EXSC303 - Exercise Behaviour Change

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

EXSC296 Health and Exercise Psychology and either, EXSC204 Exercise Prescription and Delivery or EXSC216 Resistance Training: Science and Application

Incompatible

EXSC335 Advanced Exercise and Sport Psychology

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Combining skills from different sub-disciplines within the exercise sciences is important to be an effective and dynamic practitioner, and to be consistent with professional standards including those for Exercise Science. The purpose of this unit is to combine your skills from previous units (e.g., EXSC204, EXSC216, EXSC296) and apply them 1) to an initial assessment with an individual client, and 2) to prescription and delivering of exercise to an individual client and a group. To demonstrate learning outcomes for this unit, you will conduct an initial one-on-one consultation, defend the prescription and delivery of a program you design for an individual client, and prescribe and deliver exercise sessions with a group.

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 - Conduct an initial assessment with an individual client combining relevant knowledge from prerequisite units (GA1, GA3, GA5, GA7, GA9)  

LO2 - Defend the prescription and delivery of an exercise program to an individual client combining relevant knowledge from prerequisite units (GA1, GA3, GA5, GA7, GA9) 

LO3 - Prescribe and deliver a group training exercise session combining relevant knowledge from prerequisite units (GA1, GA3, GA5, GA7, GA9) 

Graduate attributes

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

GA3 - apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

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

GA7 - work both autonomously and collaboratively 

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

Content

Topics will include: 

• Motivational interviewing 
• Instruction and feedback 
• Leadership 
• Resting measures, body composition, cardiorespiratory, strength measures 
• Components and individualisation of exercise programs 
• Competent exercise delivery 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit is designed in a way to encourage your participation and self-directed learning through activity-based online lectures, assessment-focused tutorials, structured collaborations with staff and students, and simulated real-world assessment tasks. These strategies are constructed around higher-levels of applied knowledge and critical reasoning in decision making. These strategies will develop your competencies as a practitioner upon graduation.

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to best enable you to demonstrate unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes, standards-based assessment is utilised, consistent with the University assessment requirements. A range of assessment strategies are used including: 1) an initial assessment with an individual client; 2) defending the prescription and delivery of a program you design for an individual client; and 3) prescribing and delivering a group exercise session. 

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Coombes, J., & Skinner, T. (2014). ESSA's student manual for health, exercise and sport assessment. Chatswood, NSW: Mosby Elsevier. 

Rollnick, S., Miller, W. R., & Butler, C. C. (2008). Motivational interviewing in health care: Helping patients change behavior. New York: Guilford. 

American College of Sports Medicine. (2018). ACSM's guidelines for exercise testing and prescription. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.