School of Kinesiology

The School of Kinesiology offers three undergraduate degree programs: B.S. in Kinesiology (KIN), B.S. in Physical Activity and Health Promotion (PAHP), and B.S. in Sport Management (SMGT). Students enrolled in the School of Kinesiology’s three majors anticipate careers that require effective communication with academic, professional, clinical, and lay audiences. Thus, in each major, students gain experience conveying complex, often technical data to readers with varying levels of technical expertise.

The School of Kinesiology’s faculty generated the following list in response to the question, “With which writing abilities should students in this unit’s major(s) graduate?”

In the Kinesiology and Physical Activity and Health Promotions majors, students will:

• Adapt choices in style, tone, and format to meet the needs of research, clinical, professional, and community audiences.
• Collect data from an array of sources, instruments, and observations to provide detailed and accurate descriptions of social, psychological, behavioral, and physiological phenomena
• Synthesize information from multiple sources, including scholarly and trade publications and popular media
• Locate, interpret, and evaluate existing research from reliable sources.
• Use subject matter knowledge and analytical skills to identify junk science, dispel common misconceptions, and differentiate evidence-based conclusions from conventional wisdom, fads, and misinformation
• Apply field-specific theories and concepts to describe and explain physiological, psychological, social, behavioral, and biomechanical phenomena.
• Develop examples, narratives, and analogies to explain complex processes in ways understandable to general audiences.
• Choose from a range of tables, charts, and figures to accurately represent data and help audiences reach sound, evidence-based conclusions.
• Develop processes for conceiving, constructing, and revising written and oral communication that apply across contexts.

In the Sport Management major, students will: 

• Adapt choices in style, tone, and format to meet the needs of fellow management professionals, stakeholders, and communities.
• Collect information from an array of sources, instruments, and observations to provide actionable conclusions for sport organizations.
• Locate, interpret, evaluate, and synthesize conclusions from multiple sources of information.
• Analyze and interpret qualitative, quantitative, financial, and statistical data to reach sound, evidence-based conclusions.
• Support all arguments and recommendations with appropriate evidence and effective attribution.
• Apply field-specific terms and concepts to inform and persuade audiences to decisions and actions.
• Select from a range of tables, charts, and figures to accurately represent quantitative and qualitative data and help audiences reach sound, evidence-based conclusions.
• Use reflection activities to explore strengths, growth opportunities, and continuing professional development. (and respond to revisions).

School of Kinesiology faculty developed the following menu of grading criteria from which instructors and each major can select and adapt relevant items.

For Kinesiology and Physical Activity and Health Promotions majors:

1. The document uses a format typical for the audience (e.g., a research paper, presentation, poster, slide deck, web page, or other professional genres).
2. The document uses vocabulary appropriate to the audience’s needs and is organized to meet the expectations of academic, clinical, professional, and lay audiences.
3. The document carefully attends to the details of data collection (methods, credibility, recency, evidence type, units of measurement, etc.).
4. The document cites resources that provide detailed and reliable information (research, government documents, professional publications)
5. The document offers well-detailed, scientifically accurate, and actionable descriptions of observations and analyses.
6. The document draws out themes and connections among disparate sources in order to advance its own claim.
7. The document draws accurate, concise conclusions from disparate sources and acknowledges limitations and uncertainties.
8. The document includes resources of sufficient scope and quality to successfully demonstrate the accuracy and veracity of claims.
9. The document cites high-quality sources from research publications, government documents, and other trusted public health information, and has a complete and accurate reference page.
10. The document demonstrates an understanding of the quality of evidence, bias, and other factors that affect the accuracy of conclusions (e.g., population type, sampling).
11. The document offers effective evidence to dispute factually incorrect information or to reveal faulty reasoning or inference.
12. The document constructs effective counterarguments to address misinformation
13. The document accurately summarizes and cites disciplinary theories, using them to explain observations, predictions, and conclusions.
14. The document includes examples and analogies that accurately describe and explain complex phenomena, and illustrate how and why examples shed light on the audience’s understanding.
15. The document includes well-designed visualizations that reflect the features of the selected data (e.g., continuous vs. discrete variables).  
16. The document illustrates the student’s engagement with the discipline, contains no errors that could interrupt meaning, and shows evidence of careful proofreading and editing.

For Sport Management majors:

1. Selects a format typical for the audience (Executive summaries, presentation, financial reporting, market research, or other professional genres).
2. The document uses vocabulary appropriate to the audience’s needs and is organized to meet the expectations of both professional and lay audiences as required.
3. The document carefully attends to the details of data collection (credibility, recency, evidence type, units of measurement, etc.).
4. The document cites resources that provide detailed and reliable information (research, government documents, professional publications
5. The document offers detailed, accurate, and professionally actionable information in formats that support strategic decision-making.
6. The document draws out themes and connections among disparate sources in order to advance its own claim.
7. The document cites high-quality sources from research publications, government documents, market research, internal data, and trade publications, and has a complete and accurate reference page.
8. The document demonstrates an understanding of the quality of evidence, bias, and other factors that affect the accuracy of conclusions (e.g., population type, sampling).
9. The document draws out themes and connections among disparate sources in order to advance its own claim.
10. The document cites high-quality sources from research publications, government documents, market research, internal data, and trade publications, and has a complete and accurate reference page.
11. The document demonstrates an understanding of the quality of evidence, bias, and other factors that affect the accuracy of conclusions (e.g., population type, sampling).
12. The document includes only arguments supported by accurate, reliable evidence and contains little speculation.
13. The document offers reasons, justifications, and evidence derived from reliable sources and appropriately applicable to the business context
14. The document addresses core management and marketing concepts, applies them effectively to the context of sport organizations, and addresses the demands of various stakeholder communities
15. The document includes visualizations selected to best display quantitative/qualitative information and to foster accurate interpretation of the data.
16. The document attends carefully to the legibility of data representation (color, contrast, emphasis, scales, data labels, titles, and captions).
17. Documents designed for reflection provide sufficient descriptive detail about events and activities and use that detail to draw meaningful generalizations and conclusions.
18. Documents accompanying completed drafts and projects (Revision memos, process documents) effectively describe students' thought processes and decision-making regarding their academic products.

Supporting instruction - Classroom observations for SMGT 3881W and KIN 3982W:

During the WEC Legacy stage, we collected data from SMGT 3881W: Senior Seminar in Sport Management and KIN 3982: Research Methods in Kinesiology, Physical Activity, Health Promotion, and Sport. SMGT 3881W is a senior capstone course for the sport management major, while KIN 3982 is a required course for KIN and PAHP majors that provides perhaps the broadest overview instead of a capstone.

SMGT 3881W is often taught by a graduate student, and a faculty member responsible for the course is leaving. This course is industry-facing and requires a professional presentation to an external audience. As such, this course provides an excellent opportunity to assess students’ writing abilities in relation to how they adapt their choices and style to industry conventions, apply field-specific terms, and develop a process for written and oral communication. Given the inconsistency in course staffing, it would be beneficial for a WAC staff member to observe the instructor and provide feedback on how the new writing criteria are taught and assessed.

KIN 3982 is undergoing a significant change in course delivery, moving from multiple 35-student sections to a larger section with TAs. The course is also being revised to incorporate the WI tag from KIN 3131W: History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity. The responsible faculty member for research methods is Dr. Emily Kringle, who is committed to course development and implementation of writing abilities. The faculty member teaching the course would benefit from an evaluation to consider how the instructor can adapt to the format shift and WI requirements.

Collecting additional data – Curricular comparison with other institutions

The WEC liaison and the GRA will collect program plans and syllabi from comparative programs in Kinesiology, PAHP, and Sport Management. The WEC liaison and GRA will also consult with directors of undergraduate studies at these comparative institutions to gauge how and where writing abilities are assessed. The WEC liaison and the GRA will consult with the School's DUGS to prepare a list of recommendations for implementation in the School of Kinesiology curriculum. A report will be shared with the faculty to highlight the unique strengths and opportunities for improvement in the three majors pertaining to the integration and assessment of writing abilities across the curriculum.

Rethinking curricular structures – Examine course sequence and milestones

Considering the turnover of faculty and the hiring of new faculty in SMGT, the changes in the curriculum to accommodate increasing enrollment in KIN and PAHP, and the School of Kinesiology’s contributions to the CEHD efforts to expand LE tag offerings, the WEC Legacy Plan will give us an opportunity to rethink our curricular structures in relation to the new writing abilities. In Summer 2028, the Liaison and the GRA will analyze syllabi and select assignment descriptions to examine curricular sequencing. This work will result in recommendations to the Undergraduate Education Committee, which will workshop the recommendations. The School will adjust the sample degree plans, if needed, and implement these changes through advising starting Fall 2028.

Involving undergraduate students – Assess writing abilities as students enter and progress

Following changes in the curriculum, the department will engage undergraduate students in the assessment process. The focus will be on students in the SMGT major, given that it has an introductory course and a senior capstone course. Writing abilities will be assessed in SMGT 1701 in Fall 2027 and in SMGT 3881W in Spring 2029. The SMGT faculty will review the assessments and reflect on how students’ writing abilities meet the learning objectives of the courses and the program learning outcomes.

Engaging instructors – Faculty consultations

The School of Kinesiology faculty are invested in undergraduate course development. As such, the implementation process allows individual faculty members to request consultations with a WAC staff member. One consultation per semester will be available to a single faculty member or a small group, depending on the program's needs. These faculty consultations can range from guidance on assignment guidelines, rubrics, and AI use to instructional design questions and course revision recommendations.

Engaging instructors – Department-specific TA workshops

The School of Kinesiology relies heavily on graduate student teaching assistants for grading and writing assessments. As such, a School of Kinesiology-specific workshop for TAs will be implemented in KIN 8980: Graduate Seminar in Kinesiology, which is currently under revision and will include teaching modules. The WAC staff member will lead the TA workshop with the liaison/director of graduate studies/instructor of the course, with the goal of permanently integrating the workshop into the course.