Franco 1

Thomas Franco
Nancy Roche
Writing 1010-013
25 November 2014
Exercise and Sports Science
Summary of Data
Through observing the artifacts, classes, and the environments one is surrounded
by, one can conclude that literacy in the major is very important. One does not see people
who have not already invested their time in their 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.
Claim
We believe the most significant literacy practice you must understand in 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 orthopedic surgeon, dealing with athletic 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 a player was to be injured

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and the trainer didnt have a lot of hands on experience, they may fall short and not be
able to diagnose the injury correctly.

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 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

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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.
Inventory Report:

Literacy Practice

Artifact

Location

Department of Exercise
and Sports Science

This paper entails what the ESS department is

about and what the goals of it are. It also tells
you what classes will help further you into this
major in your first year of college.

Hyper
North

Internship Opportunities

This paper describes what the benefits of doing

an internship are. It talks about how it will
further your understanding of the language and
practices of the major through doing an
internship.

Biology
Advising
Building

Summer Undergraduate
Research Program

This describes what the research program is and

how it will help you not only in your career, but
with your classes as well.

Biology
Advising
Building

Introduction to
Measurement in Physical
Education and Exercise
Science

This book describes how physical activity can

and will help your health, now and in the future.
And what ESS is really about.

Marriott
Library

Observation

This is what Thomas observed in his class. Read Nutrition

above for more info.
1010

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.

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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 is the author.
Pamphlet For Internship Opportunities:
1. The event this text mediates is internship opportunities.
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.

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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 Biol 4955 or Biol 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.
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.

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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
were 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.

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Observation
For the observation it was decided to 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 PowerPoint, 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 questions such as when is it best to take a whey protein shake, and is it
really worth the money 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.

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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.

The girl next to me writes down other peoples success stories in losing weight, to
further help her mission for better health.
Conclusion:
From data collected an observer can conclude that the major of Exercise Sports

Science is a very complex and diverse discourse. There are many different practices that
are involved in many different aspects of the community. The literacy practices involved
within the major vary in how they are used, and where you can observe them. One may
observe certain literacy practices in class, but may see the same practices being applied in
a lab, or on field experience. Whether you are entering the discourse of and
undergraduate in Exercise and Sport Science or have been in the major for a year or two
there is always something new for you to learn, and there is always something different to
be involved in. 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.

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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.