Bringing Sport Research to Life: How Movement-Based Learning Strengthens Collaboration in Sport Management

HLOs:

In Sport Management education, research is often approached through data sets, academic journals, and structured methodologies. While these tools are essential, the most transformative learning often happens when theory is brought into motion—literally.

This semester, the Sport Management program experienced exactly that. With the support of Group Fitness Instructor and Entrepreneur Tara Vavala, students in the research class stepped out of the traditional academic model and into a fully immersive, movement-based environment.

A Day of Physical Literacy in Action

Tara Vavala led Sport Management students through a day of physical challenges designed not just to promote fitness, but to highlight the deeper benefits of physical literacy. Movement became a medium for understanding motivation, communication, and problem-solving—core themes that mirror the very research questions our students explore.

Students quickly recognized how physical activity opens new pathways for engagement. Energy levels lifted, collaboration strengthened, and the classroom transformed into a dynamic learning ecosystem. Tara’s visit reinforced something essential: movement is not a break from learning; it is learning.

Collaboration as a Foundation for Future Leaders

For Sport Management students, these experiences underscored an important lesson: effective sport leaders must understand people and people learn best when they feel energized, connected, and engaged.

Bringing the program together for activities that required communication, trust, and shared problem-solving helped students form stronger bonds within their cohort. This type of team-building is invaluable in a field where collaboration drives success, whether in sport organizations, community programming, or research initiatives.

Where Sport Research and Movement Meet

The integration of physical literacy activities into our research course demonstrated a powerful truth: sport research is not only about analyzing performance or surveying participants—it’s about understanding human behaviour in motion.

Movement-based learning enhances:

• Critical thinking through real-time decision-making
• Team cohesion through shared challenges
• Creativity by breaking from traditional classroom routines
• Well-being through active engagement
• Research curiosity by encouraging students to experience what they study

These experiences bring research to life and allow students to embody the principles they examine academically.

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