Simon Penn

Dr. Simon Penn is a Senior Lecturer in Sport, Fitness, and Coaching at The Open University (OU), where he transitioned to a full-time academic role in 2018. He holds a position as Module Team Chair for the OU module 'Working with people in sport and fitness,' focusing on practitioner skills. His research emphasizes innovative educational methods, particularly the use of screencast feedback for distance learners, earning him the 2024 OU Research Excellence Award for Outstanding Post Graduate Researcher.

Before joining OU, Penn developed expertise in exercise physiology as a Royal Air Force Physical Training Instructor and later as a lecturer at St. Mary’s University, London. He co-edited the book Advanced Personal Training: Science to Practice (2016), blending scientific evidence with practical fitness instruction strategies. His pedagogical work explores optimal feedback delivery in online education, with a current focus on expanding research into feedback literacy.

Teaching contributions include extensive materials on topics such as high-intensity training, endurance sports, and exercise programming. Penn’s doctoral research (defended 2024) compared text and screencast feedback efficacy, resulting in a thesis praised for its rigorous analysis. He is currently preparing publications from this work and exploring new avenues in student feedback innovation.

As a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Penn balances academic leadership with scholarly contributions, advocating for evidence-based practices in both fitness education and higher education pedagogy.