Immersive Learning and Adventurer’s Program
At the end of 2019, as part of our ongoing commitment to continuous improvement, we determined that it was timely to review our Immersive Learning programs and evaluate if they still met our students’ needs as they entered the third decade of the 21st century. Little did we know that our review would become, effectively, a cancellation of all external activities, including our much loved international tours. We have used the time to consider how our world has changed and the impact this will have on students as they continue their education. This has informed the development of the next phase of our unique Immersive Learning Program. The OECD defined the skills needed by young people for successful navigation of the 21st century as: Learning and Innovation Skills; Information, Media and Technology Skills; and Life and Career Skills. These break down into:
- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
- Creativity and Innovation
- Communication and Collaboration
- Information Literacy
- Media Literacy
- ICT Literacy
- Flexibility and Adaptability
- Initiative and Self-Direction
- Social and Cross-Cultural Skills
- Productivity and Accountability
- Leadership and Responsibility
At MLC School, I consider us ahead of this particular curve with our long association with the International Baccalaureate and Round Square organisations and the skills the Diploma Programme and the Round Square Framework incorporate. Our reviewed Immersive Learning program will take these 21st Century skills and build upon our previous programs, originally designed to challenge our students’ perceptions of how and where they learnt. Moving forward, we want the girls to have the opportunity to apply knowledge and skills developed in the classroom to real world contexts, helping them deepen their understanding and thus making any time off campus more meaningful. Our focus will move towards integrated curriculum approaches, student agency, character education and holistic wellbeing, mapping our new learning outcomes back to Stage 4 and Stage 5 NESA syllabus outcomes.
Of course, we also have to take our new global post-pandemic reality into consideration. All future experiences must be sustainable with regard to travel and possible health restrictions and we are aiming to do more in Australia, and in New South Wales. To this end, we are finalising the first stage of our return to immersive learning and also developing our very own Adventurers’ program, giving all our girls the opportunity to take part in outdoor education. At the start of 2022, we will introduce some experiences in immersive learning for Year 8 and Year 10, and in the adventurers’ program for Year 7 and Year 9; this latter will also build in access to the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.
The education theorist, Kurt Hahn, whose philosophies are the backbone of both the Round Square organisation and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and who was a pivotal influence on the service and community aspects of the International Baccalaureate, believed that students could only really understand life by experiencing it in many exciting and challenging ways. By testing themselves, students would develop courage, generosity, imagination, principles and resolution. Ultimately they would develop the skills and abilities to become the guardians and leaders of the future. We want to place the MLC School girl firmly at the heart of her own future and believe that the integrated and adventurous approach we are developing will allow each girl to shine and make her own contribution to the world.
– Frances Booth
Deputy Principal