By holding the cube in their hands, students could move, rotate, and interact with their holographic creations — placing content on, inside, and around the virtual cube. This hands-on experience allowed them to visualise their learning, engage creatively with technology, and even play educational games that connected directly to their Science and Writing projects.

• Differentiated learning pathways that reflect student strengths, needs, and goals

• Targeted feedback aligned with individual ability levels

• Authentic engagement through meaningful, student-centred tasks

• Progress tracking that supports growth and celebrates achievement

This trial promotes inclusive education by embedding differentiation into the digital learning environment. It empowers students to take ownership of their learning while receiving support that is both responsive and intentional.

Next Steps
We’re gathering feedback from students, parents, and staff to refine this approach.

Areas for Growth
To strengthen the impact of this initiative, suggested focused on:

• Improved collaboration with the Diversity Team and Wellbeing Teams to ensure messaging and support are aligned

• Clear and consistent communication from and to all stakeholders, including families and support staff

• Clarifying the roles and responsibilities of teaching staff and relevant teams in delivering and monitoring differentiated learning through SEQTA

WA Law Society Mock Trials

• Three teams represented the College with distinction

• A phenomenal win in the Grand Final.

 UN Evatt Competition

• Five teams participated in the UN Security Council mock sessions, debating global resolutions on climate change and security.

• One team progressed to the Semifinals, showcasing exceptional diplomacy and critical thinking

Why Co-Curricular Matters in HASS?
Participation in these programs:

• Deepens understanding of legal, political, and global issues studied in HASS

• Builds skills in advocacy, negotiation, and collaboration

• Opens doors to further studies and careers in law and international relations.

Executive Summary

The 2024 HASS survey revealed significant disparities in student engagement between standard and advanced classes in Year 10. Key indicators such as creativity, critical thinking, independence, and feedback connection were markedly lower in standard classes. In response, non-streaming was introduced in 2025. (based on educational research) Subsequent survey data and academic performance metrics indicate substantial improvements in engagement and achievement, alongside increased Year 11 enrolments for 2026.

2024 Survey Findings

• Creativity & Critical Thinking

  • Standard: 38%

  • Advanced: 71%

• Independent Learning

  • Standard: 45%

  • Advanced: 77%

• Reaching Full Potential

  • Standard: 29%

  • Advanced: 73%

• Feedback & Goal Setting

  • Overall low connection reported in standard classes

Interpretation:
Students in standard classes reported significantly lower engagement and opportunities for higher-order thinking compared to advanced classes.

Impact of Non-Streaming (2025 Survey)

• Encouraged to be Curious: 75%

• Creativity: Increased to 58%

• Critical Thinking: 67%

• Reflection on Feedback: 81%

• Targeted & Clear Feedback: 68% (up from 38%)

Interpretation:
Non-streaming has fostered a more inclusive and engaging learning environment, with notable gains in creativity, critical thinking, and feedback responsiveness.

Academic Performance Trends

• Year 11 HASS Enrolments (2026): Increased by 47%

• Grade Improvements (Year 9 → Year 10):

  • A: 15 → 26 (+11 students)

  • B: 38 → 40 (+2 students)

  • C: 77 → 55 (-22 students)

  • D: 20 → 28 (+8 students)

  • E: 4 → 2 (-2 students)

Interpretation:
Significant improvement at the top end (A grades), reduction in C and E grades. However, D grade increase suggests a need for targeted intervention strategies.

Recommendations

1. Targeted Support for D Grade Students: Implement mentoring and differentiated scaffolding.

2. Continue Feedback Focus: Maintain emphasis on clear, actionable feedback.

3. Professional Learning: Equip teachers with strategies for mixed ability classrooms to promote equity and inclusivity.

4. Monitor Long-Term Trends: Track Year 11 and Year 12 performance to assess sustained impact.

In our fast-paced teaching environment, small, practical strategies can make a big difference. Sharing these ideas among staff promotes:

• Collaboration – Building a culture where teachers learn from each other

• Efficiency – Quick wins that save time while improving lesson quality

• Engagement – Strategies that spark curiosity and creativity in the classroom

• Consistency – Aligning approaches to support student success across subjects

This year’s Year 8 HASS students engaged in elections providing a dynamic, real-time learning experience across the entire cohort. Students stepped into the world of politics by:

• Forming political parties

• Establishing political platforms

• Campaigning for their elected candidate

The activity explored how government is formed and preferential voting.

Technology to Enhance Learning:
Students collaborated using Padlet, sharing:

• Newspaper articles

• Polls and campaign posters

• Interviews and videos

This approach promoted collaboration, creativity, teamwork, and digital literacy while improving student understanding in the democratic processes.

Reflection for Improvement

• How can we further enhance collaboration across the cohort?

• What additional tech tools could amplify engagement?

• How can feedback loops be strengthened during real-time activities?

This year, I launched the endorsed program Just Start It into the Year 10 HASS Business and Enterprise elective, giving students the opportunity to experience entrepreneurship in action.

Students worked in teams to under the guidance of Lainey Weiser and Mr Brown:

• Develop innovative business ideas

• Build creativity and critical thinking skills

• Collaborate effectively to solve real-world problems

• Cultivate curiosity and independence

• Form partnerships with the community

Student Outcomes

• Two teams progressed to the Gala Event, ranking among the Top 10 teams statewide taking home winning from the $5000 in prize money.

• Students demonstrated growth in creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration

• Strong connections were built between classroom learning and authentic industry experiences

This program not only aligns with HASS curriculum goals but also prepares students for future pathways by fostering entrepreneurial mindsets and community engagement.

Success of the program has culminated into two classes for 2026

During recent HASS Learning Area Planning Day focused on strengthening collaboration among Year 11 and 12 HASS staff to improve student outcomes in Semester Two.

Key actions included:

• Assessing, reflecting and recording on marks book data to identify trends in mark ranges

• Aligning exam marks with other assessment types, similar to WACE ATAR moderation and scaling

• Meeting individually with each students to:

  • Upload feedback snapshots to progressive scores

  • Set personalised goals

  • Highlight areas for improvement

This process ensures students receive clear, targeted feedback and understand how their performance across different assessments contributes to overall achievement.

• Benefits of Reflection and Goal Setting

  1. Improved Self-Awareness
     Students gained a clearer understanding of their strengths and areas for improvement specific to course skills, knowledge and understanding

  2. Ownership of Learning/Student Agency
     Setting personal goals encouraged students to take agency for their progress.

  3. Motivation and Focus
     Revisiting goals helped maintain motivation and provided a clear direction for effort = outcome.

  4. Enhanced Feedback Utilisation
     Students learned to interpret feedback and apply it to improve future performance.

  5. Improved Time Management
     Students planned their study strategies more effectively to meet their targets.

  6. Continuous Improvement
     Progressive tracking allowed students to monitor growth and adjust strategies as needed, reviewing their PROGRESSIVE SCORES

  7. Alignment with Assessment Expectations
     Understanding how different assessments contribute to overall achievement helped students prioritize tasks.

The app is particularly effective because it promotes self-assessment, peer feedback, and visual learning, which enhances skill acquisition and engagement. By allowing students to see what they feel, it bridges the gap between perception and performance—making it an excellent resource for developing technique, improving confidence, and fostering a deeper understanding of physical skills.

The students were tasked with creating a personal brand profile that was a snapshot that could be shared on platforms such as LinkedIn. They were told the Personal Brand Profile should represent who they are, what their career goals are and what you have to offer a prospective employer. This is an example of one piece of work submitted.

One example was the ‘Who Dun It’ Case Files activity, where students acted as detectives, analysing evidence, suspect profiles, and case notes to determine causes and consequences linked to key historical or geographical concepts. This approach encouraged critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity, while making complex ideas accessible and exciting.

Another example involved students building model trenches using Playdough and toy soldiers to visualise the trench designs and how they benefitted for active warfare. This kinaesthetic and hands on activity allowed the students to move beyond conceptual understanding, and watch it expand with real world application.

Both activities exemplified my goal of designing engaging, experiential learning opportunities that foster curiosity, problem-solving, and genuine enthusiasm for the subject matter. It also helped gage student understanding in a unique and visual way.

During the year, we worked on making the group more collaborative so they could leverage off each others knowledge and expertise. Tasks that were utilised included: peer marking, group completion of essay answers, MCQ's where they are completed alone, in pairs and then as a whole group.

I trialled more investigation-based lessons, allowing students to design their own experiments within structured parameters. In another unit, students “ran” their own mining company using cookies to represent land and choc-chips as resources. Both approaches encouraged problem-solving, creativity, and deeper understanding of scientific and ethical decision-making.

through the use of a hands on task students will be better placed to create a mental model of net for a 3D solid.

It was incredibly rewarding to witness students thrive in unfamiliar settings, interacting positively with peers and staff, building confidence, and forming genuine connections. The cohort came together beautifully, demonstrating teamwork, empathy, and resilience. The memories made during camp will no doubt leave a lasting impact and strengthen their sense of belonging within the school community.

This experience reaffirmed the power of inclusive pastoral care and the importance of creating spaces where every student feels seen, valued, and supported.

The steps to complete this task were:

1. Students to sit an unseen task under test conditions. Teacher to assign 'code names' or numbers for each student.

2. Collect student responses.

3. During the following lesson, complete a marking moderation activity with the class. Responses to be produced by the teacher and should reflect a range of abilities.

4. Hand out student responses to randomised peers.

5. Students to mark the papers and provide feedback using the feedback bank provided. This will be a hard copy that is then attached to the student response.

6. Teacher to collect and return responses to students.

• Year 7 math help sessions Monday Morning

• Held Math Help every morning where any students can come

• Year 7-9 math help sessions every lunc h

• OLNA help sessions

Students earn or lose money each lesson based on their behaviour and participation in class and around the College, encouraging positive engagement. Their goal is to save as much as possible to spend at the end-of-term auction.

Through this process, I became more confident in teaching narrative writing and saw a noticeable improvement in student engagement and writing outcomes. Students are now able to confidently transfer these skills across other genres of writing.

She sat with me to co-construct a lesson on Voice. This collaboration built my confidence and provided useful strategies to teach the concept to my ATAR class.

The Meaning Swap Challenge

Focus: Analysing how material choices alter interpretation

🎯 Learning Intentions

Students will:

• Explore the relationship between material, meaning, and audience perception.

• Develop comparative analysis skills by reimagining famous sculptures in new materials.

🏺 Example Artworks

• Auguste Rodin, The Thinker (1904, bronze)

• Venus of Willendorf (c. 25,000 BCE, limestone)

• Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog (Orange) (1994–2000, stainless steel)

• Fiona Hall, Tender (2003–05, shredded US dollar bills)

• Cornelia Parker, Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View (1991, found materials)

🎮 How to Play

1. Show the original sculpture and describe its material and meaning.

   • Example: The Venus of Willendorf symbolises fertility, crafted in limestone to suggest permanence and reverence.

2. Ask students:

   • “What if this were made of glass? Fabric? Ice? Plastic?”

   • “How would its meaning, weight, and audience response change?”

3. Discuss as a class or in groups. Encourage links to material properties — fragility, weight, texture, transparency, decay.

💬 Example Discussion

• The Thinker in glass → Reflects vulnerability of human thought, no longer immortalised strength.

• Balloon Dog in clay → Becomes fragile, temporary, more human and less industrial.

• Venus of Willendorf in resin → Loses sacredness, becomes a modern imitation of ancient ideals.

💡 Extension

Link to artists who challenge traditional materials:

• Cornelia Parker – transforms destruction into fragile beauty.

• Fiona Hall – transforms consumer waste into commentary on ecology and value.

• Robert Smithson – uses earth and entropy to critique permanence in art.

An active, game-based learning platform where students work collaboratively to solve puzzles and unlock a physical or digital box using a series of clues, locks, and codes. Students use critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity to solve tasks aligned to their term content.

• Write a piece for a string quartet and the instrument they play (for this student, it was voice)

• Have a rehearsal with this group of professional musicians, giving feedback to the musicians about how to play the piece, and receiving feedback about how the players parts are written

• Perform this composition with the string quartet at Willetton Senior High School's Music graduation night.

after listening to the Maths podcast by Craig Barton, select one strategy to illicit a higher rate of feedback to inform me of student understanding.

I selected the strategy of mini whiteboards.

For some classes I had prewritten questions to ask students. Prewritten questions allowed me to more quickly analyze the responses and plan the next steps of the lesson.

As part of this journey, they explored fundraising strategies, volunteer management, and the pastoral care considerations within hospital settings, gaining valuable insights into how compassion and practical support go hand in hand.

We’re proud to have established a new community partnership and made an annual commitment to ongoing learning and giving. 💬💡💛

After joining the College in Term 4, my colleagues shared with me a way to give feedback for assessments through a structured feedback chart for students. It was shaped to expedite marking through highlighting what went well, rooms for growth, and activities for improvement based on a Professional development session completed by my colleagues earlier in the year.

Following this model, students have to buy into receiving their mark. When they are handed back their assessment it has comments and annotations, but no mark. After completing one or more activities for improvement, they then make a prediction on their mark before getting it back in person. Students are then held accountable for uploading their feedback to SEQTA, so parents are included in the feedback loop.

This process makes marking focused and as a department we have much clearer moderation across the assessment. As a result, there is much more student buy in for seeing and applying feedback over, and application of learning in future tasks.

Feedback that moves learning forward.

Action Taken:
I introduced targeted “trigger questions” to guide students in evaluating their design goals and decisions. By using visual aids and reference materials, I’ve helped clarify expectations and encouraged more thoughtful reflection throughout their design process.