EXSC392 - Leadership Development in Physical Activity

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 (i) a sound knowledge of, and (ii) practical skills in, physical activity delivery; along with (iii) an ability to provide safe and effective learning environments that enhance fundamental motor and movement 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, age-appropriate motor skills and movement experiences. A leadership perspective is used to explore teaching and coaching strategies; individual and group organisation; communication skills; program planning; ways in which motor skill and movement development relates to exercise science principles; and the different ways that motor skill development and movement experiences can contribute to life-long physical activity participation. The unit aims to provide students with the ability to deliver and evaluate effective physical activity experiences, and the opportunity to enhance their understanding of the role a leader plays in the implementation of these experiences.

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 - Evaluate risks and apply effective methods to create safe and inclusive sport and physical activity environments (GA3).

LO2 - Demonstrate key leadership, coaching and teaching concepts for effective physical activity, movement education and sporting experiences (GA1, GA4, GA5, GA9).  

LO3 - Design and present physical activity learning experiences to achieve motor skill, and health-related outcomes for a diverse range of learners at varied levels of development (GA5, GA9).  

LO4 - Apply and evaluate leadership, coaching and teaching practices with respect to program design, development of movement patterns, and the application of exercise science principles for the improvement of individual performance (GA1, GA4, GA5). 

Graduate attributes

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

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 

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

Content

Topics of the unit include: 

General 

• Introduction to movement education 
• Communication styles, leadership and coaching strategies 
• Program and practice session planning 
• Risk assessment and management 

Aquatics  

• Factors influencing swimming performance 
• Water Safety and Survival 
• The elements of the four competitive swimming strokes 
• Skill progressions  
• Technique modification and drills 

Dance 

• Dance in the community – Why do people dance? 
• Dance in education - current practices 
• Safe dance practices – theory and practical application 
• Teaching dance using the Dance Elements 
• Dance Appreciation – Responding and Reflecting 

Athletics 

• General athletics preparation  
• Recreational athletics  
• Locomotion, rotation, jumping, and throwing 
• Technique development 

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 practical skills in 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. 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

To enable students to effectively demonstrate unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes, standards-based assessment is utilised. This is consistent with University assessment requirements. Two written reports and a video presentation are used to assess the student learning outcomes. . The video assessment requires students to design and present a practical dance-based learning experience via an audio-visual presentation. This enables students to demonstrate the knowledge, concepts and principles important for leadership in physical activity delivery. The first written task requires students to use evidence to demonstrate their understanding of key leadership, coaching and teaching concepts through the development of a physical activity experience for a diverse range of participants. The second written report builds on key leadership, coaching and teaching concepts through the design and evaluation of a learning experience designed to improve individual performance. 

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Austswim. (2014). Teaching Swimming and Water Safety: The Australian way. Mulgrave, VIC: Austswim

Bean, C. & Forneris, T. (2017). Is Life Skill Development a By-Product of Sport Participation? Perceptions of Youth Sport Coaches. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 29(2), 234-250.

Darst, P., Pangrazi, R., Brusseau, T., and Erwin, H. (2015). Dynamic Physical Education: For Secondary School Students. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Freeman, W., & USA Track & Field. (2015). Track and Field: Coaching essentials. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Fronske, H., & Heath, E. (2015). Teaching Cues for Sport Skills: For secondary school students. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Graham, G., Elliott, E. and Palmer, S. (2016). Teaching Children and Adolescents Physical Education. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Metzler, M W. (2005). Instructional Models for Physical Education ( 2nd ed.). Arizona: Holcomb Hathaway.  

Miller, J., Wilson-Gahan, S., & Garrett, R. (2018). Health and physical education : Preparing educators for the future. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Rink, J. (2014). Teaching physical education for learning. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

World Health Organization. (2018). Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018-2030: More active people for a healthier world. Geneva, Switzerland: Author.