WELCOME TO THE TIDES PROGRAM

The TIDES program is probably going to be a little bit different than many of your other courses across all the Learning Areas.

TIDES emphasises interdisciplinary, cross-curricular, collaborative, and community-linked learning experiences to foster increased learner engagement, development, and autonomy through the frames of Technology Innovation Design Enterprise Sustainability.

Now that’s a lot of big words to say that TIDES is about you, your connection to learning, other people, the world, and the future.  One of the first things we’ll do is go through what it all means and how it will all work.

In the TIDES program you’ll work with others to develop solutions to a range of challenges.  TIDES operates across the whole school from Kindy to Year 12 but to get the ball rolling we’re starting with Years 7-10.

In 2021 we need a little bit of structure to get everyone used to the expectations and ways of working that will be the signature of TIDES.  All the work through years 7, 8, 9 and 10 is connected in many ways.  It’s about growing as a learner and focusing on your future.

  • Year 7 – will explore the Design Thinking Process and, in small teams, embark on a sustained Challenge-based STEM Learning experience that will wind up as an entry to the Game Changer Awards 2021.
  • Year 8 – will be involved in developing some challenges that draw on collaboration and Design Thinking to find solutions to a range of concerns facing our school and local community.
  • Year 9 – will embark upon the STEM4Innovation Hospital Immersion Challenge to assist Professor Fiona Wood keep operating theatres, staff and patients safe from COVID-19 at Fiona Stanley Hospital.  They will also be invited to work with a group of leading Gastro-Intestinal surgeons from St John of God Hospital and The University of WA to address the growing obesity crisis in Australia.
  • Year 10 – will start their journey as global citizens through the Balance of the Planet program developed by the Learning Futures team at Curtin University.  This will see them developing in-depth understanding of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

The TIDES program is focussed on allowing students to:

  • have greater control over their own learning;
  • use their voice individually and collectively to positively influence their own futures;
  • learn through active contribution to meaningful challenges facing our world at local, national and international levels.;
  • build records of achievement that will enable them to represent their growth and development to others in future contexts – work, university, training institutions, business partnerships, etc;
  • draw on their personal interests and passions, character strengths, skills, and diverse capabilities to shape relevant learning experiences that are aware of the changing demands of the 21st Century, Global Megatrends, and Industrial Revolution 4.0

The key Future Ready Attributes we’ll be tracking are:

Collaboration
(Roschelle & Teasley, 1995)
c1 Establishing and maintaining shared understanding
c2 Taking appropriate action to solve the problem
c3 Establishing and maintaining team organisation
Creativity
(Mishra, Henriksen, & Group, 2013)
cr1 Idea Generation
cr2 Design and Refinement
cr3 Openness and Exploration
cr4 Working Creatively
cr5 Creative Production
Personal Learning
(Friedrichs & Gibson, 2003)
pl1 Sharing experience
pl2 Examining diverse concepts
pl3 Articulating, applying and building understanding
pl4 Communicating new powers and creations
Problem Solving
(Mayer & Wittrock, 1996)
ps1 Exploring and understanding
ps2 Representing and formulating
ps3 Planning and executing
ps4 Monitoring and reflecting
Global Sustainability
(Brundtland, 1987)
gs1 Recognising and valuing the needs and cultures of others
gs2 Active Involvement in addressing global needs
gs3 Supporting the development of the social, economic and environmental pillars

The attributes will be demonstrated by individual students in different ways – the evidence for progress will be quite personalised and students are encouraged to regularly talk with classmates, friends, family, experts, mentors, and teachers about what could be provided as evidence.

EXPECTATIONS FOR LEARNING AND WORKING

Students will often find it necessary to use learning platforms and digital resources beyond SEQTA.  This may include but are not limited to Microsoft Teams and OneNote, Curtin University’s Global Challenge PlatformBadgr,edXCourseraFuture Learn, and others. All use of these platforms is expected to be positive, responsible and reflecting all the values ad expectations outlined in the responsible use of technology agreements you’ve committed to in relation to your learning.

As the majority of work is collaborative and publicly presented we expect that all students will be responsible, proactive, and aiming for their personal best in all parts of the program.

There will be a need for high-level positive interdependence in order to successfully engage with all of the challenges that TIDES will offer.

Students will sometimes have opportunities to engage with other people – students, teachers, industry experts, university professors, business leaders, and others beyond the schoolcommunity – and as such all of our school and personal values are expected to engaged.

Personal responsibility is the key expectation – you will need to be considerate, understanding, proactive, and respectful in every TIDES class and program.   In return, the personal opportunities will grow and your place in the world will become more and more connected.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Unlike much of the learning you’ve experienced in your school life, TIDES will expect all of the learning to be centred around the decisions you make by yourself and within your teams.

Classes will be a mixture of teacher guidance and student-directed collaborative work.

Much of the work we do in TIDES will be based on Design Thinking Principles – and we’ll start out using the Double Diamond Design Process model (but there are many others you are encouraged to explore and draw into your work).

You will need to draw upon your skills and knowledge from every other learning area in order to be really successful in the TIDES learning experiences.  TIDES will highlight how all learning is connected and has a place in your lives now and in the future.  You’ll discover the importance of interdisciplinary understanding regardless of where you imagine your future life will take you.  The most interesting and capable people I know come from all walks of life – and they can be university professors, health scientists, retail workers, trades professionals, business leaders, sports professionals, or any other field of work and endeavour.

JOURNALING

All students will be expected to keep a personal journal – this should be an ongoing reflection of the work you’ve been doing, the discoveries you’ve made, the difficulties you’ve faced, and the solutions you’ve developed.  They can also include personal strategies for working and learning in TIDES, and even how you are finding connections with your other learning areas, personal interest, and areas of concern in your life beyond school.

You can respectfully reflect upon any aspect of the TIDES program, including your interactions with other people.

ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING

  • Every student will have opportunities to contribute to their own assessment and even the final report.
  • Every team will have opportunities to contribute to the assessment of each of its members.
  • All assessment is constant and ongoing – just check the Future Ready Attributes and you’ll know what to look for.
  • Students will develop appropriate evidence to support their claims about their progress – this evidence can be referenced in their journals, and should also be curated in a personal digital portfolio.
  • Each project will have a range of outputs that can be used as evidence; these will include reports, research findings, solutions, artefacts of planning, research and design sprints, public presentations in class, at school events, at events outside school, online and face-to-face.
  • Some teams may be invited to present at regional, national and international events.
  • At the very least, every challenge will expect written and verbal presentation of solution proposals – some will extend to include prototyping and implementation of solutions.
  • Teams are encouraged to create engaging presentations of their work – through written work, spoken presentations, and other forms that can include performance, multimedia and digital works, artistic works, and other creative and innovative ways.
  • Some tasks will be based on external requirements, especially when engaging with programs like Game Changer Awards,  Balance of the Planet and STEM4Innovation.

RESOURCES

Your teacher will provide guidance and help you identify useful and relevant resources.

Resources will be developed as required, and most of the time they will be developed by you, your working group, the class, and sometimes independently by your teacher.

Your teacher will help you with direct instruction on any aspect of your learning after you have made meaningful attempts to work it out for yourself.  The TRY THREE BEFORE ME (3B4ME) principle is a good one to keep in mind.

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