Sport Pedagogy (BS)

Chair: Marya Grande, Ph.D.
Program Director: Clancy M. Seymour, Ed.D.

Introduction

The Sport Pedagogy major, formerly Physical Education Sport Studies,  prepares students for a career in coaching, recreation, and other sport-related professions. The program will focus on coaching and the pedagogical principles of sport that will allow future professionals to teach and/or coach athletes in a variety of physical activity settings. Graduates of the program seek to be specialized leaders in various levels of competitive sport-like youth or amateur clinics and academies, interscholastic, intercollegiate, Olympic, and/or the professional ranks. This program does not lead to teacher certification. Sport Pedagogy graduates interested in obtaining their teacher certification are encouraged to pursue the Canisius graduate program which leads to an MSEd in Physical Education.

Qualifications

Students must maintain a 2.0 GPA in their major and a 2.0 overall average to graduate with a degree in Sport Pedagogy. All students must complete a minimum of 120 credit hours to graduate.

Advisement

All students should have an advisor in the major and should contact the department directly to have an advisor assigned if they do not already have one.  Meetings with academic advisors are required prior to students receiving their PIN for course registration each semester. All majors should work closely with their advisor in discussing career expectations, choosing their major electives, developing their entire academic program and planning their co-curricular or supplemental academic experiences.

Double Majors

Students who wish to expand their educational opportunities may decide to declare a double major. This decision may be based on career goals, planned graduate studies, and/or other student interests. Before a student declares a double major, it is important to meet with the appropriate academic departments for advisement.  In order to declare a double major, the student must complete the Major/Minor Declaration form. This form will be submitted electronically and reviewed and approved by each department chairperson as well as the appropriate associate dean. 

Per university policy, each additional major requires a minimum of 15 credits that do not apply to the student's first or subsequent major.  Some double major combinations can be completed within the minimum 120 credit hour degree requirement, but in other cases additional course work may be required. Please note that students will receive only one degree unless completing the dual degree requirement including at least 150 undergraduate credit hours, regardless of the number of majors they complete. Both (all) majors appear on a student’s transcript.

Curriculum

An Ignatian Foundation

All undergraduate students must complete either the Canisius Core Curriculum or the All-College Honors Curriculum. Many schools refer to their college-wide undergraduate requirements as "general education" requirements. We believe that the core curriculum and the honors curriculum are more than a series of required classes; they provide the basis for a Jesuit education both with content and with required knowledge and skills attributes that are central to our mission.

Free Electives

Students may graduate with a bachelor's degree with more but not less than 120 credit hours. Free electives are courses in addition to the Canisius Core Curriculum or All-College Honors Curriculum and major requirements sufficient to reach the minimum number of credits required for graduation. The number of credits required to complete a bachelor's degree may vary depending on the student's major(s) and minor(s).

Major Requirements

Roadmap

¹

Please take either PED 203 (offered every odd spring semester) or PED 204 (offered every odd year fall).

²

PED 305 is offered every even fall semester.

Learning Goals and Objectives

Learning Goal 1
Candidates in the Sport Pedagogy program will demonstrate content knowledge, pedagogical, and professional knowledge necessary for successful performance in their field.

Students will:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the basic theories of personality, motivation, perception and social psychology as applied to the field of sport and exercise. This includes making the application of theory into practice in applied settings such as coaching, therapy or management and be prepared to enter careers the allied sports professions
• Design a mental training program from the field of sport psychology that is related to mental health, performance intervention or performance enhancement. Select a sport and a sub-skill within that sport and develop a mental training program(MTP) or psychological skills training program(PSTP) that could be used as a blueprint for a psychological intervention

Learning Goal 2
Candidates in the Sport Pedagogy program will demonstrate professional skills and dispositions necessary for successful performance in their field.

Students will:

• Design an in season or off-season conditioning program for a team or an individual.
• Develop an exercise progression for a team that reduces the risk and maximizes benefit

Learning Goal 3
Candidates in the Sport Pedagogy program will demonstrate willingness to use their skills to benefit and serve society.  Within the contexts of their work, candidates promote authentic learning, social and emotional development, and a commitment to social justice in environments that foster respect for diversity and the dignity of all.

Students will:

• Be prepared to contribute to the allied sports professions through participation in public relations, education, governmental, research or other professional activities
• Write a reflection paper for inclusion into the coaching portfolio based on the experiences gained in a ten hour community based learning field placement

Learning Goal 4
Candidates will demonstrate self-reflection as a habit of mind, continuously assessing and refining their professional practice as they construct a rich repertoire of research-based knowledge, skills, and attitudes for effective performance ensuring that all students and/or clients have optimal opportunities to learn and grow.

Students will:

• Reflect on career alternatives outside traditional teaching settings and determine the type of training needed to gain entry into the workforce by writing a reflection paper outlining and clearly expressing and well thought out philosophy of life which will be applied to a career in coaching at either the youth volunteer level, in high school, College or beyond

Learning Goal 5
Candidates will become adept at applying their acquired knowledge in the process of evaluating their own professional performance and decision-making with respect to its impact on students and/or clients, organizations, and the wider community.

Students will:

• Pursue graduate studies or work in coaching science, sports psychology, counseling, sport administration, recreation or leisure.
• Articulate issues on quality of life in a reflection paper based on a visit to an outside agency

Minor

Coaching Minor

The Coaching Minor is a common minor for many physical education or sport pedagogy students. The courses in the minor can be attached to any major. Completion of the minor often leads to graduate work at the master’s degree level in Coaching Science. The courses can also lead to NY State certification. The minor focuses upon the principles of effective coaching including the role of the coach, practice planning, leadership styles, organization and management, ethics and values clarification, goal setting, communication, career objectives, coaching burn-out and sport psychology. The overriding theme examines the interpersonal strategies leading to a productive coach-athlete relationship. Some courses have specific prerequisites, which are stated in the course descriptions.