PHS 375: Perspectives in Sport and Exercise Psychology

The focus of this class is taking research, empirical data, and theories and applying them to real-life practical situations. In essence, it focuses on applying research-to-practice using proper sources and understanding the empirical research to make these applications. More specifically, students are asked “Why would you choose to use certain techniques and why do you think they would be appropriate and successful in the situation that was provided in the assignment?” Over the course of many years of teaching, Dr. Weinberg found students could memorize information but oftentimes did not look at it with a critical eye and were not able to apply the information to different contexts and situations.

In order to develop students' critical thinking skills, Dr. Weinberg assigned a project requiring students to use class materials and readings to develop a mental training program for a team that has a great deal of physical talent but makes “mental errors.” Specifically, they needed to think critically regarding why they chose to use certain techniques and why they thought those techniques would be helpful in this particular situation. In essence, the focus was on critical thinking skill #5 ("Identifies and assesses the quality of supporting evidence/data and provides additional evidence/data related to the issue") as identified by the Washington State University Critical Thinking Rubric (modified by Stonewater and Wolcott).