Every year I have students who complain that they want more prac. There are many students who chose to do PDHPE in year 11 and 12 thinking that they will get to do prac and so won’t have to sit in a chair all day every day throughout their HSC. I know many schools that don’t do any prac in HSC PDHPE, but this should NOT be the case!!

You want more prac? Well, the HSC PDHPE syllabus explicitly states that you should get some. In the HSC, as you study Factors Affecting Performance, you should be given plenty of prac as you complete the content. The learn abouts and learn tos begin with the teacher note:

Students should be provided with opportunities to explore the concepts dealt with in this module through a variety of practical experiences.

Now, just to be nice to your teacher I will point out that this says you “should” have prac, not that you must have prac. But you definitely have a case when you ask your teacher for more prac, especially if you haven’t had any!

However, you should also notice that this says you should have a “variety” of prac lessons. That means you should have more than just 1 or 2 lessons that incorporate prac. You should have a whole bunch of prac that is different and engaging for learning.

Prac lessons help you to understand and APPLY the information that you learn. It is an essential aspect of HSC PDHPE that you are able to apply your knowledge to real life scenarios. Experiencing these scenarios through prac lessons is one of the best ways to learn, especially for those of you who are kinaesthetic (body movement) learners.

I must say that this year I am looking forward to answering my students when they say: ” we want more prac?” My answer is going to be YES as much as possible. Granted that I have great access to excellent facilities, but even without these great facilities I believe wanting more prac should not just come from the students, it should come from the teachers.

It is time to reap the benefits of the numerous studies that indicate that people learn best in short blocks of time, and that exercise in its many varied forms improves brain function and our capacity to learn.

So, when you get to school tell your teacher: “We want more prac!” and hopefully they jump on board to help you apply your knowledge.