Project Based Learning (PBL)

It has been a huge term of PBLs at TC!

Design Thinking Challenge

The first cab off the ranks was a State-wide Year 4-8 design thinking competition that we were invited to join. I did a call out to all interested students and a plucky group of five Entry students opted in. Similar to their Term 2 Entry Maths/Science PBL, they were challenged to complete a ‘design thinking sprint’ to come up with a unique solution to solve one of these challenges; transport, waste or food.

Our team, made up of Annika Lemark, Eve Petzierides, Kayla Lau, Helena Hutchison and Willow Hunter, decided to tackle the issue of packaging waste (particularly polystyrene) due to their shared love of wildlife and the detrimental effects of plastic waste affecting the environment. They shared ideas and decided to introduce alternative packaging made from mycelium (mushroom roots) that could be grown in a substrate of waste sugar cane or coconut husk.

The convenor of the competition, Dion Stojsavljevic, from AI3 Academy was interested in learning more about how we use PBL across our junior classes and came for a tour of TC with one of the sponsors of the competition, Jean-Francois Tranquille, a prototyping specialist from Moose Toys. While here they met with the girls and gave them some valuable feedback about how to think more deeply about their client, their product and their pitch.

Following this, the students ramped up their motivation and arranged to meet at lunch and after school to get ready for the competition. Not only did they create an amazing poster, but they also had to pitch to a live expert panel of judges. They were nervous but a practice run in front of the principal, Peter Ellis, helped to iron out the wrinkles.

On the day they did so well that they were awarded third place overall for their idea and also gained the title ‘Champion School’, winning the school $1000! This was an amazing effort and I am so proud of them.

The girls can’t wait to have another crack next year and hopefully we have a few more teams interested in entering. If you are keen, here is the website (designthinkingchallenge.com) and keep an eye on Compass posts so you don’t miss out!

“Having the opportunity to be a part of this project has been a really great experience. It puts forward teamwork and determination. By taking part in this project I was able to boost my self-confidence learn how to better listen and work with others. It is an opportunity for creativity and teamwork and is super fun! Highly recommend for everyone who is passionate about making a difference and being heard by others.” - Annika    

Dion Stojsavljevic and Jean-Francois are both keen to continue collaborating with us on design thinking and we might see some toy making happening in some elective classes too!

TC Shark Tank

FLE 1 students participated in their PBL towards the end of Term 4. This was our second year of running ‘TC Shark Tank’ and this cohort did not disappoint! Students attended a launch where they learnt about the global goals for sustainability and formed their teams of 3 to 4 students around the goals that they felt most invested in. They then met for one lesson each day over the following week guided by a staff member with expertise aligned with that goal. They followed the design thinking process, which encouraged them to think broadly and creatively at first, then refining their choices and working together to choose and develop a design solution. At the end of the week they submitted a short video summary. From the videos we selected about 10 finalists, who went on to meet with mentors to develop their ideas further for a few more days before they had to present their live pitch in front of a panel of judges, which included one of last year’s Shark Tank winners, Rish Ahmed. 

We were so grateful to have two guest judges this year, plus a guest presenter at the launch.

Our guests were: 

• James Larrett, Co-Founder of SolPod (launch presenter)

• Dr. Shezmin Zavahir Ismail, Application Scientist at Trajan Scientific and Medical (judge)

• Dion Stojsavljevic Co-Founder & Vice-Principal, AI3 Academy (judge)

Bringing in real world experts really helps to lift the authenticity of the program and helps students appreciate that the skills they are developing now will be useful when they leave school. 

The final 6 presentations that made it to the PAC stage were amazing. They bravely shared their ideas in front of the judges and all of their FLE 1 peers. In came down to a close call between two teams but in the end there could only be one winner. 

• 1st place: ‘Orange Drain’, a filter that can be placed over drains to catch rubbish. 
  Students: Jacob Redhouse, Nicholas Logothetis, Vann Plazier

  "TC Shark Tank 2024 was really fun and a great learning experience. We improved skills including teamwork, brainstorming and refining ideas, and public speaking. Our group are very proud to have won and are excited to use the prize money to try and arrange a park clean-up and possibly bring our idea to life." - Jacob Redhouse, Orange Drain

• 2nd place: Sea Weave, a product made from waste human hair and nylon stockings that is used to absorb oil spills.
  Students: Alex Fernandes, Audrey Trubiano, Bryden Dayzel, Shivienaa Premshangar

TC Market

For the first time we ran the TC Market as a FLE2 PBL. We started by briefing all of the FLE2 students and generating some understanding of what it takes to run a successful event such as a market, that would provide an opportunity for students to showcase their entrepreneurial skills and bring the school community together.

Students were asked to select from a range of ‘teams’ including sustainability, food, arts and crafts, games and activities and communications. They met in these teams and nutted out the specific actions required and the timeline, as well as chose some team leaders. The leaders went on to join the TC Market Committee which additionally consisted of our TC student leaders. 

On the day we had a great representation from many areas of the school including Design Technology, Music, Jewellery, Backyard Permaculture and Animals classes, with an especially large contingent from the Montessori classes. Students could raise money for their subject area or for themselves and most stall holders walked away very happy with their takings. 

It was an immense effort to pull together such a big event on a hot day and I’d like to say a special thankyou to the TC Market Committee and all of the teachers who gave up their time to supervise students, coordinate stalls, set up, pack down, play music and make pizzas!

We will definitely hold more markets next year.

By Meg Bailey
Director of Learning - Student Agency and Authentic Learning