[Anna] Providing opportunities for students to connect learning to their passions and
aspirations is a critical component of achieving high levels of engagement,
and can lead to deep learning and progress.
As school leaders, how do we find that balance between aligning learning to students' interests,
while also providing opportunities for them to explore the unknown.
To develop new passions,
and deepen their understanding of the world beyond their existing experience?
At Foxwell State Secondary College, students in the 'Compass' years deepen their knowledge,
their self-understanding, their competency, and their connections to the world around them.
This sets them up as agents of their own learning journey,
and puts them on a pathway to success into Senior Secondary and beyond.
[Kym] Foxwell State Secondary College opened in 2020 with Year 7 students.
When we got to meet with our community we got to understand
what they wanted for the education of their students in the local context.
So with our students we had to have their whole of their education
in mind as we created their learning.
It started with the 'Wonder' years where we have a purposefully connected curriculum based around
the Australian Curriculum, but also working from a contributive learning perspective.
We want our students to have self-understanding, knowledge,
competencies, and connections, to be able to establish their learning for the future.
Then our students in Year 9 move into their 'Compass' years where they're
really trying to find their direction, and what they want for their learning.
In doing that, our students need to truly understand who they are,
and what they want for their futures.
They don't yet need to know what they want to be, but they do need to know who they want to be.
[Dianne] We know from research locally and globally that students will not engage that
Year 9 to 10 phase are not likely to succeed as much as they can do into the future.
So for us, the focus is on making sure the 'Compass' years
provided them with an experience that meant they felt connected to their learning, they
were engaged in their learning, and they wanted to take ownership of how they're progressing.
What that looks like for a student, is that gradual release of responsibility by maintaining
the high levels of support and the environment that caters for their individual needs,
and while we maintain the integrity of the Australian Curriculum as our absolute focus,
we provide opportunities for them to explore their passions, and their ambitions,
and determine their own path for success.
So our 'Personal Endeavour' courses allow students to explore their passions and interests,
ensure that students can become learners who are capable, 21st Century skilled,
and able to determine their own pathway in future.
A student interested in Technologies might choose App development, Game design,
or look at Autonomous technologies for the future.
Students who love working in the field of Food and Nutrition, and Health
might look at a course such as, Specialist Coaching, Food and Nutrition,
or they might consider what would like to be a First Aid Officer.
[Eleisha] My first Personal Endeavour course that I picked at Foxwell was Drama.
I'm looking at going into the theatre industry, and
musical theatre, or performing arts and drama, as it's something I enjoy a lot.
[Aayan] What I love is, like cooking, and like tasting food, and
developing it, prepping it, and trying new recipes.
I chose my first time PEC as Food and Hospitality because that's one of my hobbies.
I would like to do, like something in the food or hospitality industry,
like a barista or anything similar to that.
[Cameron]
Our Personal Endeavour courses are a huge part of what I value for our Year 9 curriculum.
At the moment our students are empowered to take ownership of their pathway
from the beginning where we've given them a whole host of options.
For some students that's allowed them to actually
pick a subject that they might never have considered before.
So it could be along the lines of 'First Aid' or we've got 'Build It And They Will Come' where they
can get some actual hands-on building skills and working with materials in an environment
that maybe they might not have previously experienced or thought they were interested in.
[Eleisha] I chose 'Build It And They Will Come' at Foxwell because I'd love
to explore Renovation and Building and Designing and Architecture.
I really love about Building and Construction how we get to use our hands and
be practical within the workshop, we get to make
fun things, and play around with different techniques of Building and Construction.
[Aayan] I'm thinking about doing something in Robotic Engineering or something relating to
Science, and I think I'm really good at Maths and Science and those two are like Engineering.
[Dianne] So students own their learning, and that agency is extremely important.
They get feedback and guidance, and continue reporting on what they're achieving
and how to progress forward, and from that they can lead conferences with their families
and their approach to learning with their teachers.
[Cameron] What I'm loving about the PEC courses
is that they get a good chance to actually explore the real world skills practically,
and they're building these meaningful pathways and connections to future careers,
and what they might be doing out in the real world in the future, and they're absolutely loving it.
We've got students who are coming out of their qualifications, and all of a sudden
they're talking to their teachers saying, "I'm interested in becoming a paramedic now,
I never thought I was interested in that sort of career before."
[Aayan] One of the things I've learned about myself is that I
also have a really big passion in business.
Something about business I really enjoy is, like collaborating, and like designing something,
and now that I've thought about it, it links into my future pathway which is Engineering.
[Eleisha] I love about my learning the fact that we get to explore what we
enjoy, this helped me learn about myself that I don't necessarily
have to choose the pathway that I originally thought I would.
I can explore different pathways like musical theatre, and building, and construction.
[Dianne] The whole journey focus here is about moving students through, so they can
become independent, engaged, and connected learners, who can contribute to their world.
We're growing learners who love their place, who have a sense of enjoyment,
and also an understanding that they can have an impact, whether it's locally or globally.
[Kym] So our students probably tell us the best feedback about our programs,
and they can tell me it is about their choice -their agency- and that they do get to do things
that they love from their passion, but also things that are going to set them up best for the future.
So they have learned to take ownership for their learning, and they do that from
having conversations to understand themselves better as learners, and how they can develop,
but they also get ownership in terms of their pathways, and their choices in
relation to subject offerings, and the types of learning environments programs they do.
The future of Foxwell - of course we're going to grow, and in 2025 will be our
first year where we have our Year 12 students, so we've already got our mind
on what we will be preparing for our senior students, and beyond.
We're very excited with what the future offers for our students and our local community.
[Anna] Self-exploration and thinking about the
future are an important part of a student's whole school journey.
This also plays a vital role in ensuring students develop the skills, attributes,
and knowledge to set them up for a meaningful pathway to success, through and beyond school.
How does your school provide opportunities for students to be deeply engaged in this
process as drivers, and not just passengers in planning their own learning and pathway?