Physical activity plays an important part in contemporary Australian society, with the learning of skills and techniques essential for effective participation, teaching and coaching.  Whatever your area of interest, it is important that you have knowledge and skills that enable you to work with people in a range of physical activities.  A study of various physical activities enables better decision-making by you in understanding that it is required when planning sequences of learning experiences.  It is important that you develop both a personal understanding of the structures (techniques, skills, safety issues, etc) of the physical activities, as well as the pedagogical knowledge required to teach these physical activities in any context.

This is the first physical activity laboratory unit in the sequence of four.  This physical activity laboratory is a practically based unit and is designed to develop your ability to teach athletics and aquatics.  There is a need not only for the acquisition of knowledge and the development of skills and competencies, but also for the study of strategies appropriate for the teaching/learning of these physical activities to people of varying ages.