Year
2021Credit points
10Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unitPrerequisites
NilUnit rationale, description and aim
High performance sport systems and practices vary greatly between specific sports, organisations and cultures. To optimise athlete and/or team performance, practitioners require evidence-based knowledge, practical skills to apply this knowledge, and an understanding of the roles of other support staff to effectively integrate these knowledge and skills. This unit aims to introduce students to the multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary environment of high performance sport and have them to reflect on their own practice. A seminar series of experts from sports science and related allied health professions (eg sports psychology; skill acquisition; nutrition/dietetics; physiotherapy; sports medicine) will introduce the contemporary knowledge and practices from their field of expertise relevant to athlete and team preparation and performance. Students will gain an understanding of how these specialist professions that operate in sporting organisations integrate and communicate with respect to athlete management.
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 - critique contemporary practices in sports science, strength & conditioning and allied professions. (GA4, GA5, GA6)
LO2 - compare and contrast the benefits of an integrated, cross-disciplinary approach to athlete preparation in the high performance environment. (GA1, GA2, GA5)
LO3 - deliver evidence-based contemporary practice in areas including athlete testing, strength and power profiling, activity profiling, and fatigue and recovery monitoring. (GA3, GA4, GA5, GA6)
LO4 - apply ethical and social responsibility to professional sports science practice in high performance sport organizations (GA1, GA2, GA3)
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
GA3 - apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making
GA4 - think critically and reflectively
GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession
GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account
Content
Topics of the unit address contemporary issues and practices faced by a range of professions that operate in high performance sport. These roles will be presented in the context of operating within a multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary setting, with particular relevance to athlete preparation, performance and monitoring. Areas of expertise may include:
- Contemporary sports science theory and application
- Contemporary field testing and conditioning prescription
- Assessing strength & power performance
- Activity profiling and the use of microtechnology (e.g. GPS)
- Monitoring athlete fatigue status and wellbeing
- Multi- and/or Inter-disciplinary approaches in high performance sport
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Learning and teaching strategies include active learning, case-based learning, individual and group activities, cooperative learning, web-based learning, and reflective/critical thinking activities. These strategies will provide students with access to required knowledge and understanding of unit content, and opportunities for development of practical skills relevant to high performance sport contexts. These strategies will allow students to meet the aim, learning outcomes and graduate attributes of the unit. 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 to participate actively within group activities.
Assessment strategy and rationale
In order to best enable students to achieve 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: (i) a practical task to assess the ability to search and assess literature related to a specific research questions; (ii) a written task to assess skills of critical appraisal, commuication and application of literature; (iii) a reflective report to consolidate learning, communicate understanding, and application to professional practice.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes | Graduate Attributes |
|---|---|---|---|
Literature review search strategy: Enables students to develop systematic approaches to database use and literature searching. | 15% | LO1 | GA4, GA5, GA6 |
Article Critique: Enables students to demonstrate skills in critical appraisal of published work and other information that practitioners are regularly exposed to in high performance sport. | 35% | LO1, LO2 | GA4, GA5, GA6 |
Written report: Enables students to reflect upon their unit learning and their own approaches with respect to the contemporary sports science thinking and application to high performance sport practice. | 50% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 | GA1, GA2, GA3, GA4, GA5, GA6 |
Representative texts and references
Australian Institute of Sport, Tanner R, and Gore C (2013) Physiological tests for elite athletes (2nd ed.). Champaign IL: Human Kinetics.
Bompa T and Haff G (2009) Periodization: Theory and Methodology of Training (5th ed.). Champaign IL: Human Kinetics.
Cardinale M, Newton R and Nosaka K (2010) Strength and Conditioning: Biological Principles and Practical Applications. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.