Position First Protocol for HPE

The Position First Protocol for Health and Physical Education — Years 11–13 | Tomorrow Ready

Tomorrow Ready · Evidence of Thinking

In Health and Physical Education, the familiar language of wellbeing, performance, and hauora can produce a position that sounds considered without ever having been personally arrived at. AI tools fluent in HPE vocabulary can generate a position that reads like a student's own thinking. The Position First Protocol requires the student's claim to exist in writing before any tool, source, or peer input is consulted. At submission, the Position Comparison shows where the thinking actually moved and what made it move. That comparison is where the evaluative reasoning lives, and it cannot be generated after the fact.

1Write the positionStudent's own claim committed in writing before any research or tool opens

2Research and investigateStandard inquiry phase; tools and sources may be used

3Complete the Position ComparisonWhat changed, what stayed the same, what made the difference

4Submit both artefactsPosition statement and Position Comparison assessed alongside the main work

The Strategy

The Position First Protocol creates a before-and-after record of student thinking. In HPE at Years 11 to 13, where tasks often involve evaluating health claims, analysing performance data, or forming positions on hauora and wellbeing, the protocol makes the student's own reasoning the assessable starting point.

Write the initial position. Before any investigation, research, or tool use begins, the student writes their position in three to five sentences. The position must name a claim, a reason for that claim drawn from their existing knowledge or experience, and one thing they are uncertain about. The position is dated and submitted to the teacher before the research phase opens. It does not need to be correct. It needs to be genuinely the student's own thinking.
Investigate using standard methods. The research phase proceeds normally. Students may use approved sources, class materials, and tools as permitted by the task brief. The position statement is kept visible to the student during this phase so they can note where their thinking is being confirmed or challenged.
Complete the Position Comparison. Before drafting the final response, students complete a three-part comparison. What changed in my position and why? What stayed the same and why? What was the single piece of evidence or argument that made the biggest difference to my thinking? Each part is answered in two to three sentences. The comparison is written from memory where possible; it does not require re-reading all sources.
Submit position statement and comparison alongside the main work. Both artefacts are assessed as components of the submission. At NCEA level, the comparison provides process evidence of evaluative thinking that supports Merit and Excellence descriptors. The finished response is assessed on its own terms; the comparison is not a substitute for it.

In the Classroom

Year 11 — Hauora and wellbeing

Task: analyse how one dimension of hauora affects a young person's participation in physical activity. Before any research begins, students write their position: which dimension they will focus on, why they believe it is significant, and what they are uncertain about. A student might write: "I think taha hinengaro is most important because I have noticed that how I feel mentally changes how hard I try. I am not sure whether this is different for people who play team sports compared to individual sports." That uncertainty becomes the driving question for the investigation. The Position Comparison at submission shows how the evidence shaped or challenged that starting uncertainty.

Year 12 — Health promotion

Task: evaluate the effectiveness of a health promotion approach for a specific population group. Students write their initial position before examining any programme data or research. The position names their claim about effectiveness, the reason behind it, and one assumption they are making. During investigation, students annotate their position statement with notes: "this confirmed my claim" or "this challenged my assumption about..." The annotations become the basis for the Position Comparison, which is completed before drafting begins. The comparison is a required submission component.

Year 13 — NCEA Level 3 biophysical performance

Task: evaluate how a biophysical principle applies to performance in a chosen physical activity. The position statement requires the student to name the principle, claim how it applies, and identify one aspect they have not yet been able to observe or measure in practice. The Position Comparison at submission addresses: what the evidence confirmed, what required revision, and which single source or observation most changed their understanding. For Level 3, the comparison is discussed briefly with the teacher before submission as a ten-minute conference. That conversation is the secure evidence point that the evaluative thinking belongs to the student.

Implementation Notes

Decision Checkpoint

Collect the position statement before the research phase opens. A statement written after investigation has begun is not a pre-task artefact. At Year 11, allow ten minutes for the position writing step at the start of the first lesson of the task. At Year 12 and 13, students may complete it as a brief pre-task exercise set the day before investigation begins. The timestamp on the collected statement is the integrity record.

Teacher Judgement Note

HPE tasks regularly engage with topics that are personally significant: body image, mental health, whānau wellbeing, or experiences of physical ability and disability. Students should never be required to write a position that discloses personal health information. The position is about a claim regarding the topic, not about the student's own circumstances. If a student's position statement moves into personal disclosure, redirect to the task focus with care and without drawing attention to the disclosure in any shared class setting.

Related Frameworks

Position First Protocol (core): the foundational strategy this resource adapts for HPE at Years 11 to 13.

Try First, Then Check — Health and PE Years 7 to 8: the earlier year-band introduction to Position First in this learning area.

What Students Can Account For After the AI Helped — HPE Years 9 to 10: the Reconstruction Check strategy that pairs with Position First for tasks involving AI assistance during investigation.

When AI Speaks, Students Position First: the teacher practice resource explaining the protocol's application across voice AI contexts.

The Position First Protocol for Health and Physical Education — Years 11 to 13