Created by: Tayla Shannon and Kirsten Spiteri

Unit: Building mentally strong athletes

Year Level: 12 VCE

Length: 75 MINUTES

Number of Sessions: 12 (6 weeks)

Domains:

Year 12 VCE Psychology, Unit 4

Year 12 VCE Physical Education, Unit 4
Level 10, Digital Technologies : Data and Information
Level 10, Critical and Creative Thinking: Questions and possibilities, Reasoning, Metacognition

Overview of Unit

Building mentally strong athletes is a hybrid unit developed with a combination of VCE unit 4 psychology and Physical Education. This aim
of this unit is to get students thinking outside the box when it comes to the development of an athlete, often the mind is overlooked in the
evaluation of an athlete and we want to address all elements of what makes a great competitor. In this unit students will be able to apply
psychological learning theories to the development of skills in a competitive athlete. Students will learn to critically evaluate different
techniques and practices that can be used to enhance the performance of an athlete with the use of ICT. The objective of this unit is to
allow students to be able to evaluate the overall development of an athlete and be able to apply both psychological and physical practices
to see positive changes in an athlete's skill development. In order to display their critical and creative thinking, students will apply their
knowledge by each developing an individual study, which shows how mental processes and physical performance effects athlete
performance, also displaying understanding of research methodology.

Key Question

Who would win the battle? An athlete with a strong mind or a strong body?

Key ideas

How does learning occur as we grow older?

What is stress? and how do athletes deal with mental weakness and choking?
What kind of technology or systems do they use to overcome their stresses?

Students will gain the ability to apply and understand the learning theories; Classical conditioning, operant conditioning, trial and
error and observational learning.
Students will be able to comprehend what stress is, How to deal with mental weakness and choking via meditation, relaxation,
imagery and social support.
Students will be able to comprehend what mental toughness is; mood and emotion. Effects of these elements on performance.

Expected Outcomes

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

VCAA Learning Focus

Students will be able to gain an understanding of performance enhancement via training programing, recovery, risk management,
sport Psych, biopsychosocial framework.
Students will experience of mental imagery sessions and how athletes deal with distractions and negative feedback.
School Assessed Coursework (SAC) / Evaluation of research report (50% contribution) : investigating one of the topics listed and
talked about in class (eg. Mental toughness, operant conditioning, psychology testing etc) and how they would apply it to a sport.
This assessment task must include, what it is they are researching, the analysis of the topic, data to support their findings and the
evaluation of the report. Students will present data to class at the end of term.
End of year examination (50 % contribution ): The examination will be set by a panel appointed by the Victorian Curriculum and
Assessment Authority. All the key knowledge and key skills that underpin the outcomes in Units 3 and 4 are examinable.
Learning theories research project poster; the purpose of this assessment is to apply the learning theories to sporting situations
through the creation of a poster.
Short Quizzes will be taken throughout the unit to help identify if the students are understanding and attaining the information
delivered, this could be achieved by pen and paper or with kahoot.
Reflection; students will reflect on their physical performance through negative feedback and the application of mental toughness

VCE Psychology Unit 4

Psychological concepts specific to the investigation and their significance, including definitions of key terms, and psychological
representations
Typical characteristics of a mentally healthy person, including high levels of functioning, social and emotional well-being and
resilience to life stressors
Characteristics of scientific research methodologies and techniques of primary qualitative and quantitative data collection relevant to
the selected investigation: experiments, self-reports, questionnaires, interviews and/ or use of rating scales; reliability and validity of
data; and minimisation of experimental bias and confounding and extraneous variables
Methods of organising, analysing and evaluating primary data to identify patterns and relationships including sources of error and
limitations of data and methodologies
classical conditioning as a three-phase process (before conditioning, during conditioning and after conditioning) that results in the
involuntary association between a neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response, including
stimulus generalisation, stimulus discrimination, extinction and spontaneous recovery

operant conditioning as a three-phase model (antecedent, behaviour, consequence) involving reinforcers (positive and negative) and
punishment (including response cost) that can be used to change voluntary behaviours, including stimulus generalisation, stimulus
discrimination and spontaneous recovery (excluding schedules of reinforcement)

observational learning as a method of social learning, particularly in children, involving attention, retention, reproduction, motivation
and reinforcement
Key findings of the selected investigation and their relationship to psychological concepts and theories associated with neural
function, consciousness, learning, memory and/or mental well being

VCE Physical Education Unit 4

Plan, implement and evaluate training programs to enhance specific fitness components
Analyse and evaluate strategies designed to enhance performance or promote recovery

ICT / Digital Technologies:

Data and information strand:
-

Manage and collaboratively create interactive solutions for sharing ideas and information online, taking into account social contexts and legal responsibilities
Analyse and visualise data to create information and address complex problems, and model processes, entities and their relationships using structured data
Develop techniques for acquiring, storing and validating quantitative and qualitative data from a range of sources, considering privacy and security requirements
Analyse simple compression of data and how content data are separated from presentation

Standards:
-

By the end of level 12, Students explain simple data compression, and why content data are separated from presentation. They take account of privacy and
security requirements when selecting and validating data and use digital systems to analyse, visualise and model salient aspects of data. Students share and
collaborate online, establishing protocols for the legal and safe use, transmission and maintenance of data and projects.

List of ICT use and purpose:

-

Students will have the opportunity to use video cameras to record their performance in sport. Once recorded they will then use the computers to playback the
footage in order to use mental toughness strategies to enhance their performance.
Through audio sessions students will experience meditation as a way to deal with emotional and mental issues.
Students will use a megaphone to as an effect of positive and negative feedback to learn how to build mental toughness.
Students will use a website called Play postit which allows you to use your own clip or a video found on youtube or by other means to edit and place in
questions or activities throughout. Students will sign in and do the task individually. The teacher is able to add in any questions or activities throughout the video
and the video will stop where the question pops up and will not resume until it has been completed. At the end of the video it will display how you went in the quiz
and you can add in extra comments to each answer or write in the correct answer. The teacher can edit the video and tailor the questions to each classs needs.
Students must do a presentation of their experiments which can be done via the use of weebly, powtoon, imovie, powerpoint or any electronic application they
desire.
As formative assessment throughout the unit students will use kahoot to do quick quizzes to test how much information students are retaining and
understanding.

Critical and creative thinking:

Questions and Possibilities:
Investigate the characteristics of effective questions in different contexts to examine information and test possibilities
Suspend judgements to allow new possibilities to emerge and investigate how this can broaden ideas and solutions
Challenge previously held assumptions and create new links, proposals and artefacts by investigating ideas that provoke shifts in perspectives and cross
boundaries to generate ideas and solutions
Reasoning:
Examine a range of rhetorical devices and reasoning errors, including false dichotomies and begging the question
Examine how to identify and analyse suppressed premises and assumptions
Investigate the nature and use of counterexamples structured as arguments
Consider ambiguity and equivocation and how they affect the strength of arguments
Investigate use of additional or refined criteria when application of original criteria does not produce a clear conclusion
Meta-Cognition:
Critically examine their own and others thinking processes and discuss factors that influence thinking, including cognitive biases
Investigate how the use of a range of learning strategies can be monitored, evaluated and redirected as necessary
Investigate the kind of criteria that can be used to rationally evaluate the quality of ideas and proposals, including the qualities of viability and workability

Lessons
Week 1
Lesson 1

Lesson Intentions / Outline

Key Questions

How do we learn?

This class will cover operant conditioning and its three

phase process. We will briefly go over Skinners
experiment and discuss how this could possibly be
related to a sporting situation. We will also cover trial
and error learning and Thorndike's research The
puzzle box. Students will complete a trial and error task
themselves, completing a puzzle in pairs. This will be
completed outside and students will be timed to see

How do we use trial and

error in sport?
What are some examples of
operant conditioning
principles in a sporting
environment?

S/F Assessment
-

Reflection
questions

Resources

https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=I_ctJqjlrHA
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=Mt4N9GSBoMI

how they improve the 2nd and third times.

Week 1
Lesson 2

How do we learn? Cont..

This class will cover classical conditioning, looking at
Pavlovs Dogs experiment. Students will have an
understanding of the three phase process, we will use
an interactive website to show a demonstration of how it
works giving students the chance to try classically
condition the dog. We will then move onto observational
learning where students will complete a practical task of
observing a youtube clip of how to make an origami frog
and try to replicate the instructions after the viewing.
We will then discuss how these learning processes can
be applied to a sporting context.

Week 2
Lesson 3

Applying learning theories to physical activities.

This lesson students will come up with real life
examples of these learning theories and display them in
a poster format and report back to the class.As some
examples will have been discussed in previous classes,
students will have to think of their own personal
examples or examples they have seen in professional
sports. They must be able to analyse and explain each
example in detail.

Week 2
Lesson 4

Coping with stress

This class we will look at how biofeedback, meditation
and relaxation can benefit the athletes health and
performance. We will discuss how mood and emotion

What other situations in

everyday life are we
classically conditioned?
Can you think of sporting
context examples?
How may a sporting person
model their behaviours on
their idol?

Formative Assessment:
Short quiz using
Kahoot.com

How do we apply these

theories (Classical
conditioning, operant
conditioning, trial and error
and observational learning)
to physical activity?

Formative Assessment:
Learning theories
research project poster

Large poster paper

Stationary
Laptops
Newspapers

Formative Assessment:
Short quiz using
Kahoot.com

https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=gbYei7-8OA8
https://www.playposit.com
www.kahoot.com

What is stress?
When does stress occur in
everyday life?

When does stress occur in a

https://www.brainpop.com/
games/pavlovsdog/
Kahoot to revise last 2
lessons

can affect the athlete during competition and how the

previously mentioned methods can help combat this.
We will also delve into how important attributions are in
sporting situations, Its not about whether you win or
lose, its how you place the blame.

sporting arena?

What is choking?

How can we cope with everyday

stressors?
do they suffer from mental
stressors ?
Why are attributions in sport
important?

Week 3
Lesson 5

Athletes and mental toughness

In this lesson students will gain the knowledge and
skills of athletes using smart cognitive strategies to
enhance their performance through a practical session.
The strategies they will be educated about will cover;
mental toughness, concentrations and distractions and
mental imagery.
Students will experience the stressors that athletes
endure by the use of external negative feedback. They
will then learn and apply the use of mental toughness
strategies to analyse their performance. The use of
digital technologies will be used in this session to
enhance the students learning.

Week 3
Lesson 6

Performance enhancement
Students will attain information in this lesson about
different performance enhancement strategies athletes
use in their training such as; training programs,

When does stress occur in

everyday life?
When does stress occur in a
sporting arena? What is
choking?
How can we cope with everyday
stressors?
Do athletes suffer from mental
stressors ?
What is mental toughness,
mood and emotion?.
What are the effects of these
elements on performance?
How do athletes deal with
mental weakness and choking
via meditation, relaxation,
imagery and social support?
What kind of personal
distractions might athletes
have?

What are different performance

enhancement strategies?
What kind of routines may
athletes have in order to
improve performance?

Formative Assessment:
Reflection questions

Video cameras
Laptops
stereo /Speakers
Megaphone
Sports equipment

Formative Assessment:
Short quiz using
Kahoot.com

https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=q9Nsm1U0CpY
www.kahoot.com
https://www.youtube.com/
playlist?list=PLALDluFus_
qqLp-

QcIgAvqMGyUqhBSeWb

routines, recovery techniques, risk management, sport

psychology
and
biopsychosocial
framework
(interactions of biological, social and psychical factors).
Week 4
Lesson 7

SAC / Evaluation of Research Report

Students will be given the opportunity to begin their
School Assessed Coursework (SAC) / Evaluation of
research report where they will investigate one of the
topics listed and talked about in previous classes (eg.
Mental toughness, operant conditioning, psychology
testing etc) and how they would apply it to a sport. This
assessment task must include, what it is they are
researching, the analysis of the topic, data to support
their findings and the evaluation of the report. Students
will present data to class at the end of term.

Week 4
Lesson 8

Research Methods
Within this lesson, students will be educated on
research methods and how to structure writing up a
report. Within the report students will need to use
fitness testing to support their research, so in this
lesson students will learn about different assessments
and protocols with fitness testing and fitness
components.

Week 5
Lesson 9

Developing Experiments
Students will begin to develop and prepare their own
experiments for their research reports. Within this
lesson students are expected to begin; Brainstorming,
researching, developing consent forms, writing up aim,

Summative
Assessment: SAC /
Evaluation Research
Report

Summative
Assessment: SAC /
Evaluation Research
Report

Summative
Assessment: SAC /
Evaluation Research
Report

Laptops
SAC task outline

Laptops

and documenting their research.

Week 5
Lesson
10

Week 6
Lesson
11/12

Collecting Data
Students are beginning to collect data in this class or if
they have already done this to begin the research report
and presentation with their group members.
Presentations
Students will present their findings on chosen topic they
have been conducting their research paper on. These
evaluation research reports will be presented to the
class and marked against a rubric in order to get a
standardised mark.

Summative
Assessment: SAC /
Evaluation Research
Report

Laptops

Summative
Assessment: SAC /
Evaluation Research
Report

Projector