About This Course
This is a flexible part-time, level 7 postgraduate short course delivered online.
Who is this Short Course suitable for?
This online distance learning short course on Talent Development is suitable for anyone interested in understanding how to develop expertise and enhance human performance.
Why study this course?
Success in sport hinges on an athlete's ability to cultivate and refine specific, often unique, perceptual and motor skills. According to the widely cited "10,000-hour rule," it takes approximately 10 years or 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to achieve expert proficiency in these skills.
This course aims to explore the pivotal roles of demographics, psychosocial factors, and practice methodologies in talent development. Its primary objective is to equip participants with a robust theoretical and empirical understanding of the talent development literature. By doing so, practitioners will gain the insights needed to design and implement development programs that foster environments conducive to nurturing talent.
How long does this course take to complete?
This short course takes 12 weeks to complete. You will have access to all lecture material at the start of the course, which will enable you to go as fast or as slowly as your personal circumstances dictate.
Assessment
The assessment on this short course includes:
- The development of a 'coach friendly' executive report or infographic surrounding the current literature within talent development, summarising both the demographic and psychosocial factors that contribute to effective talent development. (1500 words)
- The development of a 'coach friendly' executive report or infographic surrounding the current literature within talent development with a focus on at least one feature from practice experiences that contribute to effective talent development. (1000 words)
Technical Requirements
This is an online course delivered via Blackboard Ultra. Students must have access to a stable internet connection, IT and up-to-date computer and software, a microphone and headphones or speakers.
Tutor
Dr Gavin Lawrence
Gavin is a senior lecturer and researcher in performance psychology. He is a member of the Institute for the Psychology of Elite Performance, Chair of Canoe Wales Talent and Performance Committee, and Vice Chair of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) North Wales Local Skills Economy Board.
Dr Lawrence's main interests are twofold: Motor Learning and Control, with a particular focus on target-directed aiming, and effective coaching practices, performance expertise, and talent development. His primary focus in the latter area is to better understand talent and expertise development, exploring ways to accelerate individuals towards expert performance through both behavioural and psychological practices.
His research investigates how practice structure and processes influence our understanding of effective coaching and talent development. For example, what differentiates those who achieve expertise and super-elite status from those who do not? His work explores practice structures to accelerate learning and inform what practice you need to do, when you need to do it, and how much you need to do to increase your chances of reaching expert status and success.
Dr Lawrence has secured external funding for his sport and exercise science research from UK Sport’s Interdisciplinary Pathway2Podium project, the England and Wales Cricket Board, and Weightlifting Wales, among others. These projects take an interdisciplinary approach to understanding talent development and expertise.
He has a young family, complete with two potential future talents, whom he adores. He is intolerant of fools but open to all new ideas and learnings, especially those related to enhancing human performance. Dr Lawrence is also a ‘failed’ athlete and a passionate drummer.
Course Content
What will you study on this course?
This short course is delivered by a Talent Development scientist who works with leading sports organizations, such as UK Sport and the England and Wales Cricket Board. The course is divided into three main sections: ‘Demographics’, ‘Psychosocial’, and ‘Training and Practice’. In the first section, we will explore issues related to talent development, focusing on athletes' backgrounds and upbringing. The second section will delve into the psychological makeup of athletes to better understand the mindsets associated with talent. In the final section, we will examine how to optimise practice environments to develop skills effectively. Throughout the course, we will emphasise the impact factors that influence the effective development of talent.
List of Units
Learning Units
- Demographics – birth dates and sibling effects
- Psychosocial factors
- Exposure and practice experiences – deliberate practice versus ‘play’; Early specialisation versus diversification.
After each unit, there is a live seminar that provides a virtual environment where you can discuss thoughts, raise questions, and share experiences to increase your understanding.
Course Cost
Application
How to Apply
Please make sure you read and follow the step-by-step application guide as this will specify which sections of the application form are compulsory for the type of course you want to apply for and save you time.
Please prepare the following information (in a Word document):
- Current employment details;
- Years of experience, and employment history (where relevant)
- Name of staff member and organisation that have approved your funding for this module.
This will speed up the process of completing the application form.
To apply for this course, you need to create an account in our
You will need access to the email address you specify while creating your account to confirm it.
After creating an account, you will see a homepage with several tabs:
Personal
Programme
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Contact
Education
Employment
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Finance
You need to complete all sections before submitting your application.
When a section is complete, a ‘tick’ symbol will appear below it.
- Click on ‘Non-graduating applications / Stand alone Modules’, then select ‘Non-graduating postgraduate’.
- In the next section, select Non-Graduating Taught Modules in Sport Health and Excercise Science (NGGT/SHES) Click Save and Continue.
- On the next page, the default for the first question is Full Time. You need to change this to ‘Part time’:
- You now need to input the module code. Talent Development: the code is JXH-4213. This section must be completed for your application to be processed.
- You also need to state the start date. Please make your selection, then click ‘Save and Continue’.
- IMPORTANT: You do not need to write a personal statement to apply for this course. Instead, please upload the document including employment, experience and education information that you have created prior to starting the application that contains the name of your current employer, the number of years of experience you have, and your highest qualification to date. Click Save and continue.
You only need to enter the details of your highest qualification to date, e.g. if you have a postgraduate qualification, please only only include this.
You will be asked for evidence of the qualification. Please either upload a copy of your qualification if it's easily accessible, or upload the Word document again (that you prepared earlier).
details not required as you've already prepared this
Please scroll to the bottom of the page and click on ‘I have no employment history’ (as you have already provided this in your Word document).
If you are self-funding, please provide all details as appropriate.