Teaching and learning

• Biomechanical-Principles

This supplementary material has been developed to guide teachers in their approach to biomechanical principles as part of VCE Physical Education(2025)

• High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

This supplementary material has been developed to guide teachers in the approach taken to high intensity interval training (HIIT) as part of VCE Physical Education (2025)

• Lactate Inflection Point (LIP)

This supplementary material has been developed to guide teachers as to the approach to Lactate Inflection Point (LIP) as part of VCE Physical Education (2025).

• Resistance Training protocols

This supplementary material has been developed to guide teachers as to the approach to Resistance Training protocols as part of VCE Physical Education (2025).

• Functional Movement Assessment

This supplementary material has been developed to guide teachers as to the approach to Functional Movement Assessment as part of VCE Physical Education (2025).

Outcome 1:

On completion of this unit, the student should participate in and analyse information from a variety of practical activities to explain how the muscular and skeletal systems function and interact to produce movement, and evaluate the use of performance enhancement substances and methods.

Examples of learning activities

• Draw an outline of a human body, either on paper or glass, and identify each of the bones by placing them in their correct place
• Participate in a game of softball or baseball; for each of the key skills (catching, batting and pitching) identify and name the major joint involved and movement that is occurring. This activity can also be connected with anatomical lever systems key knowledge
• Participate in a game of ‘Simon says’ where a name of a joint movement is said and the task is to copy that movement when preceded by the words “Simon says”
• Photocopy, cut and laminate the names of the major muscles of the human body; using a life size outline of the human body, call out or hold up the name of one muscle at a time; the task is to identify where that muscle belongs on the body; the first student who answers correctly, takes the label and sticks it to the body; continue until all major muscles have been labelled
• Use a web-based interactive labelling activity to revise the major bones and muscles of the human body such as
  • The Muscular System
  • Muscle Anatomy Game
  • Muscles of the Human Body
  • Anatomy archade
• Complete a 100m sprint and a 20-minute continuous run and use these activities as a context to create a Venn diagram that compares the characteristics of fast and slow twitch muscle fibres
• Develop and perform a series of resistance training exercises that covers 10 of the main muscle groups in the body using concentric, eccentric and isometric muscular actions
• Design a cartoon, song, animation or diagram to explain the role of agonists, antagonists and stabilisers
• Create a video to show the activation of a motor unit by creating a model of a motor unit using plasticine to show how this creates movement
• Investigate the production of force and the relationship between motor unit recruitment and activation in a variety of practical activities, e.g. kicking a soccer ball for distance versus trying to hit a small target, throwing from the boundary in cricket versus a game of Cornhole, hitting a line drive versus a bunt in softball
• Construct a model using household items to demonstrate how muscles pull on bones to create movement; create three models with the axis, force and resistance labelled on each to demonstrate each class of lever
• Undertake a round of fundamental movement skill stations and following this, sketch each key skill being performed to label the third-class anatomical lever and discuss sports that utilise these third-class levers
• Investigate acute and/or chronic musculoskeletal injuries in sport and the contributing factors and present findings as an oral presentation
• 
  Research the perceived and actual benefits of including a stretching routine in a warm up to prevent musculoskeletal injuries
• Brainstorm and describe the application of different physical aids that are used in sports to support the musculoskeletal system; sports could include Australian rules football, squash, gridiron, basketball, boxing, motor sports and cricket
• Participate in a resistance training session; compare the outcomes of resistance training to the use of performance enhancing methods (i.e. creatine supplementation, steroids, growth hormone) by conducting a debate to identify the similarities and differences between the benefits and potential harms of each method
• Compare and contrast protein powders, CHO gels and sports drinks as performance enhancing methods

Outcome 2:

On completion of this unit, the student should be able to participate in and analyse information from a variety of practical activities to explain how the cardiovascular and respiratory systems function and interact, and evaluate the use of performance enhancement substances and methods.

• Explore the structure of the heart through a dissection of a sheep’s heart (if appropriate in the individual school context)
• Describe the process of how deoxygenated blood becomes oxygenated in the body use an organisational tool such as a mind map or flow chart
• Create a video to show the movement of a blood cell through the body using a variety of physical education equipment; e.g. red bibs for oxygenated blood and blue bibs for deoxygenated blood, hula hoops to move through to represent the lungs where bibs are changed
• Research the function of the components of the blood (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma) and describe if and how that role changes during exercise compared to being at rest
• Investigate increases in heart rates, stroke volume and cardiac output by using two tubs, one empty and one full of water, and various sized cups to try and keep up with how much blood is pumped by the heart as exercise intensity increases
• Investigate the changes in heart rate from rest to sub-maximal to maximal exercise through participation in a game (e.g. European handball, netball, soccer or badminton); use heart rate monitors, and/or an app and/or a manual recording of the heart rate; compare and analyse the data collected
• Print a variety of pictures of different sporting activities at different intensities (e.g. someone playing lawn bowls, jogger and basketballer mid drive,) and place on a graph to show the relationship between heart rate and exercise intensity, and therefore blood flow
• Create a short video demonstrating the effects of exercising in the heat and thermoregulation in action
• Examine Sports Medicine Australia's heat policy
• Investigate the similarities and differences between vasodilation and vasoconstriction when exercising in the heat versus acute body response to exercise commencing
• Use an organisational tool such as a mindmap to show the pathway of an oxygen molecule from entering the nasal cavity to the muscles
• Create a video to demonstrate and describe how and why gaseous exchange occurs
• Hypothesise what would happen if breathing was not an involuntary muscular contraction
• Participate in a practical activity and measure resting heart rate and respiratory rates throughout the game and at the end; divide into small groups, each use a different task word to create a question about the activity and then group the class’ questions together to answer the overarching question of how the cardiovascular and respiratory systems interact to assist the body during exercise
• Participate in 20 minutes of cycling on stationary bike to collect heart rate and respiratory rate data to then predict changes to these and other cardiac and respiratory parameters after regular aerobic exercise
• 
  Investigate one performance enhancing substance or method that impacts the cardiorespiratory system; research the substance or method and its physiological effect on the body, the potential benefits and harms, and the social, cultural and ethical issues with using this particular substance or method
• Discuss, debate, decide, debrief task: discuss the historical and current use of doping in sport; debate the issue of doping in sport; decide if you agree or disagree with the arguments presented; debrief by identifying the ethical and sociocultural considerations associated with doping in sport

Outcome 1:

On completion of this unit, the student should be able to collect and analyse data related to individual and population levels of participation in physical activity and sedentary behaviour and conduct an FMA to create, undertake and evaluate a personalised plan that promotes adherence to the relevant physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines.

Examples of learning activities

• participate in a range of physical activities such as playing in a playground, playing a game of tag, playing a game of soccer, walking to school, mowing the grass at home, cycling on the local bike paths and describe the characteristics of each activity
• participate in a Tai-Chi class and record observations and reflections on the impact of the activity on physical, social, mental, emotional and spiritual health
• use the reflective folio to monitor physical, social, mental, emotional and spiritual benefits of regular participation in types of movement
• debate the following statement: ‘It is possible to be sufficiently physically active for health and still be highly sedentary’
• use an online tool to construct a survey to determine the influences on participation in physical activity for a specific age group (e.g. children aged 5–12 years, young people 13–18 years, young adults 19–35 years, adults 36–60 years, older adults 60+ years); analyse the results, summarise the findings and compare to other age groups
• analyse secondary data to determine trends in physical activity patterns
• collect individual data on physical activity, inactivity and sedentary behaviour for one week; analyse the data to determine if the physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines for the relevant age group are met
• use a wearable device during the delivery of Unit 2, Area of Study 1; during each class, plot the number of steps taken by each student since the last class; at the end of the unit, determine the virtual distance travelled by each student (e.g. Sam recorded 1,188,000 steps, the equivalent of ‘walking’ from Melbourne to Sydney)
• design, undertake and report on a practical laboratory that compares the use of a subjective and an objective method of assessing physical activity and sedentary behaviour
• construct a ‘Y’ chart to identify what barriers to physical activity ‘look like’, ‘feel like’ and ‘sound like’
• investigate a range of initiatives designed to increase physical activity and/or reduce sedentary behaviour; outline the modality of the initiative, and identify the target population
• apply the social-ecological model to critique an initiative designed to increase participation in physical activity within the school, community or workplace
• conduct a SWOT analysis to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the implementation of an initiative to promote physical activity at lunchtime
• create, implement and evaluate a school-based initiative to reduce the sedentary behaviour of students during lunchtimes
• create a list of typical daily activities and link each to a health-related fitness component
• select appropriate tools for a Functional Movement Assessment (FMA) and conduct a peer assessment demonstrating accuracy, reliability and validity
• select an assessment tool and discuss how you conduct a suitable pre-participation screen and gain informed consent for this tool
• 
  design and participate in a personal physical plan that uses self-management skills to optimise adherence to the NPAG

Outcome 2:

On completion of this unit, the student should be able to explain a range of intrapersonal and interpersonal contemporary issues that influence access to, and inclusion, participation and performance in, physical activity and sport at the local, national and global levels.

• brainstorm contemporary issues associated with physical activity and sport
• conduct an audit of national newspapers for one week to categorise the articles related to physical activity and sport; identify major themes that emerge from the audit
• use a survey or direct observation to collect primary data on the number of students who use active transport to travel to and from school
• use a Venn diagram to compare the local, national and/or global perspectives of a selected issue
• participate in a range of physical activities associated with a contemporary issue in physical activity and sport such as:
  • physical and intellectual diversity: Goal ball, blind cricket or walking netball
  • children and competitive sport: modified sports for children, e.g.Hot Shots, MILO cricket, Auskick, Miniroos
  • cultural diversity: Tai-Chi at Federation Square
  • Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders: Traditional games such as pirrha, kabi kabi buroinjin, keenta
  • geographic location: exercise stations, local pools, community facilities, bike and walking paths
  • mental fitness: participate in a HIIT session and record the mental impact of the session in the reflective folio
• use Sport Integrity Australia to explore how sporting bodies are addressing safeguarding in sport
• create a resistance training session that works to build muscular strength for an older adult
• gather data on concussion rates in AFL/AFLW and discuss concussion policies
• keep a sleep diary during the delivery of Unit 2 and reflect on the benefits of sleep and strategies to promote sleep
• use cards with characteristics of different coaching styles to choose a style and deliver a practical activity in that style. Discuss advantages and limitations of each coaching style
• use a shared online platform to brainstorm movement experiences that highlight the participatory elements of selected issues
• create a timeline to map out the key developments of a selected issue and predict possible implications for the future
• 
  discuss the campaigns: ‘This girl can” ‘Change our game’ and ‘Love our game’ campaigns to determine and analyse the issues depicted.
• design a web page or poster or make a video clip to present the findings and conclusion from the investigation of a contemporary issue in physical activity and sport

Outcome 1:

On completion of this unit, the student should be able to analyse primary data collected from participation in physical activity, sport and exercise to develop and refine movement skills from an individual and coaching perspective, by applying biomechanical and skill-acquisition principles.

• Participate in a range of fundamental movement skills (FMS): running, jumping, leaping, dodging, catching, throwing, kicking, bouncing and striking; select a sport and, using a visual/graphic organiser, demonstrate how FMS form the basis for the sport specific skills required in the sport selected
• Participate in a game of soccer or netball; from the game, identify the movement skills required to play; classify each of the skills as discrete, serial or continuous; include annotations about each skill
• Debate the following statement: ‘A tennis serve is a closed skill and, as such, professional players should be able to consistently serve at a very high percentage of first serves in’
• Research and report on the current understanding of the effect of physical training on growth, development and maturation
• Appraise and evaluate both sides of the ‘sport specialisation’ argument; from the findings, deduce the impact of early exposure to multiple vs single sports on motor skill development
• Analyse a child targeted sports program (e.g. NetSetGo, Hot Shots, Aussie Hoops, Milo Cricket, Auskick) and report on the modifications put in place in comparison to adults undertaking these sports, how these modifications impact motor skill development, participation and performance
• Research sporting families within Australia and internationally and investigate ‘familial advantage’, whereby parents and siblings influence skill development; identify the factors that may contribute to sporting expertise within families Family support.
• Analyse secondary data on participation rates of both males and females in a range of different activities suggest reasons for the difference in participation rates in physical activity for both males and females across the lifespan.
  
• Conduct an audit of the sports offered at your school for males and females; discuss the influences on skill development from a sociocultural perspective; consider family and peers and cultural norms and traditions
• Participate in a modified (small-sided) version of Australian rules football, soccer or hockey; identify the task constraints that have been modified and provide a justification for the use of constraints-based coaching for junior athletes
• Participate in ‘line drills’ of kicking a football and then change to a small sided 3 on 3 game with changing dimensions, opponents; discuss strengths and limitations of direct versus constraints-based approaches and develop coaching strategies that would adapt these approaches to suit different learners
• Observe a junior PE class and note the differences between teacher-led and student-led activities, stages of learning the students are at, environment variability and the lesson’s cognitive load on the learner
• Plan, conduct and report on a practical laboratory task investigating the psychological skills that affect performance; include the application of at least one psychological strategy designed to enhance the performance of the individual
• Role-play a scenario whereby the coach is trying to motivate players in a team sport to reach an optimal arousal level; discuss the strategies used and the different approaches a coach may take, based on the age, experience and skill level of the players
• Consider a range of different discrete, serial and continuous skills in terms of whether they would be best learnt through part or whole practice
• As a class, participate in and reflect on the strengths and limitations of different forms of practice for a single movement skill
• Investigate the benefit of feedback through the development of a laboratory task that aims to investigate the hypothesis: ‘If the number of successful shots on goal (basketball, netball, football, soccer, hockey, lacrosse etc.) is affected by the amount of feedback, then the number of successful shots will increase when feedback is increased’
• Throw and catch water balloons or eggs at varied distances with and investigate effective catching technique how this impacts impulse
• Investigate the relationship between force, mass and acceleration by kicking various balls (soccer ball, football, gator ball on a flat surface, dry grass and wet grass
• 
  Participate in and digitally record various athletics events (shot put, discus, high jump, long jump); use the video footage to perform a qualitative analysis of technique including; concepts of summation of momentum, the use of a third-class lever and application of concepts related to projectile motion (release height, angle and speed) for each of the projectiles
• Practice the different sprint starts standing, crouch (4 point and 3 point variation) and block; record a time for each start for the same distance; contrast the three starts by identifying the differences in the height of the centre of gravity, the position of the line of gravity, the impulse generated and the acceleration of the individual.
• Throw a ball overhand, then utilise a range of different implements (bat tennis bat, tennis racquet, lacrosse stick) to discuss 3rd class levers and the relationship between length of the lever, mechanical advantage and distance achieved
• Hit a tennis ball as far as possible with a child’s small plastic cricket bat and then repeat with a large adult wooden bat; record results and discuss the relationship between angular momentum, angular velocity and moment of inertia
• Ask a friend to video you performing a skill with your non-dominant hand or foot, then undertake a qualitative analysis of the movement, including practise time, and then re-record a video in two weeks to show potential improvements and discuss why these may or may not have occurred
• Coach a junior sports team; determine the stages of learning of the members of the team; through correct application of both biomechanical and skill acquisition principles, develop the movement skills of the students in the team

Outcome 2:

On completion of this unit, the student should be able to use data collected in practical activities to analyse how the major body and energy systems work together to enable movements to occur; explain the factors causing fatigue; and recommend suitable recovery strategies.

• Using a generic ‘oxygen consumption during and after exercise’ graph, draw new graphs for a 50m sprint, 400m run and 5km run; discuss the changes in the graph and why oxygen demand changes
• 
  Wear a heart rate monitor while participating in a continuous activity, such as running, swimming or cycling, for a minimum of 20 minutes; graph the heart rate data collected to analyse the changes in exercise intensity and heart rate; use this data to investigate changes in oxygen uptake from rest and during exercise and recovery, and the relative contribution from the energy systems
• Analyse and collect data on acute responses to exercise: after lying down for five minutes, record resting heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure (if available) and temperature; perform one minute of continuous star jumps and repeat each of the measurements and observe any muscular changes; rest for five minutes and then perform a wall sit (squat) for one minute; record heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, temperature and muscular changes; refer to the three energy systems to explain why these changes occur
• Undertake a 100m sprint and an end-zone game (such as touch football) to compare the acute muscular responses to each activity and discuss which responses positively affected performance and which may have negatively affected performance
• Individually create a poster to show the characteristics of one of the fuels required for ATP production; students working on the same fuel source share what they have learnt and update their posters; these are the expert groups; create groups with one ‘expert’ on each of the fuel sources and share what they have learnt with the rest of the group; place the posters around the room for future reference
• Use lego/duplo/contruction blocks to demonstrate the breakdown of ATP to release energy and the resynthesis of ADP and Pi
• Determine the food fuels contained in a number of different snack foods that students may consume before, during or after participation in physical activity
• Participate in a number of short duration, high intensity activities that demonstrate the utilisation of the ATP-CP system such as a 20m sprint, a vertical jump test, burpees, box jumps, half-court basketball shot
• Create a flow chart using SmartDraw, Prezi, MindManager, Mind42 or similar to depict the process of aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis
• Collect heart rate data while participating in a continuous activity such as running, rowing or cycling for a minimum of 20 minutes with bursts of speed throughout to discuss the aerobic system and anaerobic glycolysis contributions
• Participate in an active recovery and a passive recovery post participation in the same selected exercise or sport; determine the most appropriate form of recovery based on energy system usage during the selected exercise or sport
• Perform a phosphate recovery test to investigate the fatigue/limiting factors of the anaerobic energy systems
• Participate in a team sport; record data and information about the activity’s duration and intensity, the rest periods and the types of movement skills performed; use the information collected and examples from the data to discuss energy system interplay
• Watch a short video of participants during a 100m sprint, basketball game and an Ironman; explain each fatiguing factor(s) that may be impacting the participants and how this would impact their performance
• Investigate nutritional strategies used by athletes to fuel performance during their activity, determine the perceived benefits of the strategy and the physiological response to ingestion of carbohydrate and protein after exercise
• Research hydration strategies used by tennis players during the Australian Open and describe how these might assist with performance, fatigue and recovery

Outcome 1:

On completion of this unit, the student should be able to undertake an activity analysis to justify the physiological requirements of an activity that informs an appropriate assessment of fitness.

• As a class participate in a game of netball; three players (e.g. centre, goal shooter and wing defence) wear heart rate monitors; record the game using a video and/or digital device; conduct an activity analysis of the activity to collect data on movement patterns; in conjunction with the heart rate data, determine the work to rest ratio for each of the players
• Undertake an activity analysis by using GPS units or observation of a game to determine movement patterns of a selected player/s in a game of soccer; analyse the data to determine the relative contributions of the energy systems
• 
  Perform a data analysis on secondary skill frequency data collected from a sport played at the elite level (e.g. elite Australian rules football, tennis and cricket) to identify the required fitness components of the activity
• Make a series of flash cards that demonstrate an understanding of each of the fitness components; factors affecting, a suitable form of assessment and an image of an activity in which the fitness component is major
• Use a Venn diagram to compare muscular strength, muscular endurance and muscular power
• Participate in a variety of physical activities that utilise a range of fitness components and discuss the common factors between each component
• Discuss the suitability of fitness testing for various populations, e.g. children and youth, club level and elite athletes and older adults; identify reasons why fitness might be assessed, e.g. health screening, elite athlete evaluation, talent identification
• Perform a series of fitness tests; determine relative levels of fitness in each of the fitness components; compare the results of the testing to standardised norms for the particular age and gender, to determine training program goals
• Create a how-to and how-not-to video for fitness testing to show the differences between informed and uninformed consent, accurate and inaccurate results, valid and invalid and reliable and unreliable results
• Participate in a game of soccer to determine and justify the major fitness components required; design, implement and perform a battery of fitness tests for these fitness components ensuring testing protocol and procedure is ethically sound, valid, accurate and reliable
• Visit a research facility that analyses fitness and experience the use of high technology and laboratory-based fitness testing equipment; compare the protocols, techniques and outcomes of the laboratory-based testing to the protocols, techniques and outcomes of field tests conducted at school

Assessment of fitness

In Unit 4, Area of Study 1 students are required to undertake an activity analysis to justify the selection of a fitness test/s based on the physiological requirements of the activity.

It is expected that students will develop the understanding needed to justify the selection of standardised and recognised fitness tests for the specific physiological requirements of an activity through participation in and performance of an assessment of fitness.

The table below lists a number of suitable tests (both laboratory and field based) for each of the listed fitness components. Tests are encouraged to be undertaken in a school setting, with laboratory tests such as VO2 max and Wingate tests recommended to be either participated in as an incursion or viewed online.

Test administration and participation is important to develop student understanding of testing methodology (reliability, validity and accuracy) and their ability to justify test suitability from a physiological and psychological perspective. Students are not expected to memorise the protocols for an individual fitness test.

A selection of the following tests to form a fitness test battery, is recommended to be undertaken, this could be presented as stations or as a combine for students to make real world connections to fitness testing.

Outcome 2:

On completion of this unit, the student should be able to participate in a variety of training methods; design and evaluate training programs; and explain performance improvements that occur due to chronic adaptations, depending on the type of training undertaken.

• Compare and contrast a variety of personal activity tracking devices (e.g. wearable technologies, smart phone apps, computer-based software); in the comparison, consider the ease of use and identify the type of information that is collected, cost and data output
• As a class, play a match-up game; have all individual data headings covering physiological, psychological and sociocultural data (e.g. heart rate, stress levels, peer pressure etc) written on individual cards and put them under their correct heading title in the shortest possible time
• Individually or in pairs, design and lead the class in an appropriate warm up for a selected sport or activity; identify the nature and repetitions and/or time for the activities in the warm up and provide a verbal justification of why it is an appropriate warm up for the sport or activity selected
• Source a range of training program prescription data (e.g. resistance training program) to identify examples of frequency, intensity, time, type, progression, specificity, individuality, diminishing returns, variety, maintenance, tapering, overtraining and detraining;
• Participate in a variety of interval training sessions and record the variables: distance, repetitions, sets, intensity and rest periods; discuss how the variables can be manipulated to change the focus of the training session
• Attend a local gym and participate in a high intensity interval training (HIIT) session; outline the activity and then compare the similarities and differences to a fartlek and/or long interval training session
• Research the benefits of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and outline one exercise protocol that could be used in this type of training; conduct, participate in and reflect on the session outlined
• 
  Participate in a variety of training sessions and document a reflection of the structure of each session including warm up, conditioning phase and cool down, the method of training undertaken, the application of the relevant training principles and the desired outcome of the session
• Design a six-week training program that demonstrates the correct application of frequency, intensity, time, type, specificity and progression
• Compare personal fitness testing results with elite level or norm referenced fitness test data; explain the chronic adaptations that need to occur for improvements to be made
• Make a visual display such a mindmap of the chronic adaptations that occur in the cardiovascular, respiratory and muscular systems as a result of aerobic, anaerobic and resistance training and connect this to improvements in; VO2 max, lactate inflection point (LIP), speed and force of muscular contraction and lactate tolerance.

See Assessment for details regarding implementing Unit 4 Area of Study 3