• About
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
Monday, May 19, 2025
Newsletter
SUBSCRIBE
E-MAGAZINE
  • Latest News
  • All Topics
    • Curriculum
      • STEM
      • Leadership
      • Principally Speaking
      • Sustainability
      • Literacy and Numeracy
      • Physical Education
      • Health and Wellness
      • Arts and Culture
      • Outdoor Education
      • Beyond the Classroom
      • Financial Literacy
    • Technology
      • Teaching computer programming
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Online Studying Tools
      • Online Teaching Tools
      • Virtual Classrooms
      • Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
    • Policy and Reform
      • Australian Primary Principals Association
      • Australian Secondary Principals Association
      • First Nations Culture and History
      • E-Safety Commissioner
      • ACARA/NAPLAN
      • Department of Education
    • Opinion
      • The Last Word
      • Expert Contributors
      • First Nations Voices
  • Professional Development
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Webinar
    • Research and Reports
    • Video
    • Products and Services
    • Thought Leaders
No Results
View All Results
  • Latest News
  • All Topics
    • Curriculum
      • STEM
      • Leadership
      • Principally Speaking
      • Sustainability
      • Literacy and Numeracy
      • Physical Education
      • Health and Wellness
      • Arts and Culture
      • Outdoor Education
      • Beyond the Classroom
      • Financial Literacy
    • Technology
      • Teaching computer programming
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Online Studying Tools
      • Online Teaching Tools
      • Virtual Classrooms
      • Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
    • Policy and Reform
      • Australian Primary Principals Association
      • Australian Secondary Principals Association
      • First Nations Culture and History
      • E-Safety Commissioner
      • ACARA/NAPLAN
      • Department of Education
    • Opinion
      • The Last Word
      • Expert Contributors
      • First Nations Voices
  • Professional Development
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Webinar
    • Research and Reports
    • Video
    • Products and Services
    • Thought Leaders
No Results
View All Results
Home All Topics Professional Development

AFL Schools Division: Leveraging the home-ground advantage

by Kate Felton
April 28, 2023
in Curriculum, Latest News, Physical Education, Professional Development
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
AFL Schools Division Education

AFL Schools offers professional learning courses to help teachers introduce Aussie rules into the classroom.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Whether one is a sports enthusiast, or not, the power that a home-ground advantage has over the performance of a team stands out during a game.

After decades of research into the phenomenon, academics have proven that there is statistical evidence showing that teams do in fact win more often at home than when they are on the road.1 Contributing factors to the home-ground advantage can include: the support and enthusiasm of home team fans; the familiarity of the playing grounds for the players; and the challenges players face with changing routines when travelling.

Now, if this principal is applied to teaching, where the teacher is the coach, the classroom is the playing ground, and the students are the players, we might ask: how can teachers gain a home-ground advantage to improve their teaching practice and deliver better Health and Physical Education curriculum?

The answer? More professional learning.

It can be argued that teachers can gain a home-ground advantage if they seek out continual growth and understand the benefits of attending professional development to become better at what they do.

Ongoing professional learning enables teachers to better cater to the needs of their students, adapt to the changing trends in the education industry, and gain a better understanding of how to deliver effective instruction in the classroom.

It can be challenging to understand how to offer professional development for teachers at a time when many teachers are being stretched to their limits and every teacher’s individual needs differ greatly.

Fortunately, the AFL Schools team recognise the value of offering well-rounded professional learning models for teachers. Through careful consideration, they have developed better ways to support teachers in the classroom through online professional development courses.

Looking to incorporate AFL into the classroom?

On the AFL Schools website, the professional learning section gives teachers options! Teachers can attend webinars, watch the professional learning video series, or complete self-paced, interactive online courses. If teachers have a preference for face-to-face professional learning, they can attend conferences held throughout the year.

“I was impressed with how seriously the AFL are trying to connect with schools and how important it is to link with the curriculum and make it easy and useful to implement school wide in and out of the classroom.” -Jasmine Royle, Physical Education Teacher, Beehive Montessori School, Mosman Park, WA

The AFL’s approach to professional learning ensures that teachers – even those without a strong foundation in Aussie Rules – will benefit from additional knowledge and gain more confidence in their ability to teach the game. Additionally, they will be given the opportunity to apply their learnings using real-world examples within the AFL to develop other areas of their curriculum.

In collaboration with primary schools, the AFL Schools Team have also developed a number of professional learning sessions that cater specifically towards teaching primary school curriculum. The sessions provide theory and practical application of the AFL programming and gives teachers, as well as teachers-in-training, the opportunity to learn about the theories that underpin effective teaching of Health and Physical Education.

“We have created Professional Learning so that teachers can select the sessions that best meet their own developmental and professional needs. Aligned to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers as outlined by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), we provide a range of offerings to allow you to engage in professional learning to increase your knowledge, skills, and professional engagement for greater effectiveness. For accreditation purposes or collection of evidence for achieving the Standards, we have attributed each of our professional learning tools to the related Standard descriptors.” – The AFL Schools’ Team

It is critical that close attention is paid to how teachers prepare for and feel supported in their profession, which is why AFL Schools’ professional learning sessions have been designed with flexibility in mind, to accommodate the individual professional goals and learning objectives of every teacher, whilst allowing them to acquire relevant skills and adopt ‘game-sense’ approaches.

Whether a new or a seasoned educator, teachers can improve their effectiveness in the classroom by taking part in professional development activities that help them learn new skills and pedagogy that they can transfer into the classroom (or onto the field).

AFL Schools’ professional learning options guarantee that students will benefit from a true home-ground advantage – ultimately setting schools up for more wins.

Reference:

1.Is it the crowds or grounds that give home teams an edge? – ABC News

Further reading:

  • Examining children’s physical activity engagement in early primary education
  • Victoria is ready for a Year 7-10 outdoor education curriculum
  • Sport may fast-track numeracy skills for Indigenous children
Tags: AFL SchoolsHealth and Physical Educationprofessional developmentteacher trainingUpskilling

Related Posts

NSW Department of Education Secretary Murat Dizdar and Deputy Premier and NSW Education Minister Prue Car (right) visited north coast schools impacted by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Image: NSW Government

Roadshow visiting 10 regional schools across NSW

by Rhiannon Bowman
May 13, 2025

Regional students will be front and centre of the conversation during the NSW Department of Education’s 2025 Schools Roadshow, when...

The new measures follow early actions already announced at the start of the school year. Image: Krakenimages.com/adobe.stock.com

More red tape cut to free up teacher’s time

by Rhiannon Bowman
May 13, 2025

The Queensland Government has announced three new initiatives to further reduce red tape and free up teachers to spend more...

The report confirms that most teachers are implementing the five key components of reading instruction on a daily basis. Image: Przemek Klos/adobe.stock.com

National reading survey shows teachers need more support

by Rhiannon Bowman
May 13, 2025

New survey data from the Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA) reveals that Australian teachers are highly knowledgeable, confident in...

Join our newsletter

View our privacy policy, collection notice and terms and conditions to understand how we use your personal information.
Education Matters is an informative, valuable resource for decision makers of both primary and secondary schools Australia-wide. We provide a content-rich, comprehensive buyer’s guide of the most reliable, trustworthy school suppliers in the market. This is coupled with the latest in news and expert views about the topics and issues currently impacting the education sector.

Subscribe to our newsletter

View our privacy policy, collection notice and terms and conditions to understand how we use your personal information.

About Education Matters

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Emagazine
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Collection Notice
  • Terms & Conditions

Popular Topics

  • Latest News
  • Beyond the Classroom
  • Curriculum
  • Health & Wellbeing
  • Hot Topic
  • Principally Speaking
  • Products and Services
  • Sustainability
  • The Last Word
  • Professional Development
  • Events
  • Technology
  • Video

© 2025 All Rights Reserved. All content published on this site is the property of Prime Creative Media. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited

No Results
View All Results
NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE
E-MAGAZINE
  • Latest News
  • All Topics
    • Curriculum
      • STEM
      • Leadership
      • Principally Speaking
      • Sustainability
      • Literacy and Numeracy
      • Physical Education
      • Health and Wellness
      • Arts and Culture
      • Outdoor Education
      • Beyond the Classroom
      • Financial Literacy
    • Technology
      • Teaching computer programming
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Online Studying Tools
      • Online Teaching Tools
      • Virtual Classrooms
      • Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
    • Policy and Reform
      • Australian Primary Principals Association
      • Australian Secondary Principals Association
      • First Nations Culture and History
      • E-Safety Commissioner
      • ACARA/NAPLAN
      • Department of Education
    • Opinion
      • The Last Word
      • Expert Contributors
      • First Nations Voices
  • Professional Development
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Webinar
    • Research and Reports
    • Video
    • Products and Services
    • Thought Leaders
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us

© 2025 All Rights Reserved. All content published on this site is the property of Prime Creative Media. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited