Unit rationale, description and aim
This unit develops the knowledge and practical skills needed to plan and deliver safe, engaging, and age-appropriate resistance training and aerobic conditioning for youth in school and community sport settings. It is designed for future or current high school PE teachers who may have limited prior anatomical knowledge, with a focus on fundamental movement patterns, basic training principles, and safe coaching practices. Students will learn how to adapt resistance and aerobic training for different stages of youth development, taking into account physical maturation, motivation, and participation levels. The unit also examines the role of fitness testing in schools, with an emphasis on critically evaluating its educational value, validity, and potential limitations.
The aim of this unit is to prepare PE teachers to integrate resistance training, aerobic conditioning, and informed fitness testing into PE classes and school sport programs to improve student health, fitness, and performance while fostering lifelong physical activity habits.
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.
Explain the fundamental principles and benefits of...
Learning Outcome 01
Identify age-appropriate exercises, aerobic activi...
Learning Outcome 02
Apply safe coaching techniques to teach fundamenta...
Learning Outcome 03
Design basic training sessions and programs that i...
Learning Outcome 04
Evaluate the strengths and limitations of commonly...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- Introduction to physical conditioning in schools: purpose, myths, and safety
- Growth, maturation, and youth physical development
- Fundamental movement patterns and exercise variations (bodyweight, resistance bands, light free weights)
- Warm-up and injury prevention strategies for youth
- Principles of training and progression for beginners (resistance and aerobic)
- Age-appropriate aerobic conditioning strategies (e.g., games-based fitness, interval formats, circuit training)
- Class management and group instruction strategies
- Fitness testing in schools: protocols, educational value, validity, reliability, and limitations
- Inclusive practice: adapting for ability, motivation, and engagement
- Integrating conditioning and testing into PE curriculum and sport programs
- Monitoring participation, progress, and safety in school contexts
Assessment strategy and rationale
Assessments are designed to progress from understanding key principles to confidently delivering youth conditioning programs and critically evaluating fitness testing.
Quiz (10%) – Assesses understanding of youth development, fundamental training principles, and testing protocols.
Session Plan & Rationale (40%) – Students design an age-appropriate conditioning session (integrating resistance and aerobic activities) for a specific year level, with a short critique of one fitness test relevant to their target group.
Practical Teaching Assessment (50%, hurdle) – Students teach a short conditioning session to peers, demonstrating safe and inclusive instruction, and verbally reflect on the strengths and limitations of a chosen fitness testing approach.
The hurdle task is the practical opportunity to demonstrate instruction of resistance exercises, ensuring students are technically proficient and safe.
Overview of assessments
To successfully pass the unit, students must demonstrate achievement of all learning outcomes, pass the hurdle task, and achieve a minimum overall mark of 50% in the graded assessments.
Assessment Task 1: Quiz Assesses understanding...
Assessment Task 1: Quiz
Assesses understanding of youth development, fundamental training principles, and testing protocols.
10%
Assessment Task 2 : Written Assignment Design ...
Assessment Task 2 : Written Assignment
Design an age-appropriate conditioning session integrating resistance and aerobic activities, with a short critique of a relevant fitness test.
40%
Assessment Task 3 : Graded Hurdle* Practical As...
Assessment Task 3 : Graded Hurdle*
Practical Assessment
Deliver a short conditioning session demonstrating safe and inclusive instruction, and verbally reflect on the strengths and limitations of a chosen fitness testing approach
50%
* Two attempts are permitted to pass this hurdle task. Students who fail the hurdle task on their first attempt will be provided one additional attempt to pass at a time referred to on the Learning Management System.
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit uses an applied, experiential learning approach. Short online modules introduce weekly topics, which are then explored through interactive tutorials and practical sessions. Practical classes focus on learning, practising, and teaching resistance and aerobic training skills, as well as conducting and interpreting school-relevant fitness tests. Peer coaching, role-play, and group delivery activities simulate real PE teaching scenarios. Students critically reflect on their delivery and adapt activities to meet diverse student needs, including considering the motivational and ethical implications of fitness testing.