Project based learning

Project-Based Learning is an innovative and research-based teaching strategy that involves students in collaborative, inquiry-based Projects that challenge them to solve real-world problems.

Students are challenged research a chosen problem that exists in the global community and produce a creative, practical solution to that problem. They utilise knowledge and skills from across their subjects as they engage deeply in design thinking. They learn to collaborate, to lead their peers through complex tasks, and to persist in the face of learning challenges, with the support of teacher mentors. As they progress through their Projects in Years 7-9, they will draw on skills and knowledge from all their subjects to solve increasingly complex problems and develop increasingly sophisticated products.

Our Project-Based Learning program draws directly on the school’s strategic direction to build a dynamic school promoting high expectations, positive values, global awareness and collaborative partnerships. The Projects allow students to confidently engage in social justice programs that enable them to connect with their global world. All projects will focus on sustainability and/or social justice in the community, and require students to scrutinise and analyse a problem that exists within the global or local community.

Year 7:

Game Developer. Students take part in regular, timetabled lessons that challenge them to design a computer game that teaches a valuable message about sustainability or social justice. Students are taught to create basic games using Scratch then collaborate to design, produce and market their game.

Year 8:

The Phoenix Project. Students are challenged to design a sustainable, practical community that could withstand a zombie apocalypse. They delve into learning about citizenship, global partnership, human rights, food production and building design as they produce the ideal community.

Year 9:

Building A World Worth Living In. Students design a startup that will succeed as a company and provide a solution to an identified global problem. Students work together to design products, write a business plan and create a budget, then compete for funding from investors in a Shark Tank-style presentation.