) lectures
• 7 hours of seminars in groups of approx 20 - 25 students
• 4-6 hours of practical workshops

Independent self study

In addition to the contact time, you are expected to undertake around 25 hours of personal self-study per week. Typically, this will involve completing online activities, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library and online, preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for examinations.

Independent learning is supported by a range of excellent learning facilities, including The Hive and library resources, the virtual learning environment, and extensive electronic learning resources.

Duration

• 3 year full-time
• 4-6 years part-time
• 4 years full-time including one year placement

Timetables

Timetables are normally available one month before registration. Please note that whilst we try to be as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week; and some classes can be scheduled in the evenings.

Teaching staff

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team includes senior academics, and professional practitioners with both breadth and depth of industry experience.

On occasion, Postgraduate research students who have undertaken teacher training, may also contribute to the teaching of seminars under the supervision of the module leader. Teaching is informed by research and consultancy, and 78% of School of Sport and Exercise Science lecturers have a higher education teaching qualification or are Fellows of the Higher Education Academy.

Assessment

The course provides opportunities to test understanding and learning informally through the completion of practical or 'formative' assignments.

Each module has one or more formal or 'summative' assessments which are graded and count towards the overall module grade. Assessment methods include a range of coursework assessments such as essays, reports, portfolios, performances, presentations and a final year independent studies project.

The precise assessment requirements for an individual student in an academic year will vary according to the mandatory and optional modules taken, but a typical formal summative assessment pattern for each year of the course is:

Year 1
Written work, including essays, portfolios, reports;
Individual or group presentations
Practical performances and teaching related tasks

Year 2
Teaching episodes
Presentations and practical performances
Planning documents

Year 3
Independent study project
Placement portfolio
Lesson observation analysis
Individual or group presentations.

Feedback

You will receive feedback on all summative assessment pieces and on some formative assessment tasks. Feedback is intended to support learning and you are encouraged to discuss it with your Personal Academic Tutors and module tutors as appropriate.

We aim to provide you with feedback on submitted summative assessment work within 20 working days of hand-in.