SmartTrack Academy is a new initiative for Middle School and St Philip’s Christian College that aims to approach learning differently. It is a future orientated learning program that acknowledges every child is a unique learner with different passions and interests. The program aims to focus on skill development and mastery at an age-appropriate level and asks young people to foster skills to become a life-long, autonomous learner.
The program combines hands-on learning experiences with real-world context to help students draw links between the world and their learning journey. The vision of the program is that students would renew their enthusiasm and agency towards learning, recognising that school isn’t about marks or remembering content, but is a place to discover the world around them, and to understand themselves as a uniquely made child of God.
SmartTrack Academy breaks the year into 5 different projects, each with a themed focus drawing on subject specific content, such as the Legacy of the past to following a Dream through a passion project. Students study an integrated curriculum where their core subjects of Science, English, Maths and History, among others, are incorporated into each project, with each project culminating in a student directed representation of their learning. By allowing students to investigate their interests and passions within each project, students co-create the learning experiences to inform their final projects. Students also work with specialist teachers and mentors as guides and supports to craft a ‘feedback framework’ that can encourage them through their inquiry.
