Unit rationale, description and aim
Secondary HPE/PDHPE teachers require a strong understanding of curricular, pedagogical and assessment practices to plan and deliver effective learning in Years 7–10. Junior secondary learners bring diverse cultural backgrounds, experiences, and levels of physical development and teachers need knowledge and skills to design learning that is responsive to varied learner needs. This unit provides foundational disciplinary understanding and introduces key principles that underpin pedagogies in health, physical education and personal development.
In this unit, preservice teachers build knowledge of curriculum structures, concepts, and terminology for HPE/PDHPE Years 7–10, while engaging with evidence-based approaches to learning and teaching. Through modelling, practice, and collaborative activities, preservice teachers explore HPE-specific pedagogies, including addressing sensitive issues, strengths-based education, developing health and physical literacy, critical enquiry, valuing movement, and inclusive strategies. They design sequenced learning and assessment experiences, engage in microteaching, and use diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to evaluate learning. These experiences support development as a reflective, informed, and capable beginning teacher.
The aim of this unit is to develop preservice teachers’ disciplinary and pedagogical content knowledge to plan, teach, and assess HPE/PDPHE effectively in junior secondary contexts, and make informed decisions that promote equitable participation, engagement, and achievement for diverse learners.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.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.
Describe the structure, intent and key features of...
Learning Outcome 01
Explain how students learn in HPE/PDHPE and apply ...
Learning Outcome 02
Analyse pedagogical models and classroom resources...
Learning Outcome 03
Design coherent lesson and unit sequences in HPE/P...
Learning Outcome 04
Evaluate assessment strategies and feedback practi...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- Reflecting on prior experiences of teaching and learning in Years 7-10 HPE/PDHPE
- Australian Curriculum and local curriculum iterations for Years 7-10 HPE/PDHPE, including Cross-Curriculum Priorities, General Capabilities and local curriculum documentation
- Theories of learning relevant to HPE/PDHPE education, including discipline specific teaching strategies and issues related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in HPE/PDHPE
- Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) including HPE/PDHPE specific pedagogies, culturally responsive pedagogy methods, collaborative learning and explicit instruction
- Designing units of work and related summative assessments for HPE/PDHPE in Years 7-10
- Teaching the concepts and language of HPE/PDHPE; communicating in communicating in health and physical literacy
- Teaching strategies and approaches for Years 7–10 HPE/PDHPE, including learning through movement, explicit instruction of skills and techniques, visual analysis and critique, addressing sensitive issues, and feedback
- Managing practical classes, including classroom/outdoor movement, distribution, collection, and safe use of equipment, transitions during activities and safety
- Strategies for monitoring and differentiating student learning in HPE/PDHPE, including models for inclusion (e.g. TREE, CHANGEIT), observations, and process documentation
- Classroom verbal and non-verbal communication for HPE/PDHPE, including the Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) model, descriptive questioning, scaffolding, visual thinking strategies, metacognitive reflection and guided critique
- Ethical and professional resource selection and development for HPE/PDHPE, including the use of generative AI
- Roles and professional responsibilities of a contemporary teacher of HPE/PDHPE, including curriculum alignment, assessment integrity, and student safety and wellbeing in physical and digital environments, including generative AI
- Digital technologies in HPE/PDHPE, including emergent technologies such as generative AI and considerations for ethical, critical and creative engagement
Assessment strategy and rationale
Assessment in this unit is designed to support preservice teachers’ development of curriculum knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and assessment capability for teaching HPE/PDHPE in Years 7–10. The two tasks are sequenced to enable formative feedback and progressive refinement of planning and instructional skills. Together, they reflect authentic school‑based responsibilities that preservice teachers will undertake during professional experience and early career teaching. Both tasks include explicit instruction on the ethical and appropriate use of generative AI for brainstorming, drafting and editing, with clear requirements regarding attribution, transparency and originality.
Task 1 requires preservice teachers to design a coherent unit of work aligned to the Years 7–10 HPE/PDHPE curriculum. This task assesses their ability to interpret curriculum documents, apply evidence‑informed pedagogical strategies, incorporate explicit instruction and differentiation, and justify decisions using scholarly and policy evidence. Task 2 integrates resource selection with microteaching episodes, and a reflective evaluation of pedagogical decisions. This design mirrors authentic school practice, where teachers identify learner needs, plan responsively, trial strategies, and evaluate their impact on student learning.
To pass this unit, preservice teachers need to complete all assessment tasks and receive a passing grade of 50% overall.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Description: Planning a Unit o...
Assessment Task 1: Description: Planning a Unit of Work
Design a coherent Year 7–10 HPE/PDHPE unit of work that aligns with curriculum requirements and leads to a selected summative assessment task. Apply evidence informed approaches to (1) develop content knowledge and skills; (2) incorporate explicit instruction, experiential learning, differentiation and inclusive practices; and (3) justify curriculum, pedagogical and assessment decisions using relevant scholarly and policy evidence.
50%
Assessment Task 2: Description: Resource File and...
Assessment Task 2: Description: Resource File and Micro Teaching
Create a resource file of six (6) items for HPE teaching. Provide a justified explanation for each choice. Then, select at least one piece from the resource file and create two micro teaching episodes for a (i) theoretical, and (ii) practical learning experience. Integrate HPE/PDHPE specific pedagogies to show the different learnings possible from the resource/s. Prepare a reflective evaluation video explaining your pedagogical decisions, use of resources, and impact on diverse learners.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit is grounded in a social constructivist approach, emphasising active engagement, dialogue, and purposeful collaboration as ways for adult learners to build knowledge and professional capability. Learning activities support preservice teachers to connect theoretical perspectives with practical classroom and outdoors application through modelling, guided practice, peer feedback, and structured reflection. Online lectures and readings provide key concepts and disciplinary foundations, while tutorials offer opportunities to trial and refine teaching strategies in supportive, interactive settings.
Because adult learners have varied experiences within HPE, teaching approaches are designed to be flexible, transparent, and scaffolded. Strategies such as worked examples, explicit modelling, guided rehearsal, and structured peer collaboration help preservice teachers to build confidence when tasks involve physical movement. The unit also prioritises inclusive learning design, ensuring that teaching approaches are accessible to students with disability and neurodiverse learners through multimodal content, repeated practice opportunities, and options for differentiated participation in practical activities.
By engaging in planning, teaching demonstrations, and microteaching, pre-service teachers build the communication, problem-solving, and reflective skills required for junior secondary teaching. These strategies promote professional dialogue, ethical practice, and the ability to adapt teaching to meet diverse student needs in real classroom contexts.