Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Demonstrating diversity

20 minutes

Find Out: Synthesising stations

25 minutes

Take Action: A nest for all

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

investigate how diversity strengthens teams and shapes societal values.

Success criteria

Students can:

explain the importance of diversity in sports and its impact on inclusion
analyse real-world examples of exclusion in sports and evaluate community responses
identify and analyse barriers to sports participation.

Tune In: Demonstrating diversity

Preparation

Divide the class into small groups of 5-6 students per team. Provide each team with the following materials:

20 sticks of spaghetti
1 metre of tape
1 metre of string
1 marshmallow

Step 1

Before beginning, secretly assign each student a role card. In order for the activity to work, they must refrain from sharing their role with their team members. Explain to the students that they have 5 minutes to build the tallest free-standing tower that can support the marshmallow on top. They must follow the instructions on their role card.

For your use, the roles are as follows:

Role	Description
Lead	Lead the group by gathering the materials and keeping a track of the time. You can volunteer to present at the end of the build.
Calm	You are blindfolded during this activity, but you can talk to your group throughout the process. Keep the group calm and on task.
Silent	You cannot speak during the activity, but you are able to use both hands and participate in the build as much as possible
Artist	You are good at drawing, and you can draw a template or diagram to help visualise your team members suggestions before building.
Inspire	Motivate all team members with positive encouragement. You are unable to build as you must place your hands behind your back.
Fairness	Ensure everyone in your group gets a fair and equal chance to participate. You can only add to the build once.

Step 2

Display a timer and instruct teams to begin. After 5 minutes, measure each team’s tower.

Step 3

Debrief and discuss the activity with the whole class using the following guiding questions:

What did you notice about how your team worked together?
What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?
How did using different strengths help your team?
Did you discover new ways to solve problems by listening to different ideas?
What would have happened if everyone tried to do the same job?
How does this activity relate to real sporting teams and the importance of diversity?

Step 4

Invite students to imagine a world without diverse sports teams. Students should brainstorm what would change if players from different cultural backgrounds, genders, and sexual orientations were prohibited from participating in sports.

Highlight that, just like in sport, teams are stronger and more creative when everyone’s unique strengths are valued, and that different abilities, perspectives, and backgrounds contribute to a team’s overall success, creativity, and problem-solving ability.

This activity is a metaphor for a sporting team, as a sporting team is like a puzzle. If all the pieces are the same, you can’t complete the picture. It’s the different shapes and colours (our backgrounds, skills, and ideas) that make the team whole and successful.

Find Out: Synthesising stations

Step 1

Your students’ task is to investigate how communities such as the AFL are working to promote inclusion and diversity in their individual communities and clubs. Allocate students into 3 groups.

Explain to students that each station has station sheets on which they must respond to prompting questions, complete an activity, and discuss 2 questions. Each station explores a different issue:

Station 1: Gender in sport
Station 2: Racism in sport
Station 3: Pride in sport

Step 2

Allow students 7 minutes at each station. Once the rotations are completed, gather the students for a whole-class reflection and discuss:

Patterns: What similarities did you notice across all 3 issues?
Challenging discrimination: How are sporting communities making change?
Personal action: What can individuals do to promote inclusion in sport and beyond?

Learning extension: As a class, check out Collingwood Football Club's 2025 Guernsey design by First Nation's artist Lisa Thorpe here.

Take Action: A nest for all

Step 1

As students are aware, the AFL is actively working to promote diversity and inclusion. In particular, the Collingwood Football Club has a series of initiatives and programs that engage communities. Display the Collingwood Football Club Program (community.collingwoodfc.com.au) page on a digital display and guide students through its 2 parts:

A Nest for All: a series of programs that ensure everyone has a place to belong, and a place to call home and feel warm, fed, safe and connected.
Barrawarn Program: a specific program that oversees partnerships and activities that support First Nations peoples.

Step 2

Your students’ task is to research an assigned program on their devices and determine how the program values diversity and promotes inclusion within the wider community. Sort the students into 9 groups and allocate them to 1 of the following programs.

A Nest for All	Barrawarn
• Magpie Nest Cafe • Magpie Nest Housing • Collingwood Magpies • Community Football Team • Wheelchair Football • FASTA Footy	• Tennant Creek • Deadly Choices • Ngarra Jarranounith Place • Indigenous Rounds and • Cultural Gift Exchanges

Step 3

Once groups have completed their research, invite each group to present a 1-2 minute summary of the program to the class.

Learning extension: Students propose strategies to strengthen these programs.

Learning opportunity: Lead a class discussion on how valuing diversity provides a culturally safe environment which results in positive outcomes for all involved.

Reflection

Step 1

Gather students into a circle and invite them to share 1 thing they have learned about the importance of diversity and inclusion. Allow each student the opportunity to share.

How Do Sporting Communities Promote Diversity and Inclusion?

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Summary

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