| Unit name | Child Nutrition, Activity and Health |
|---|---|
| Unit code | SPOL30034 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Li |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School for Policy Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
The unit provides an opportunity for an introductory but critical examination of child health relating to eating and physical activity behaviours in the UK and beyond.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
This unit provides an opportunity to connect health science and social science and to understand social determinants of children's health status with a focus on the leading risk factors (eating and physical activity).
An overview of content
The content of this unit draws from research and theories in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Behavioural Psychology. Sessions will describe biological, behavioural, and environmental determinants of nutrition and activity with special attention on the potential for behaviour change. A range of issues in selected areas of contemporary health policy will be explored, such as:
The unit is run over 12 weeks with a progressive, weekly programme. Except from the reading week, students are expected to engage in structured and guided self-learning (e.g. pre seminar reading or activities) and live learning activities (two 50-minute long lectures and one 50-minute seminar) every week. A range of learning approaches will be used such as student-centred and problem-based learning.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Purposively planned seminar activities, lectures and teamwork will prepare the students for the formative task which is a group debate. Students will jointly agree on a debate topic with support from the unit director. They will be allowed to sign up for one of the two debate teams (support or against). Students are encouraged to choose a role in their team that makes the best use of their strengths and skills. Some roles (e.g. search for and select research evidence, and create presentation slides as part of their team) are played before the group debate, while other roles may be played primarily during the group debate (e.g. give the opening statement and participate in open debate). The unit director will provide feedback focusing on the key skills that will be assessed in the summative assignment, so the group debate supports progressive learning.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Essay (3000 words) (100%) The assessment covers all ILOs.
When assessment does not go to plan
Subject to the university regulations for taught programmes, unsuccessful students may be offered an opportunity for reassessment. This will comprise a task of the same format as the original assessment.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. SPOL30034).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
