CQUniversity Unit Profile
ESSC12005 Applied Exercise and Sport Physiology
Applied Exercise and Sport Physiology
All details in this unit profile for ESSC12005 have been officially approved by CQUniversity and represent a learning partnership between the University and you (our student).
The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.
General Information

Overview

In this unit, you will examine the application of physiological concepts and skills based on current trends in exercise and sport science settings. Furthermore, you will develop scientific knowledge and skills by undertaking an applied research project and disseminating the outcomes in verbal and written forms.

Details

Career Level: Undergraduate
Unit Level: Level 2
Credit Points: 6
Student Contribution Band: 8
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisites For CG85 Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Sciences students: ESSC11002 Measurement and Evaluation in Health Science AND ESSC12001 Exercise and Sport Physiology For CG93 Bachelor of Medical Science students: BMSC11001 Human Body Systems 1 AND BMSC11002 Human Body Systems 2 AND ESSC11002 Measurement and Evaluation in Health Sciences For CC13 Bachelor of Education (Secondary) students: ESSC12001 Exercise and Sport Physiology

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Offerings For Term 2 - 2025

Cairns
Mackay City
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Class and Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Class Timetable

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Online Quiz(zes)
Weighting: 30%
2. On-campus Activity
Weighting: Pass/Fail
3. Portfolio
Weighting: 70%

Assessment Grading

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.

Previous Student Feedback

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Feedback from Informal student feedback and Unit Teaching Evaluation feedback

Feedback

Online sessions for the presentation assessment task were not scheduled in line with the availability of education students with teaching commitments .

Recommendation

It is recommended that the student presentation sessions are shortened and scheduled more regularly later in the day to align with student availability.

Feedback from Informal student feedback and Unit Teaching Evaluation feedback

Feedback

Some education students failed to identify the relevance of the unit to their discipline.

Recommendation

It is recommended that content be more clearly aligned with the secondary education curriculum.

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. Recognise applications of exercise and sport physiology in practice
  2. Collect and analyse research data in exercise and sport settings
  3. Evaluate and disseminate research findings in verbal and written forms.
Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes
N/A Level
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Professional Level
Advanced Level

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes

Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Portfolio - 70%
2 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30%
3 - On-campus Activity - 0%

Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes

Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
4 - Information Literacy
5 - Team Work
6 - Information Technology Competence
7 - Cross Cultural Competence
8 - Ethical practice
9 - Social Innovation
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes

Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Portfolio - 70%
2 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30%
3 - On-campus Activity - 0%
Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

There are no required textbooks.

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
  • Computer / laptop with webcam to allow videoconferencing.
  • Microphone and camera for use with Zoom
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader (or similar) software for viewing PDF documents
  • Endnote bibliographic software. This is optional for formatting references.
  • Zoom videoconferencing software. A Zoom account is available with your student credentials
  • Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) or similar software such as Open Office
  • Jamovi (free statistics analysis program) or other statistics software
Referencing Style

All submissions for this unit must use the referencing styles below:

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts
Aaron Scanlan Unit Coordinator
a.scanlan@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Week 1 - Module 1 Begin Date: 14 Jul 2025

Module/Topic

The research process
1.1 The importance of research 
1.2 Information sources
1.3 Finding and reviewing the literature
1.4 Research designs
1.5 Data analyses for descriptives and relationships
1.6 Data analyses for comparisons

Chapter

Various readings with links will be made available on the unit Moodle site.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Online quiz 1 opens on Thursday 17 July 5:00 pm AEST.

Week 2 - Module 2 Begin Date: 21 Jul 2025

Module/Topic

Measurement and testing in exercise and sport
2.1 Measurement concepts
2.2 Reliability and validity
2.3 The testing process
2.4 Types of testing
2.5 Anaerobic fitness and performance tests
2.6 Aerobic fitness and performance tests

Chapter

Various readings with links will be made available on the unit Moodle site.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Online quiz 2 opens on Thursday 24 July 5:00 pm AEST.

Week 3 - Module 3 Begin Date: 28 Jul 2025

Module/Topic

Measuring physiological attributes and responses
3.1 Body composition concepts
3.2 Assessing body composition
3.3 Assessing cardiovascular responses
3.4 Assessing oxygen utilisation
3.5 Assessing thermoregulatory responses
3.6 Assessing hydration status

Chapter

Various readings with links will be made available on the unit Moodle site.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Online quiz 3 opens on Thursday 31 July 5:00 pm AEST.

Week 4 - Module 4 Begin Date: 04 Aug 2025

Module/Topic

Monitoring recovery and fatigue
4.1 Sleep concepts and monitoring
4.2 Sleep and exercise
4.3 Water immersion recovery approaches
4.4 Other recovery approaches
4.5 Neuromuscular approaches to measure fatigue
4.6 Physiological approaches to measure fatigue

Chapter

Various readings with links will be made available on the unit Moodle site.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Online quiz 4 opens on Thursday 7 August 5:00 pm AEST.

Week 5 - Module 5 Begin Date: 11 Aug 2025

Module/Topic

Monitoring load and enhancing performance
5.1 Load monitoring concepts
5.2 Application of load monitoring
5.3 External load measurement approaches
5.4 Internal load measurement approaches
5.5 Training modifications to enhance performance
5.6 Ergogenic practices to enhance performance

Chapter

Various readings consisting of journal articles and websites with links will be made available on the unit Moodle site.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Online quiz 5 opens on Thursday 14 August 5:00 pm AEST

Portfolio - Written proposal: Due Friday 15 August 5:00 pm AEST.

Vacation Week Begin Date: 18 Aug 2025

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 6 - Residential schools Begin Date: 25 Aug 2025

Module/Topic

Residential schools (no lecture)

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Residential school 1 for Mackay-based students on Tuesday and Wednesday 26-27 August.

Residential school 2 for Rockhampton and mixed-mode students on Saturday and Sunday 30-31 August.

Week 7 - Residential school Begin Date: 01 Sep 2025

Module/Topic

Residential school (no lecture)

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Residential school 3 for Cairns-based students on Tuesday and Wednesday 2-3 September.

Week 8 - Written report preparation Begin Date: 08 Sep 2025

Module/Topic

Written report preparation lecture

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Online quizzes Due: Week 8 Friday (12 Sept 2025) 5:00 pm AEST
Week 9 - Self-directed study Begin Date: 15 Sep 2025

Module/Topic

No lecture

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 10 - Presentation preparation Begin Date: 22 Sep 2025

Module/Topic

Presentation preparation lecture

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Portfolio - Written report: Due Week 10 Friday 26 September 5:00 pm AEST.

Week 11 - Self-directed study Begin Date: 29 Sep 2025

Module/Topic

No lecture

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 12 - Self-directed study Begin Date: 06 Oct 2025

Module/Topic

No lecture

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Online presentation sessions Begin Date: 13 Oct 2025

Module/Topic

No lecture

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Portfolio - Research presentation: Due to be delivered during a pre-selected 90-minute online Zoom session on either Wednesday 15 October or Thursday 16 October. Presentation slides to be submitted by Thursday 16 October 5:30 pm AEST.

Exam Week Begin Date: 20 Oct 2025

Module/Topic

No lecture

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Term Specific Information

Residential schools
This unit includes compulsory on-campus practical activities. You must attend one of the residential schools from the three options in different locations outlined below.

Mackay: Students enrolled on-campus in Mackay are required to attend the residential school scheduled on the Mackay City Campus (Building 4, Exercise and Sport Sciences Laboratories) on Tuesday 26 August and Wednesday 27 August. Mixed-mode students who reside in the Mackay region or who would prefer the option in Mackay can attend this residential school, but should seek approval from the Unit Coordinator prior to registration. Please see the CQUniversity Handbook and the unit Moodle site for further information.

Rockhampton: Students enrolled on-campus in Rockhampton or via mixed-mode are required to attend the residential school scheduled on the Rockhampton North Campus (Building 81, Exercise and Sport Sciences Laboratories) on Saturday 30 August and Sunday 31 August. On-campus Mackay and Cairns students who would prefer the option in Rockhampton can attend this residential school, but should seek approval from the Unit Coordinator prior to registration. Please see the CQUniversity Handbook and the unit Moodle site for further information.

Cairns: Students enrolled on-campus in Cairns are required to attend the residential school scheduled in Cairns (Exercise and Sport Sciences Laboratories located at the Cairns Basketball Association Headquarters) on Tuesday 2 September and Wednesday 3 September. Mixed-mode students who reside in the Cairns region or who would prefer the option in Cairns can attend this residential school, but should seek approval from the Unit Coordinator prior to registration. Please see the CQUniversity Handbook and the unit Moodle site for further information.

Assessment Tasks

1 Online Quiz(zes)

Assessment Title
Online quizzes

Task Description

You will be required to complete five online quizzes, with a separate quiz developed each for Modules 1-5. Online quiz 1 will assess knowledge of content covered in Module 1; Online quiz 2 will assess knowledge of content covered in Module 2; Online quiz 3 will assess knowledge of content covered in Module 3; Online quiz 4 will assess knowledge of content covered in Module 4; and Online quiz 5 will assess knowledge of content covered in Module 5. Each online quiz will consist of 15 randomly-selected questions from a wider bank of 30 questions. Questions will be relevantly distributed across all topics in each module.

Each quiz will open at 5:00 pm AEST on Wednesday following the scheduled lecture for the corresponding module and all quizzes will close at the same time in week 8 (6 September 5:00 pm AEST). You will have a 25-minute time limit to complete each online quiz upon commencing. Questions will be in multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank formats.  must log onto Moodle when each online quiz is open and complete the quiz before the closing date. You can only attempt each online quiz once and each online quiz must be completed in a single session. Online quizzes should be completed on a computer, as attempting the test on a smartphone can result in your session being ended in the event of a phone call or notification. You cannot save your answers and return to the online quiz at a later time. In the absence of an approved extension, there will be no late submissions allowed for any of the online quizzes.

The 72-hour grace period does not apply to this assessment.

Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 1: You must not use Al at any point during the assessment to ensure you demonstrate your core skills and knowledge.


Number of Quizzes

5


Frequency of Quizzes


Assessment Due Date

Week 8 Friday (12 Sept 2025) 5:00 pm AEST

In the absence of an approved extension, no attempts after the due date will be permitted and a score of zero will be awarded.


Return Date to Students

Week 8 Friday (12 Sept 2025)

You will receive the overall result for each online quiz upon completion; however, you will see detailed feedback regarding the correct answers for each question in each online quiz upon quiz closure or when all students have completed each individual quiz (whichever occurs earliest).


Weighting
30%

Assessment Criteria

Each online quiz will have an equal contribution to your overall unit grade. Together, the five online quizzes will comprise 30% of your overall grade (6% per quiz).

There will be 15 questions per online quiz, with each question allocated 1 mark. Each question in each online quiz will be graded as correct or incorrect.

For questions with text-based responses ("fill-in-the-blank") you should take care to ensure accurate spelling (Australian English) and correct grammar are used given answers are spelling and grammar-sensitive.


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Submission Instructions
You must log on to Moodle and complete the quiz during the time the quiz is available. A link to each quiz can be found on the Moodle site. Once you have completed the quiz, you must click the 'Submit all and finish' button to submit your responses. When the time limit of the quiz expires, any open attempts will be submitted automatically.

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Recognise applications of exercise and sport physiology in practice


Graduate Attributes
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Information Technology Competence
  • Ethical practice

2 On-campus Activity

Assessment Title
Attendance and participation in residential school

Task Description

This assessment involves compulsory attendance, active participation, and demonstration of key competencies in the on-campus practical activities of the unit delivered in a residential school. You are required to attend one of the on-campus residential schools. Different offerings are available depending on your mode of enrolment (Mackay, Rockhampton, Cairns, or mixed-mode). Further details regarding these residential schools can be found in the Term Specific Information section of the ESSC12005 Unit Profile, on the unit Moodle site, and via the CQUniversity Handbook. 

The 72-hour grace period does not apply to this assessment.

Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 1: You must not use Al at any point during the assessment to ensure you demonstrate your core skills and knowledge.


Assessment Due Date

You will successfully complete this task following attendance. participation, and demonstration of competencies at your designated residential school.


Return Date to Students

You will immediately pass this assessment following attendance, participation, and demonstration of competencies at your designated practical block.


Weighting
Pass/Fail

Minimum mark or grade
You must pass this assessment item to pass the unit.

Assessment Criteria

Attendance at the on-campus residential school, with sufficient participation and demonstration of skill competencies, will result in a passing grade for this assessment. Failure to attend and adequately participate may result in a fail grade for this assessment item, and being unable to pass this unit. Attendance at the on-campus activities will be assessed through attendance records documented by the Unit Coordinator as well as a competent demonstration of key skills including participant screening, anthropometry assessment, test administration, monitoring responses, use of a metabolic analysis system, and capillary blood sampling.

If you miss any part of the residential school without an approved reason, there will not be an opportunity to simply catch up at any time. The Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework) outlines acceptable reasons for adjusting assessment. If you do not attend part of the residential school and provide a valid reason with supporting documentation, then an attempt to make alternate arrangements will be made in consultation with the Unit Coordinator.


Referencing Style

Submission
Offline

Submission Instructions
Attendance and participation will involve competent completion of practical activities. No documentation is required to be submitted.

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Collect and analyse research data in exercise and sport settings
  • Evaluate and disseminate research findings in verbal and written forms.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Team Work
  • Information Technology Competence
  • Cross Cultural Competence
  • Ethical practice

3 Portfolio

Assessment Title
Research portfolio

Task Description

In this unit, you will apply knowledge and skills related to exercise and sport physiology to complete various research projects during the practical sessions. You are required to actively participate in data collection for all research projects and select one of the research project topics to develop your research portfolio. The portfolio will consist of a research proposal, written report, and research presentation.

1. Research proposal
This assessment involves developing a written proposal related to your chosen research topic and should include introduction, purposes and hypotheses, risk assessment, and references sections. This assessment is to be completed individually using the template provided (which contains correct formatting) on the unit Moodle site.
General information
Word limit: 1000 words (excluding tables and reference list).
Program: Microsoft Word.
Font: Use Times New Roman, size eleven font.
Layout: Single-spaced throughout with 2.54 cm margins on all sides. Number the pages consecutively at the bottom right corner. Set the text alignment to justified.
Submission: Online via the unit Moodle site. 

2. Written report
This assessment requires you to reflect on your chosen research topic and identify the study design adopted, describe the participants who completed your project, identify the statistical analyses to process and analyse collected data with presentation and interpretation of findings. This assessment is to be completed individually using the template provided (which contains correct formatting) on the unit Moodle site.
General information
Word limit: 1000 words (excluding tables and reference list).
Program: Microsoft Word.
Font: Use Times New Roman, size eleven font.
Layout: Single-spaced throughout with 2.54 cm margins on all sides. Number the pages consecutively at the bottom right corner. Set the text alignment to justified.
Submission: Online via the unit Moodle site.

3. Research presentation
This assessment involves developing and delivering a presentation encompassing all aspects of the research process for your chosen research topic. The presentation is to be completed individually and delivered at one of the scheduled online conferences.
General information
Time limit: Up to 10 minutes of presenting (followed by 2-3 minutes of questions).
Slide volume: 15-20 slides are recommended; however this might vary with content and styles.
Program: Microsoft PowerPoint.
Submission: Slides are to be submitted online via the unit Moodle site but the presentation will be delivered in real time via Zoom.

The 72-hour grace period does not apply to the research presentation in the portfolio assessment.

Portfolio items will be due on different dates across term. Templates, guidelines, and assessment rubrics will be made available for each item on the unit Moodle site.

Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 2: You may use Al for pre-task activities like brainstorming, planning, idea development, and initial research across all portfolio items. Your final submission should be constructed by developing and refining these ideas independently. 


Assessment Due Date

Research proposal due Week 5 Friday 15 August 5:00 pm AEST; Written report due Week 10 Friday 26 September 5:00 pm AEST; Research presentation to be presented during selected session on Wednesday 15 October or Thursday 16 October with submission of presentation slides due by 16 October 5:30 pm AEST.


Return Date to Students

Each portfolio item will be returned with feedback within two weeks of the due date.


Weighting
70%

Assessment Criteria

The research proposal will be a written document assessed in the following areas: background of key concepts, review and interpretation of the related literature, development of the rationale for the project, aim(s) and hypotheses, risk assessment, and writing (20% of final grade).

The written report will be assessed in the following areas: identification of the study design, description of participants, statistical analyses used, interpretation of analyses, and presentation of data and findings in written and tabular forms, and writing/presentation (20% of final grade).

The research presentation will be assessed in the following areas: introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, practical implications, and presentation skills including duration, slide design, structure, use of cues for speech, use of eye contact and voice, professionalism, ability to answer questions, and participation (30% of final grade).

Each portfolio item will be graded using detailed assessment rubrics available on the unit Moodle site.


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Submission Instructions
Please submit all portfolio components electronically via the unit Moodle site as a .doc or .docx file (or a .ppt or .pptx for the presentation slides). Please do not submit any components as a .pdf file. The research project presentation will be presented online via Zoom. The Unit Coordinator must receive an acceptable file via the Moodle submission link that is viewable/readable. If an unacceptable/corrupt file is submitted, your assessment will be considered late until an acceptable file is submitted and penalties will be incurred. Files submitted via email (or any other means beyond the Moodle submission link) will not be marked.

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Recognise applications of exercise and sport physiology in practice
  • Collect and analyse research data in exercise and sport settings
  • Evaluate and disseminate research findings in verbal and written forms.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Information Technology Competence
  • Ethical practice

Academic Integrity Statement

As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.

Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.

When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.

Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.

As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.

What is a breach of academic integrity?

A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.

Why is academic integrity important?

A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.

Where can I get assistance?

For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.

What can you do to act with integrity?