University of Tasmania student teachers are partly through their work integrated learning program, also known as the "practice prac" assessment, which this year focuses on game-inspired learning.

Pupils from Mowbray Heights Primary School spent part of their day playing handball, netball and other physical education games, while being instructed by the student teachers, who are in their first, second and third years of a Bachelor of Health and Physical Education degree.

Third-year student teacher Patrick Sauerwald said the unit helped them to apply the theory they'd learned throughout the year.

"While you're studying, you do learn a lot of theory, but this kind of unit helps us to interact more with real students," he said.

Mr Sauerwald said he had learned practical things, such as time spent on task and factoring in communication styles during the session with the pupils.

The sessions are run throughout the four years of the HPE degree with students from Mowbray Heights Primary School, Riverside Primary School, Kings Meadows High School and Launceston Church Grammar School, among other schools.

UTAS HPE program director Vaughan Cruickshank said this unit was about learning through play, which was why the student teachers put the pupils through their paces.

He said it was great for the younger kids to be taught by someone who wasn't their regular teacher but it also broke down the school-university divide.

"They love coming here, and a lot of the teachers are different to their own," he said.

Student teachers don't get prac sessions until their second year, so the work integrated learning program offered a glimpse of their future career path in a practical sense.

Mowbray Heights Primary School teacher James Geale reiterated the idea that the program broke down barriers between the university and primary school.

He said pupils did come to UTAS a bit, but not as often as they would like, but the program helped open their eyes to their own future educational goals.

"A lot of these guys [the student teachers] teach differently to their own teachers and they get involved a bit more, so it can be very inspirational for the students," he said.

The work integrated learning program is being run at UTAS for the next three weeks.

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