Unit rationale, description and aim

Teaching can be a rewarding but demanding profession. Teachers are expected to uphold a broad knowledge base for the content they teach, while differentiating to support students’ needs, embedding cross curriculum priorities and managing the behaviour of the many individual students that make up their classes. In Health and Physical Education specifically, there is the added aim of keeping our students safe, well, physically active and making healthy choices.

This unit offers a broader experience of movement and deepens the integration of health and wellbeing, examining both teacher and student wellbeing. Pre-service teachers will develop the knowledge and skills to responsibly guide students through the multitude of health challenges that impact on their daily wellbeing. Pre-service teachers will also reflect on their own health and wellbeing and learn skills to care for themselves in order to be the best role model and teacher they can be for their students and the greater school community. The focus on further integrating health initiatives and movement education across the curriculum has the potential to impact daily school life for both students and teachers

2025 10

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Incompatible

EDPH408 Health Studies Movement Education

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.

Critique knowledge and understanding of the influe...

Learning Outcome 01

Critique knowledge and understanding of the influences on children’s learning and development in Health and Physical Education (APST 1.1, 1.2, 1.5)
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC9

Appraise knowledge and understanding of pedagogica...

Learning Outcome 02

Appraise knowledge and understanding of pedagogical practices and current government guidelines and policies relevant to Health and Physical Education in school settings (APST 1.1, 2.1, 4.4)
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC6, GC9

Organise and implement Health and Physical Educati...

Learning Outcome 03

Organise and implement Health and Physical Education content into effective learning sequences, lesson plans and programs which integrate other curriculum areas, specifically including literacy, numeracy and ICT teaching strategies (APST 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 3.2, 3.4. 3.5)
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC2, GC10, GC11

Synthesise and demonstrate knowledge and understan...

Learning Outcome 04

Synthesise and demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities in Health Education and from diverse linguistic, cultural (explicitly including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander), religious and socioeconomic backgrounds (APST 1.1, 1.5, 2.4, 3.2, 3.5, 4.4)
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC2, GC5, GC8

Apply critical self-reflection of health practices...

Learning Outcome 05

Apply critical self-reflection of health practices to improving teaching and learning practices (APST 3.1, 3.6, 6.4.
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC2, GC3, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC11

Content

Topics will include:

  • Curriculum planning, implementation and evaluation
  • Integration of HPE and other curriculum areas – the importance of wellbeing and physical activity across the curriculum, including links to literacy, numeracy and ICT
  • Inclusion of health initiatives
  • Incorporating movement every day
  • A range of movement experiences
  • Development of novel and challenging movement concepts
  • Activity breaks
  • Mental Health for students and teachers and activities to build resilience
  • Calm activities – mindfulness, meditation, tai chi, yoga
  • The health promoting school and classroom
  • Inclusive education: teaching children from diverse backgrounds and with varying needs
  • Teacher wellbeing – keeping yourself healthy and role modelling to students
  • Self-reflection and self-evaluation

Assessment strategy and rationale

Assessment in this unit is designed to allow pre-service teachers to demonstrate that they have the required knowledge and understanding of the Health and Physical Education curriculum to plan effective teaching and learning sequences to integrate health and physical education with other curriculum areas. The assessment also provides the opportunity to measure students’ ability to implement their planning. This is done by demonstration of their pedagogical skills relevant to health and physical education via peer teaching.

Minimum Achievement Standards

The assessment tasks for this unit are designed to demonstrate achievement of each learning outcome. In order to pass this unit, students are required to submit all assessment tasks and achieve a cumulative mark of more than 50%.


Electronic Submission, Marking and Return

Written assignments will be submitted and returned via TurnItIn

Overview of assessments

Assessment Task 1 Reflection on health goals S...

Assessment Task 1

Reflection on health goals

Students will keep a health journal with at least 5 entries per week for at least 5 weeks. The journal can be in any format (handwritten journal, blog, typed journal entries) and must include the following:

  • A list of health goals (at least five)
  • 5 SMART goals (which can be adapted from above dot point)
  • 1 new SMART goal to be introduced each week for 5 weeks (from above list)
  • Rationale for each goal – why is it important to YOU?
  • Written reflection of progress (at least 5 entries per week for a minimum of 5 weeks)
  • Conclusions drawn from health journal experience
  • Application of your experience to your teaching and learning practice – how could this be implemented with students at different stages?
  • <

Weighting

60%

Learning Outcomes LO1, LO2, LO5

Assessment Task 2 HPE integrated program Pre-s...

Assessment Task 2

HPE integrated program

Pre-service teachers develop an integrated program to be developed over one school term focusing on regular physical activity and incorporating health initiatives of their choice. Each program must have the potential to cross the boundaries of the HPE strands and into those of other curriculum areas.

Criteria:

This program must include the following criteria:

  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the current policies and government guidelines in HPE and suggested teaching strategies that support students’ well-being and safety working within school and/or system, curriculum and legislative requirements.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including literacy, numeracy and ICT strategies that engage students in their learning.

Weighting

40%

Learning Outcomes LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Pre-service teachers will undertake a range of teaching and learning strategies, due to the nature and practical demands of the unit. These will include lectures, individual and group work, workshops, problem-solving, from both a school and university perspective. Practical activities will be a feature of this unit, whereby you will be able to put into practice health and physical education theory you have learnt. The unit is specifically designed to provide reflective learning experiences for students to construct their own understandings of effective pedagogy meeting students’ needs, underpinning the learning required to complete the assessment tasks and meet the learning outcomes of the unit.

This is a 10 credit point unit and has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 150 hours in total across the teaching period, comprising of directed tasks and self-study. An emphasis is placed on pre-service teachers as adult learners with responsibility for their own learning and problem solving. The learning in this unit is inquiry-based, learner-focused and student-centred.

Technology Enhanced Learning

Technology will be used throughout the unit. Lectures will be recorded and accessible for review via Canvas. Practical workshops and tutorials are not possible to record. 

AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL

On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to:

AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL

1.2    Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching.

1.3 Demonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds.

1.5 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities. 

2.1 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area.

2.2 Organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence.

2.3 Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans.

2.4 Demonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of, and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages.

2.5 Know and understand literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in teaching areas.

3.1 Set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics.

3.2 Plan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies.

3.4 Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning.

3.5 Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement.

3.6 Demonstrate broad knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs to improve student learning.

4.4 Describe strategies that support students’ well-being and safety working within school and/or system, curriculum and legislative requirements.

6.4 Demonstrate an understanding of the rationale for continued professional learning and the implications for improved student learnings. 

Representative texts and references

Required text(s)

Australian Curriculum https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

Australian Curriculum – Health and Physical Education https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/health-and-physical-education/

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) www.acara.edu.au

Relevant State and Territory curriculum documents. 

 

Recommended references

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). (2018). Australia’s Health 2018. Australia: AIHW.

Dudley, D., Telford, A., Peralta, L., Stonehouse, C., & Winslade, M. (2018). Teaching quality health and physical education. South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning Australia.

McMaster, N. (2019). Teaching health and physical education in early childhood and the primary years. Australia: Oxford University Press.

Meldrum, K., & Peters, J. (2012). Learning to T\teach health and physical education: The student, the teacher and the curriculum. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia.

Miller, J., Wilson-Gahan, S., & Garrett, R. (2018). Health and physical education (3rd ed.). Port Melbourne, Vic: Cambridge University Press

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