Course Syllabus

APK 2160: Facts and Fallacies in Exercise and Nutrition

Division of Kinesiology 

School of Kinesiology and Physical Therapy

College of Health Professions and Sciences

3 Credit Hours

Instructor Information 

• Instructor: Tristan Starling-Smith Ph.D. CSCS.
• Office Location: Online
• Office Hours: Upon Request (Virtual Meetings via Zoom available)
• Digital Contact: TristanStarling@knights.ucf.edu

Course Information

• Term: Fall 2022
• Course Number & Section: APK 2160
• Course Name: Facts and Fallacies in Exercise and Nutrition
• Credit Hours: 3
• Class Meeting Days and Times: Online
• Class Location: Online
• Course Modality: W

***Important Information***

It is mandatory that you read this syllabus and understand its content. If you do not understand anything on the syllabus,  please contact Tristan Starling (tristanstarling@knights.ucf.edu) for clarification. Throughout this course, please contact Tristan with any questions regarding the course itself, and please email the instructor listed for each week if you have questions about the material for that given week. 

Course Description

This course concerns the appropriate interpretation of scientific and media-based content related to core concepts in nutrition and exercise.

Course Materials and Resources

• Tiller, Nicholas B. (2020). The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science: Confronting Myths of the Health and Fitness Industry. Routledge.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Differentiate between scientific and non-scientific rationale.
2. Learn how to find, read and analyze peer-reviewed research articles.
3. Critically evaluate the scientific merit of different ideas and opinions within the field.
4. List the primary differences among the four categories of ergogenic aids: nutritional, mechanical, physiological, psychological.
5. Identify common logical fallacies and how marketing uses them to appeal to the health and fitness consumer.

Course Activities

This remote-instruction course is in (W) format and is asynchronous, so there are no scheduled class meetings. Each module is locked until Monday 12:01 am of the week it is assigned (see Course Schedule for dates).

All of the assignments are included within the modules. The due dates are listed in the Course Schedule. During the first week of class, make a note of these due dates, as the late policy does not allow for late assignments other than very specific situations.

Exams

There will be 2 multiple choice exams. Exams will be open for the week (Monday-Sunday) they are listed in the schedule. Exams are "open-book" but students are required to work independently. The questions on the Exams are based on the material in the modules, including the textbook readings. 

Weekly Assignments

Within every module, you will have a single assignment worth 10-20 points. The assignments vary week to week but may consist of a quiz on a lecture, research article, or book chapter within the module; an assignment requiring you to find online materials about a product or supplement and analyze them using concepts you learned in class; obtaining and summarizing research articles. The point distribution for each assignment is clearly stated on the assignment's page. 

Final Project – Fact or Fallacy Educational Handout

This project is a culmination of skills and ideas learned throughout the course. You will write a one page paper that would help someone determine if a specific nutrition plan/supplement or exercise product, program, or treatment should be classified as fact or fallacy. First you will be required to highlight the sources and claims of your chosen product and address red flags and logical fallacies. You will then provide scientific evidence (or lack thereof) regarding its efficacy, and finally explain how an athlete or exercise enthusiast would incorporate that product into their routine.

Activity Submissions

All assignments are submitted through Webcourses within their respective modules. 

Attendance/Participation

This course is entirely online and asynchronous, but it is recommended that you check Webcourses on Mondays when the new modules are available. 

Make-up Exams and Assignments

Per university policy, you are allowed to submit make-up work (or an equivalent, alternate assignment) for authorized university-sponsored activities, religious observances, or legal obligations (such as jury duty). If this participation conflicts with your course assignments, the instructors will offer a reasonable opportunity for you to complete missed assignments and/or exams. The make-up assignment and grading scale will be equivalent to the missed assignment and its grading scale. In the case of an authorized university activity, it is your responsibility to show the instructors a signed copy of the Program Verification Form for which you will be absent, prior to the class in which the absence occurs. In any of these cases, please contact the instructors ahead of time to notify them of upcoming needs.

Assessment and Grading Procedures

 

Assignment	Points
Chapter Assignments (10) x 10 points each	100
Quizzes (2) x 20 points each	40
Final project	30
TOTAL	170

 

Letter Grade	Percentage
A	90-100
B	80-89
C	70-79
D	60-69
F	59 or below

Note on Grades - Your final grade in the class will be rounded up if it is on the cusp of a higher grade, at .5 or higher. For example, an 89.5 rounds up to an A but an 89.4 is a B.

All grades earned are final and are not open for discussion or negotiation.

There are no exceptions to this policy.

Every student will be treated equally and fairly during this course.

Consult the latest Undergraduate or Graduate catalog for regulations and procedures regarding grading such as Incomplete grades, grade changes, and grade forgiveness.

Course Schedule

Course Schedule

University Services and Resources

Academic Services and Resources

A list of available academic support and learning services is available at UCF Student Services. Click on "Academic Support and Learning Services" on the right-hand side to filter.  

Non-Academic Services and Resources

A list of non-academic support and services is also available at UCF Student Services. Click on "Support" on the right-hand side to filter.  

If you are a UCF Online student, please consult the UCF Online Student Guidelines for more information about your access to non-academic services.

Policy Statements

Email

All email policies must be followed, or the instructors will not respond.

• The message should include an appropriate greeting, clear and concise writing, be written in a professional and respectful manner, include proper capitalization and punctuation, and an appropriate closing
• Do not email the instructors a question that can be answered by reading the syllabus.

Documentation of Student Activity/Financial Aid Requirement

All instructors/faculty are required to document students’ academic activity at the beginning of each course. To document that you began this course, please complete the “Introductory Assignment” by Friday, August 26th at 11:59pm. Failure to do so may result in a delay in the disbursement of your financial aid.

University-Wide Face Covering Policy for Common Spaces and Face-to-Face Classes

UCF expects that all members of our campus community who are able to do so get vaccinated, and we expect all members of our campus community to wear masks indoors, in line with the latest CDC guidelines. Masks are required in approved clinical or health care settings.

Depending on the course of the pandemic during the semester, the university may make changes to the way classes are offered. If that happens, please look for announcements or messages in Webcourses@UCF or Knights email about changes specific to this course.

COVID-19 and Illness Notification

Students who believe they may have a COVID-19 diagnosis should contact UCF Student Health Services (407-823-2509) so proper contact tracing procedures can take place.

Students should not come to campus if they are ill, are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, have tested positive for COVID, or if anyone living in their residence has tested positive or is sick with COVID-19 symptoms. CDC guidance for COVID-19 symptoms is located here: (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html)

Students should contact their instructor(s) as soon as possible if they miss class for any illness reason to discuss reasonable adjustments that might need to be made. When possible, students should contact their instructor(s) before missing class.

In Case of Faculty Illness

If the instructor falls ill during the semester, there may be changes to this course, including having a backup instructor take over the course. Please look for announcements or mail in Webcourses@UCF or Knights email for any alterations to this course.

Course Accessibility and Disability COVID-19 Supplemental Statement

Accommodations may need to be added or adjusted should this course shift from an on-campus to a remote format. Students with disabilities should speak with their instructor and should contact sas@ucf.edu to discuss specific accommodations for this or other courses.

Academic Integrity

Students should familiarize themselves with UCF’s Rules of Conduct. According to Section 1, "Academic Misconduct," students are prohibited from engaging in:

• Unauthorized assistance: Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in any academic exercise unless specifically authorized by the instructor of record. The unauthorized possession of examination or course-related material also constitutes cheating.
• Communication to another through written, visual, electronic, or oral means: The presentation of material which has not been studied or learned, but rather was obtained through someone else’s efforts and used as part of an examination, course assignment, or project.
• Commercial Use of Academic Material: Selling of course material to another person, student, and/or uploading course material to a third-party vendor without authorization or without the express written permission of the university and the instructor. Course materials include but are not limited to class notes, Instructor’s PowerPoints, course syllabi, tests, quizzes, labs, instruction sheets, homework, study guides, handouts, etc.
• Falsifying or misrepresenting the student’s own academic work.
• Plagiarism: Using or appropriating another’s work without any indication of the source, thereby attempting to convey the impression that such work is the student’s own.
• Multiple Submissions: Submitting the same academic work for credit more than once without the express written permission of the instructor.
• Helping another violate academic behavior standards.

For more information about Academic Integrity, students may consult The Center for Academic Integrity.

For more information about plagiarism and misuse of sources, see “Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices”.

Responses to Academic Dishonesty, Plagiarism, or Cheating

Students should also familiarize themselves with the procedures for academic misconduct in UCF’s student handbook, The Golden Rule. UCF faculty members have a responsibility for students’ education and the value of a UCF degree, and so seek to prevent unethical behavior and when necessary respond to academic misconduct. Penalties can include a failing grade in an assignment or in the course, suspension or expulsion from the university, and/or a "Z Designation" on a student’s official transcript indicating academic dishonesty, where the final grade for this course will be preceded by the letter Z. For more information about the Z Designation, see http://goldenrule.sdes.ucf.edu/zgrade.

Course Accessibility Statement

The University of Central Florida is committed to providing access and inclusion for all persons with disabilities. Students with disabilities who need disability-related access in this course should contact the professor as soon as possible. Students should also connect with Student Accessibility Services (Ferrell Commons 185, sas@ucf.edu, phone (407) 823-2371). Through Student Accessibility Services, a Course Accessibility Letter may be created and sent to professors, which informs faculty of potential access and accommodations that might be reasonable.Determining reasonable access and accommodations requires consideration of the course design, course learning objectives and the individual academic and course barriers experienced by the student.

Campus Safety Statement

Fully online course sections (W, V) 

Though most emergency situations are primarily relevant to courses that meet in person, such incidents can also impact online students, either when they are on or near campus to participate in other courses or activities or when their course work is affected by off-campus emergencies. The following policies apply to courses in online modalities.

• To stay informed about emergency situations, students can sign up to receive UCF text alerts by going to <https://my.ucf.edu> and logging in. Click on “Student Self Service” located on the left side of the screen in the toolbar, scroll down to the blue “Personal Information” heading on the Student Center screen, click on “UCF Alert”, fill out the information, including e-mail address, cell phone number, and cell phone provider, click “Apply” to save the changes, and then click “OK.”
• Students with special needs related to emergency situations should speak with their instructors outside of class.

Deployed Active Duty Military Students

Students who are deployed active duty military and/or National Guard personnel and require accommodation should contact their instructors as soon as possible after the semester begins and/or after they receive notification of deployment to make related arrangements.

Copyright

This course may contain copyright protected materials such as audio or video clips, images, text materials, etc. These items are being used with regard to the Fair Use doctrine in order to enhance the learning environment. Please do not copy, duplicate, download or distribute these items. The use of these materials is strictly reserved for this online classroom environment and your use only. All copyright materials are credited to the copyright holder.

Third-Party Software and FERPA

During this course you might have the opportunity to use public online services and/or software applications sometimes called third-party software such as a blog or wiki. While some of these could be required assignments, you need not make any personally identifying information on a public site. Do not post or provide any private information about yourself or your classmates. Where appropriate you may use a pseudonym or nickname. Some written assignments posted publicly may require personal reflection/comments, but the assignments will not require you to disclose any personally identity-sensitive information. If you have any concerns about this, please contact your instructor.