Physical Education

In this area of study, students examine the biomechanical and skill-acquisition principles that can be applied when analysing and improving movement skills for participation and performance. Through practical activities, students explore and analyse their own movement and use coaching to investigate factors that influence skill acquisition. They develop an understanding of how appropriately applying biomechanical and skill-acquisition principles leads to the development of optimal movement patterns to enhance participation and performance.

• classification of movement skills, including fundamental movement skills, sport-specific skills, open and closed skills, gross and fine skills, and discrete, serial and continuous motor skills
  13
• the link between motor skill development, participation and performance
  3
• sociocultural factors that affect skill development
  5
• characteristics of the 3 stages of learning (cognitive, associative and autonomous)
  14
• theories of skill acquisition (linear vs non-linear) applied through direct and constraint-based approaches
  17
• psychological skills (confidence, motivation, optimal arousal and concentration) and accompanying strategies
  21
• scheduling of practice including type (part and whole), distribution (massed and distributed) and variability (blocked and random)
  13
• frequency and type of feedback including intrinsic and augmented (knowledge of results and knowledge of performance)
  9
• linear and angular concepts of human movement including force/torque, momentum, impulse and speed/velocity
  21
• Newton's 3 laws of linear motion: inertia, acceleration and action-reaction
  9
• projectile motion (height, angle and speed of release)
  4
• anatomical third-class levers (axis, force, resistance and mechanical advantage)
  6
• equilibrium: stability (centre of gravity, base of support and line of gravity)
  6
• qualitative movement analysis stages (preparation, observation, evaluation and error correction)
  9

In this area of study, students explore the various systems and mechanisms associated with the production of energy required for human movement. They consider the cardiovascular, respiratory and muscular systems and the roles of each in supplying oxygen to, and creating energy at, the working muscles. They examine the ways in which energy for movement is produced by the 3 energy systems and the associated fuels used for physical activity, sport and exercise of varying intensity and duration. Students also consider the many factors contributing to fatigue, nutritional tools to delay fatigue and recovery strategies used to optimise the return to pre-exercise conditions. Through practical activities, students explore the interplay of the energy systems during physical activity, sport and exercise.

• oxygen uptake at rest and during physical activity and recovery, including oxygen deficit, steady state and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC)
  22
• acute physiological responses to exercise in the cardiovascular, respiratory and muscular systems
  21
• the 3 energy systems (ATP-CP, anaerobic glycolysis and aerobic), including their fuels (chemical and food); rate and yield of each system; their contribution at rest and varying intensities; and recovery rates associated with active and passive recovery
  36
• the interplay of energy systems in relation to the intensity and duration of physical activity, sport and exercise
  31
• muscular fatigue mechanisms, including fuel depletion, accumulation of metabolic by-products and thermoregulatory fatigue linked to varied sport and exercise intensities and durations
  21
• nutritional and hydration strategies used to enhance performance, delay fatigue and improve recovery, including carbohydrate ingestion, protein and water
  18

• types of data collected from an activity analysis, including skill frequencies, movement patterns, heart rates and work-to-rest ratios used to identify physiological requirements
  24
• factors affecting fitness components required in physical activity, sport or exercise (aerobic power, anaerobic capacity, muscular strength, power and endurance, flexibility, balance, coordination, speed and agility)
  31
• the purpose of fitness testing from physiological and psychological perspectives
  2
• pre-participation health screening and informed consent
  9
• standardised, recognised fitness tests that test appropriately identified physiological requirements
  22
• test reliability, validity and accuracy
  8

• strategies to monitor and record physiological, psychological and sociological training data, including training diaries, digital tools and wearable technologies
  12
• components of an exercise training session, including warm up, the conditioning phase and cool down
  7
• training program principles, including frequency, intensity, time/duration, type, progression, specificity, individuality, diminishing returns, variety, maintenance, tapering, overtraining and detraining
  41
• training methods, including continuous, interval (short, intermediate, long and HIIT), fartlek, circuit, weight/resistance, flexibility and plyometrics
  44
• chronic adaptations to training that produce improvements in VO2 max
  28
• chronic adaptations to training that produce improvements in lactate inflection point (LIP)
  16
• chronic adaptations to training that produce improvements in speed and force of muscular contraction
  15
• chronic adaptations to training that produce improvements in lactate tolerance
  5

In this area of study, students reflect on their participation in a practical activity and use primary data collected to demonstrate their integration of theory and practice across Units 3 and 4. Using an interdisciplinary approach, students are required to analyse the interrelationships between skill acquisition, biomechanics, energy production and training, and the impacts these have on performance. To do this, students reflect on their participation in either: - a practical activity focusing on a particular movement skill, the performance of which can be compared to another individual completing the same skill - a practical activity focusing on comparing their participation in 2 different movement skills. The specific practical activity can occur at any time during Unit 3 or Unit 4, as evidenced in students' reflective folio. An extended response will be used to assess this area of study, in which students will answer a prompt(s) utilising the evidence recorded in their reflective folio. Prior to the extended response, students will use a planning tool such as a mind map to determine and explore links between theoretical concepts and the practical activity.

• the integration of theory and practice utilised in and through participation in practical activity
  1
• interdisciplinary learning that connects knowledge related to skill acquisition, biomechanics, energy production and training and the impacts these have on performance
  4