Jensen 1

James Jensen
Nancy Roche
Writing 1010-013
4 December 2014
Exercise and Sports Science
Summary of Data
Through observing the artifacts, classes, and the surrounding environments, one can
conclude that literacy, in the major, is very important. In the major, Exercise and Sports Science,
it very uncommon to come in contact with people who have not invested copious amount of time
into this major. Through all the pamphlets, websites, books, and interviews, one would notice
that the written text and conversations are set up for graduate level students or people who are
very involved within the major. The social practice of being able to understand the literacy
within the major Exercise and Sports Science (ESS) is hard, but when you add the text and
visuals, an outsider can join this major.
Literacy Practices
Literacy practices are a way of linking reading and writing with the social structures in
which they are embedded (Barton and Hamilton 7). In simpler terms a literacy practice is a
social practice where literacy is involved. Literacy practices are a key part of the community
interaction. Understanding these practices gives insight as to how the community functions as a
unit. Recognizing the different mechanics of literacy in the community helps improve the
exchange of information between members of the community.
The College of Health at the University of Utah is overviewed and ran by David H
Perrin. Within the College of Health is the Exercise Sport Science Department and its goal is to

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enhance health, quality of life, and human performance through discovery, dissemination, and
application of the scientic foundations of physical activity (Department of Exercise Sport
Science). Through the explorations and studies within this major the department hopes to further
be recognized in enhancing the global goal of universal health. One cannot do this without
understanding the complex and complicated literacy practices within the undergraduate major.
Through observations and research one would conclude that the most important literacy practices
are the intricacies between people within in the domain, and the way the information is mediated
to students.
The interactions between people in the ESS major are largely one-sided conversations
with professors and TAs being in positions of power and controlling all forms of
communication. Most of the interactions take place in a lecture type setting. Students take notes
without contributing much to the conversation. This dynamic allows to the teacher to direct the
class in the way they see fit. The person leading the lecture, generally a professor, decides when
communication starts and when it should be stopped.
Claim
We believe the most significant literacy practice you must understand in the field of
Exercise and Sports Science is hands on experience. The more time you spend learning this
practice the better prepared you will be if you plan to work with athletics, whether it be a trainer
on the field or a specialist, for example an orthopaedic surgeon, dealing with athletic related
injuries. These fields of sports science both require a lot of contact with their patients. And if you
dont know how to properly execute parts of these literary practices, then you may not have as
good of a chance to excel as those that do. A great example of this would be an athletic trainer on
the sidelines of their universities football game. If players were to be injured and the trainer

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didnt have enough hands on experience, the athletic trainer may fall short and not be able to
diagnose the injury correctly.
Artifacts
Handout from Department of Exercise and Sports Science:
1. The event this text mediates is Emphasized departments within the major of Exercise and
Sports Science.
2. The social practice for this text is to give undergraduates better overviews of each
department, helping students decide what their focus will be.
3. Understanding of certain discourses, such as the human anatomy, prior to entering this
major would be beneficial.
4. From this article you will learn what certain departments of Exercise and Sports Science
at the University of Utah consist of.
5. This article is helping undergraduates in this major by giving a brief explanation of what
to expect in each department.
6. The text was written between 2012 and 2014.
7. The text has not changed from when it was originally written.
8. This text could have been written online on the homepage of the Exercise and Sports
Science web page.
9. This article is from the Hyper North on the University of Utah campus. The University of
Utah College of Health writes it.
Pamphlet For Internship Opportunities:
1. The event this text mediates is internship opportunities.

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2. The social practice for this text is to help graduates get more experience in their major
through internships.
3. The CSME main mission is to promote understanding and enthusiasm for science and
mathematics in present and into the future of their field.
4. From this article you learn how to get more involved with my major and gain experience
through an internship.
5. This written text is helping promote how undergraduates can gain more hands on
experience.
6. Text was written between 2012 and 2014.
7. The text has not changed from when it was written.
8. The text could have been made more public by being printed in the university paper.
9. The text is coming from the Center for Science and Mathematics. Written by the
University of Utah.
Pamphlet for Summer Undergraduate Research Program:
1. The events this text mediates are biologic research studies.
2. The social practice of this text: teaching undergraduates how to work in a lab. It also
gives students an opportunity to learn what a job is like in their field.
3. Certain practices like prior lab experience would help students navigate within this field.
4. Students need certain skills already to be able to interact effectively in a biology lab
5. Students can receive credit for Bio1 4955 or Bio l, 4995. They will also be more
experienced making future classes easier.
6. This text was written this year meaning that all the information is up to date.

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7. In the past the application process to get into the program would have been different. The
application requirements might have been more relaxed and the pay would have been
less.
8. The text could have been made more exclusive requiring higher standards for students. It
could have also been more relaxed letting more students into the program.
9. The biology department funds the research program and are the people who select which
students make it into the program.
Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science
1. This artifact mediates the value of measurement and evaluation in sports science.
2. The social practice are tests to calculate the limits of athletic events
3. Prior experience in athletics or any form of physical fitness would help one understand
this text
4. This text is an accurate representation of a text an undergraduate pursuing an ESS major.
5. This purpose of the text is to teach proper form in athletic tests to ensure proper results.
6. The text was written in 1995 and may not contain the most up to date information.
7. Athletes are always finding more efficient ways of completing tasks so if this text was
written in the past it would be vastly.
8. Information presented in the text could have presented to a target audience without the
knowledge that the current target audience has.
9. The text is coming from the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at Oregon State
University.
Observation

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For the observation it was decided we use an observation of a Nutrition 1020 class. This
nutrition class is a prerequisite to many of the higher division classes one would have to take in
the Exercise Science major.

In the beginning of class students congregate to the seats in the lecture hall.

On average there is usually about 150 students, give or take the students who do not show
up every day.

When the professor turns on the projector and sets up his PowerPoint the class for the
majority becomes silent and becomes ready to take notes and learn.

The professor then goes on to speak about the subject of the day, which in the case of this
observation was protein and protein supplements.

The professor goes through one slide and the information on the slide, and then waits for
questions from the students.

The professor does not speak word for word what is on the power point; he speaks in
fuller and complete sentences, as the PowerPoint is shorter and written for better note
taking.

The students usually ask questions that relate to their own lives, one bodybuilder asked a
question when is it best to take a whey protein shake, and is it really worth the money
for those powders costs?

The professor then goes on to discuss the scientific aspect of the answer, and then he tells
us his opinion on the matter, the majority of the time he agrees with the science behind
nutrition.

Then there are the students who do not ask questions, but rather sit there and try to soak
up all the personal points the professor is making to further benefit their lives.

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The girl next to me writes down other peoples success stories in losing weight, to further
help her mission for better health.
Inventory Report:
Literacy Practice

Artifact

Location

Department of Exercise

This paper entails what the ESS department is

Hyper

and Sports Science

about and what the goals of it are. It also tells

North

you what classes will help further you into this

major in your first year of college.
Internship Opportunities

This paper describes what the benefits of doing

Biology

an internship are. It talks about how it will

Advising

further your understanding of the language and

Building

practices of the major through doing an

internship.
Summer Undergraduate

This describes what the research program is and

Biology

Research Program

how it will help you not only in your career, but

Advising

with your classes as well.

Building

This book describes how physical activity can

Marriott

and will help your health, now and in the future.

Library

Introduction to
Measurement in Physical
Education and Exercise

And what ESS is really about.

Science
Observation

This is what Thomas observed in his class. Read Nutrition

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above for more info.

1010

Conclusion:
From data collected an observer can conclude that the major of Exercise Sports Science is
a very complex and diverse discourse. The literacy practices involved within the major vary in
how they are used, and where you can observe them. To excel, students must be fluent in the
literacy practices mentioned above, and be able to use alternative programs to their advantage.
Becoming more knowledgeable in this major has benefited our progress and we hope the same
for other readers.
Works Cited
Barton, David, and Mary Hamilton. "Literacy Practices." Situated Literacies: Reading and
Writing in Context 7 (2000): 7-15. Print.
Department of Exercise and Sport Science. Salt Lake City: College of Health, 2014. Print
"Department of Exercise and Sport Science - College of Health - University of Utah."
Department of Exercise and Sport Science - College of Health - University of Utah. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.
Internship Opportunities. Salt Lake City: University of Utah, 2014. Print.
Safrit, Margaret J., and Terry M. Wood. Introduction to Measurement in Physical Education and
Excercise Science. 3rd ed. St. Louis: James M. Smith, 1995. Print.
Summer Undergraduate Research Program. Salt Lake City: University of Utah, 2014. Print.