School: Education

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Biological Foundations of Health and Physical Education
  • Unit Code

    HPE2300
  • Year

    2025
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    2
  • Credit Points

    15
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Dr David RHODES

Description

This unit is designed to provide pre-service teachers with a comprehensive understanding of the biological principles that underpin human growth and development with a particular focus on health and physical activity. The unit will explore connections between anatomy, physiology, motor learning, and health behaviours with a specific focus on application within the context of Health and Physical Education as it is described in the Australian Health and Physical Education curriculum. The main focus will be on understanding the developmental stages of children and adolescents and how these underpin the development of movement and physical activity. An additional focus will be on how movement and physical activity can be taught so as to encourage and facilitate participation in physical activity across the lifespan.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Explain the biological principles that underpin human health and physical activity.
  2. Describe the developmental stages of children and adolescents and how these underpin the development of movement skills and physical activity.
  3. Understand how there are individual differences in development and how we cater to these differences in HPE.
  4. Investigate the efficacy of various pedagogical approaches to implementing the HPE curriculum to encourage maximum participation across the lifespan.
  5. Develop a sequence of learning, teaching and assessment plans based on the Australian Health and Physical Education curriculum for a diverse group of students according to their developmental stage.

Unit Content

  1. Investigation of the developmental stages of children and adolescents and how these underpin the development of movement and physical activity.
  2. Examination of the content, scope, structure and purpose of Australian Health and Physical Education curriculum at primary and early secondary school level.
  3. Exploration and critical evaluation of pedagogical approaches to the Australian Health and Physical Education curriculum.
  4. Planning and assessment as it relates to the implementation of the Australian Health and Physical Education curriculum and children’s developmental stages.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
AssignmentOnline quiz and written report on biological principles50%
AssignmentUnit plan and lesson plan development50%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
AssignmentOnline quiz and written report on biological principles50%
AssignmentUnit plan and lesson plan development50%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

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