Year 11 – Health and Movement Science

Phase 1: Planning and Team Formation

The purpose of Phase 1

Phase 1 is about getting your investigation set up properly. By the end of this phase, your group should have:

  • a clear syllabus link
  • a clear topic
  • a clear research question
  • a clear plan for how your group will work together

NESA’s Phase 1 sequence focuses on syllabus deconstruction, group formation, topic proposal, preliminary research, research question development, and a checkpoint for feedback on collaborative practice and research question approval.

Step 1. Unpack the task

Before you choose a topic, make sure you understand exactly what your teacher is asking you to do.

What to do

  • Firstly: Is it a formal task?
  • Read the task notification or your teacher’s instructions carefully.
  • Identify what you need to submit.
  • Check the due date, format, and any limits on length or presentation style.
  • Highlight the directive verbs in the task (if any)

If you misunderstand the task at the start, your group can head in the wrong direction very quickly.

Step 2. Deconstruct the syllabus

Your investigation must link to a concept from Health for Individuals and Communities or The Body and Mind in Motion.

  • Go back to the Year 11 syllabus.
  • Identify which focus area your topic fits into.
    • Health for Individuals and Communities could lead to topics such as vaping, sleep, protective factors, or health behaviours.
    • The Body and Mind in Motion could lead to topics such as motivation, energy systems, training methods, or physiological responses.
  • Break broad syllabus content into smaller, more usable ideas.
  • Look for concepts you already know and want to explore further.

Step 3. Form your collaboration group

NESA places collaboration at the centre of the task, not as an extra. Students are expected to work together to reach agreements, make decisions, and maintain a positive group environment. It is very likely your teacher will be looking for evidence of your ability to collaborate positively in a group.

What to do

  • Form your group around a shared area of interest.
  • Decide how your group will communicate.
  • Decide how major decisions will be made.
  • Agree on basic group protocols from the start.
  • Make sure everyone understands that this is not just about splitting the work.

Good group protocols

  • how often you will meet
  • where you will store shared work
  • how quickly people should reply
  • how you will handle disagreement
  • how roles will be shared or adjusted

Example: Your group might agree to use one shared document, one group chat, and one rule that all major decisions must be approved by the full group.

Step 4. Choose your topic

Your topic needs to be both interesting and manageable. It also needs to link clearly to the syllabus.

What to do

  • Start with a broad area that interests your group.
  • Narrow it into something specific.
  • Check that it fits the course.
  • Check that it can actually be investigated in the time and setting available.

Example: A HMS group who lives and goes to school in the city of Sydney choosing a topic about rural amenities available to promote physical activity might find it hard to gain data (especially qualitative data) if they do not have access to rural people.

What to avoid

  • topics that are too broad
  • topics that are too vague
  • topics with no clear syllabus link
  • topics that would be too difficult to research properly at school

Example: ‘Mental health in sport’ is too broad. ‘The effect of team sport participation on stress during exam periods‘ is much clearer.

Step 5. Write a topic proposal

Once your group has chosen a direction, write a short topic proposal. In the NESA process, this is where groups decide on their topic of investigation and show clear personal engagement.

What to include

  • the topic
  • what your group plans to investigate
  • why the topic is relevant
  • how it links to the syllabus

What the proposal should do

A good proposal should show that your topic is:

  • clear
  • relevant
  • focused enough to investigate

Example: Our group will investigate the relationship between morning physical activity and concentration in Year 11 students. This links to The Body and Mind in Motion because it focuses on movement and performance.

Step 6. Do preliminary research

NESA states that the purpose of preliminary research is to become familiar with the topic in enough detail to design a research question.

What to do

  • read a few reliable sources
  • learn the basic facts and key terms
  • identify the main issues or patterns
  • keep notes on useful ideas
  • record your sources as you go – you will need this for your reference list!

What this research is for

At this stage, you are not trying to finish the whole investigation. You are trying to learn enough about the topic to ask a better question.

Example: Your group may begin with physical activity and concentration, then narrow it after preliminary research to 30 minutes of moderate exercise before school and first-period concentration.

Step 7. Develop your research question

NESA states that the research question drives the investigation, so it must be clear, focused, researchable, and meaningful.

What to do

  • make the question specific
  • make sure it links to your chosen syllabus area
  • make sure it can be answered using evidence
  • avoid wording that already assumes the answer

What a strong question looks like

A strong research question usually makes clear:

  • who is being investigated
  • what is being investigated
  • the context
  • what will be measured, compared, or explored

Example: Does exercise help concentration? is too vague vs. How does 30 minutes of moderate physical activity before school affect the concentration of Year 11 students during first and second period? is much stronger.

What to avoid

  • very broad questions
  • questions with unclear terms
  • questions that cannot realistically be researched
  • questions that already assume one answer is correct

Example: Why are team sports the best way to improve mental health? is weak because it implies the answer (that teams sports are the best).

Step 8. Complete the Phase 1 checkpoint

The final step in Phase 1 is the checkpoint. NESA identifies this as the point for feedback on collaborative practice and research question approval.

What you should bring to the checkpoint

  • your chosen topic
  • your syllabus link
  • your topic proposal
  • your preliminary research
  • your draft research question

What may happen here

Your teacher may:

  • approve your question
  • ask you to narrow it
  • ask you to clarify key terms
  • give feedback on how your group is working together

This checkpoint matters because it is much easier to fix a weak question now than later. You don’t want to spend hours collecting data only to realise that your question was too broad or too narrow or too hard to gain information

What you should have by the end of Phase 1

By the end of Phase 1, your group should have:

  • a clear understanding of the task
  • a clear syllabus link
  • an agreed group topic
  • a short topic proposal
  • some preliminary research
  • a focused research question
  • teacher feedback before moving on

That is what gives your group a strong start for Phase 2.

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