Health education snapshot 4

• Inquiry
• Focusing inquiry
• Teacher inquiry
• Achievement objectives
• Assessment links
• Learning inquiry
• Learn more

Inquiry

Students were not connecting personal and interpersonal skills with strategies for promoting well-being across all health education contexts. To address this problem the teacher redesigned the programme so that the teaching and learning of these skills occurred in different learning contexts (noting that the assessment for AS90973 was completed at three points across the year).

Focusing inquiry

The teacher enacted a number of scenarios to establish how students were applying decision making skills and other strategies. The focus of the teaching and learning unit was personal and interpersonal skills. 

Teacher inquiry

The teacher planned units on goal setting, sexuality, drug and alcohol education, allowing year 11 students to apply personal and interpersonal skills in a number of contexts over four terms. 

The unit on positive sexuality developed effective listening and assertiveness, as well as skills for managing friendships (including self-management and personal strategies specific to managing sexual relationships). Students revised previously learned skills such as the use of “I” statements, reflecting feelings, and developing empathy (see snapshot 6). 

The drug and alcohol education unit developed and assessed problem solving strategies, along with decision makingcompetencies. Assertiveness skills were revisited in the context of managing risky situations involving alcohol. This had the additional benefit of helping students to see how decision making and problem solving had to work hand in hand with each other. The skill of negotiation was also included. (See snapshot 3.) 

A unit on managing change (see snapshot 3), addressing personal goal setting was assessed by AS90971 Take action to enhance an aspect of personal well-being. Students were required to set a goal related to something that had changed in their lives that was effecting their well-being, or an aspect of their well-being that needed to change to enhance their well-being. Knowledge and skills about personal goal setting was then applied in the context of healthy eating for adolescents. Students considered how, as a group, they could plan an action that would benefit the well-being of other young people. 

Showing respect for self and others, and understanding why or how the use of personal and interpersonal skills support well-being, underpinned all learning.

Achievement objectives that could be used as a basis to develop learning intentions

• 6A1: Investigate and understand reasons for the choices people make that affect their well-being and explore and evaluate options and consequences.
• 6A3: Demonstrate understanding or responsible behaviours required to ensure that challenges and risks are managed safely in physical and social environments.
• 6A4: Demonstrate an understanding of factors that contribute to personal identity and celebrate individuality and affirm diversity.
• 6C1: Demonstrate an understanding of how individuals and groups affect relationships by influencing people’s behaviour, beliefs, decisions and sense of self-worth.
• 6C2: Plan and evaluate strategies recognising their own and other people’s rights and responsibilities to avoid or minimise risks in social situations.
• 6C3: Plan strategies and demonstrate interpersonal skills to respond to challenging situations appropriately. 

Possible assessment links to achievement standards

• AS90973 Demonstrate understanding of interpersonal skills used to enhance relationships. 

Check if your school has high rates of student transience. This may mean some students will have little opportunity to complete the task requirements for the standard if the teaching and learning and the assessment points are spread across the year. 

Plan carefully to ensure coverage of all skills required for assessment. 

An alternative approach could be to combine the teaching and learning of personal and interpersonal skills with one main context, such as promoting positive sexuality, and contextualise each of effective listening, assertiveness, problem-solving, and skills for managing friendships (including self-management/personal strategies specific to sexual relationships) to different aspects of promoting positive sexuality (see snapshot 6).

Learning inquiry

By placing skills for well-being in different contexts across a year-long programme, students can benefit from further opportunities to achieve all of the requirements for the standard as further assessment opportunities arise.  Alternatively, students may select some of the context in which aspects of the skills were assessed.

Last updated May 10, 2022

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