Three years of planning, research and professional development by staff at Kildare College will culminate in an exhibition of learning this term, when students’ jewellery creations, inspired by Ancient Egypt will be on display as part of the first Project Based Learning activity delivered at the College.
'Kildare College fosters an innovative and dynamic environment of continuous improvement. The commencement of planning for the introduction of Year 7 at Kildare College in 2019, coupled with growing number of enrolments, provided a wonderful opportunity to review pedagogical practises at Kildare to remain innovative whilst providing pathways for all,' said Tina Neate, Principal.
A Middle Years Vision was introduced, which focuses on the concepts of challenge, inspire and act which provides a broad, connected teaching and learning program which engenders a spirit of inquiry and fosters creative and critical thinking. By focussing on the skills of observation, analysis, collaboration and problem solving across different learning areas students make connections between their world and what they are learning at school.
Seeking inspiration, Director of Learning, Annette Lamont, researched the practise of Project Based Learning (PBL) through the Buck Institute of Education (BIE). An educator from BIE was invited to Kildare to complete a three-day professional development where all staff were deeply committed and engaged with the content.
STEM and HUMS teachers then worked together to create an integrated PBL project around the driving question 'How can we capture an aspect of Ancient Egypt through the creation of a contemporary piece of jewellery?'
During the Term 2 holidays, STEM and HUMS teachers completed further professional development, learning the art of jewellery making with trainer Megan from TAFESA. Staff would use these skills and knowledge to then teach their students as part of the project.
Students visited the SA Museum and Botanic Gardens as a stimulus to drive students’ thinking about different aspects of Ancient Egypt. They completed a ‘Needs to Know’ activity at both locations to encourage deep thinking and reflection, which led to further inquiry related to one aspect of Ancient Egypt.
Students, using the engineering & design process then created a contemporary jewellery product. Jewellery was created from polymer clay, 3D printed plastic, laser cut wood or metal.
A public exhibition for families and the community took place this term. Students displayed their jewellery, as well as other pieces of work that demonstrated the process.
While the exhibition is the culmination of the PBL, it is the process where the key aspects of students’ learning occurs. It is an exciting, innovative project that allows students to design and create a piece of jewellery that reflects the engineering design process whilst learning many new and relevant skills.
