SE762-7-SP-CO:
Skill Acquisition and Expertise in Sport
PLEASE NOTE: This module is inactive. Visit the Module Directory to view modules and variants offered during the current academic year.
2025/26
Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences (School of)
Colchester Campus
Spring
Postgraduate: Level 7
Inactive
Monday 12 January 2026
Friday 20 March 2026
15
09 August 2024
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
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Skill acquisition is commonly described as the voluntary control over movements in an attempt to solve motor skill problems and achieve a task goal. These may vary from catching a ball or riding a bike, to slalom skiing or rhythmic gymnastics. Regardless of the domain, the interaction between the practitioner (e.g. coach or PE teacher) and athlete when learning these skills is absolutely fundamental to successful performance. Specifically, how can the practitioner create optimal practice conditions to facilitate skill acquisition?
This module will first enhance your understanding of theory and research in skill learning and motor expertise. From this, the module takes on a more applied focus, where evidence-based approaches are implemented to critically evaluate their effect on coaching practice.
The aims of this module are:
- To enhance your critical understanding of theory, research, and practice in skill learning and motor expertise in sport.
- To cover different evidence-based techniques to enable practitioners to apply this knowledge to facilitate skill acquisition in their athletes.
By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Identify and explain theories relating to learning, motor control and expertise in sport.
- Critically evaluate key concepts and research across the skill acquisition literature.
- Design and develop coaching sessions in line with theoretical principles relating to the practice environment.
- Critically analyse coaching practice.
- Work effectively in group settings when developing and/or leading seminars and practical tasks.
- Coherently present and disseminate work in both written and oral format.
No additional information available.
This module will be delivered via:
- Seven 2-hour seminars.
- Two 2-hour practical sessions.
- Two 1-hour drop in sessions.
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Emily Cushion, email: emily.cushion@essex.ac.uk.
SRES Office, email: sres (Non essex users should add @essex.ac.uk to create the full email address)
No
Yes
Yes
Dr Charlie Corsby
Cardiff Metropolitan University
Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
* Please note: due to differing publication schedules, items marked with an asterisk (*) base their information upon the previous academic year.
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