EXSC117 - Leadership Development in Team Games

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Fundamental to effective practice for leaders in the sport, coaching, physical education and exercise science industries are (1) a sound knowledge of, and (2) practical skills in, team games; along with (3) an ability to provide safe and effective learning environments that enhance fundamental motor and ball handling skills. This knowledge and skill base is consistent with professional standards for the sport and physical education industries. This unit is designed to provide students with an understanding of the skills needed to participate in, and teach, a variety of age-appropriate team games. A leadership perspective is used to explore teaching and coaching strategies; group organisation; communication skills; ways in which team games can relate to exercise science principles; and the different ways that team games can contribute to life-long physical activity participation. The unit aims to provide students with the ability to deliver and evaluate effective team game experiences, and the opportunity to enhance their understanding of the role a leader plays in the implementation of team games.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Explain and demonstrate the skills required and modifications needed for a range of team-games, including the progressive and developmental movement patterns (GA5, GA7, GA9). 

LO2 - Reflect upon coaching models and teaching strategies when coaching and/or teaching team sports and games from a leadership perspective  (GA2, GA4, GA5).

LO3 - Describe key characteristics needed for team games to achieve health and education related outcomes for learners of varied skill and development levels (GA1, GA5, GA8). 

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity 

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA7 - work both autonomously and collaboratively 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

Content

Topics will include: 

• Principles for the organisation, management and administration of safe, effective and fun team games.  
• Individual and team game programs, including the health and education outcomes. 
• Fundamental motor and ball handling skills. 
• Strategies for inclusive, enjoyable and lifelong participation.  
• Teaching, coaching and leadership practices and principals. 
• Modifications for learners of varied skill and development levels. 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Learning and teaching strategies include active learning, collaborative and cooperative learning, just-in-time teaching, peer and problem-based learning, along with project-based and small group learning strategies, which are delivered over the semester. This range of strategies will provide students with appropriate access to required knowledge and understanding of unit content, and opportunities for development of competency in the practical skills of sport and physical education leadership, teaching and coaching. These strategies aim to provide students with an opportunity to meet the learning outcomes and graduate attributes of the unit, as well as the industry professional practice standards (such as teacher registration). Learning and teaching strategies will reflect respect for the individual as an independent learner. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and are required to actively participate in all practical and theoretical classes, along with completing all out-of-class tasks.  

To achieve the learning outcomes, this unit requires face-to-face attendance in specific physical locations with engagement between peers, the lecturer and industry practitioners. To complement the face-to-face interactions, the unit will be blended with self-directed and self-paced online learning activities, which require the use of online communication and collaboration tools. The proportion of face-to-face and online time will vary based on student characteristics, local resources, active learning approaches and technology support; however, interactions amongst students, the lecturer and industry experts will be on a regular basis. 

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to best enable students to demonstrate unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes, standards-based assessment is utilised, consistent with University assessment requirements. A range of assessment strategies are used including: (1) a team game presentation, designed to assess leadership skills and the ability to design, deliver and modify team-games for learners of varied skill and development levels; (2) a skills coaching session, where students deliver a skills coaching session for athletes/students of various abilities, and critique their personal coaching/teaching session. This critique is to be supported by peer-reviewed literature; (3) practical skill tasks, to demonstrate the skills, competencies and engagement required for professional practice and accreditation.  

The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for students to demonstrate achievement of each learning outcome. Therefore, in order to pass this unit, students are required to submit all assessment tasks.  

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Butler, J., & Griffin, L. (2010). More Teaching Games for Understanding: Moving globally. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. – Ebook via ACU library 

Fronske, H. (2012). Teaching Cues for Sport Skills for Secondary School Students (5th edition). San Francisco, CA: Benjamin Cummings. – In Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra campus libraries   

Griffin, L., & Butler, J. (2005). Teaching Games for Understanding: Theory, research, and practice. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. – In Melbourne, Ballarat, Brisbane, Canberra and Strathfield campus libraries   

Launder, A. (2001). Play Practice: The games approach to teaching and coaching sports. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. – In Melbourne, Brisbane and Strathfield campus libraries 

LeFevre, D. (2002). Best new games. Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics. . – In Melbourne, and Strathfield campus libraries 

Mitchell, A., Oslin, J., & Griffin, L. (2013). Teaching Sports Concepts and Skills: A tactical games approach for ages 7 to 18. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. – In Melbourne, Brisbane and Strathfield campus libraries   

Morris, D., & Stiehl, J. (1999) Changing Kids’ Games. (2nd Edition). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. – In Melbourne and Brisbane campus libraries 

Metzler, M. (2011) Instructional Models in Physical Education. Scottsdale, AZ. Taylor and Francis – In Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra campus libraries   

Nash, C. (2015) Practical Sports Coaching. Abingdon OX: Routledge. 

Kidman, L., & Hanrahan, S. (2010). The Coaching Process: A practical guide to becoming an effective sports coach. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. – Ebook via ACU library 

Renshaw, I., Davids, K., Newcombe, D., & Roberts, W. (2019). The Constraints-Led Approach: Principles for Sports Coaching and Practice Design. Routledge.