Embedded Files
Endeavour is DBIS Secondary’s interdisciplinary, skills-based learning curriculum. It provides students with opportunities to explore important ideas, develop transferable skills and apply their learning through practical projects, collaboration, presentations and experiences beyond the traditional classroom.
Rather than being organised around a single academic subject, Endeavour brings together knowledge, perspectives and skills from different disciplines. Students engage in a series of carefully designed projects connected to broader themes, real-world issues and experiences.
Each project has a clear purpose and leads towards a meaningful outcome such as a presentation, investigation, exhibition, video, podcast, written response or collaborative product.
At the heart of Endeavour is the DBIS Learner Profile. Projects are intentionally designed to help students develop and demonstrate the attributes of being a confident communicator, creative thinker, problem solver, effective collaborator and responsible citizen.
Endeavour also provides students with opportunities to develop the skills they will need within school, beyond school and in an increasingly connected world. Students learn how to research and evaluate information, communicate ideas, solve problems, think creatively, collaborate effectively, make connections, reflect on their learning and respond to feedback. As they progress through the curriculum, students are encouraged to become increasingly independent and confident in applying these skills in unfamiliar contexts.
Learning Through Projects
Learning Through Projects
Endeavour is organised around a sequence of focused interdisciplinary projects. Some may take only a few lessons, while others develop over several weeks and culminate in a larger piece of work.
In Year 7, for example, students begin by exploring the DBIS Learner Profile before undertaking an archaeological investigation into Ötzi the Iceman, using evidence and competing theories to develop their problem-solving and reasoning skills. Later in the term, students investigate sustainable tourism in Yangshuo, working collaboratively to research, plan, create and present a travel video based on their Week Without Walls experience.
In Year 8, students explore different perspectives on education, considering questions about the purpose of education and different approaches to schooling before designing and presenting their own school. The curriculum then connects directly with students’ experiential learning in Kanchanaburi, where students investigate the experiences of people connected to the Death Railway, undertake research before their trip, reflect on what they observe during the experience and ultimately create a podcast for an exhibition.
These experiences illustrate an important feature of Endeavour: learning is not confined to the classroom. Wherever possible, projects connect with students’ wider experiences, including experiential learning, service learning and opportunities to engage with authentic people, places and issues.
A different kind of learning
A different kind of learning
Endeavour is designed to complement the specialist knowledge students develop within their individual subjects.
It gives students opportunities to make connections between disciplines and to practice applying what they know in new situations. Students might investigate evidence like a historian, communicate through digital media, consider geographical and environmental perspectives, debate ethical questions, analyse different viewpoints or design a solution to a real-world problem.
The emphasis is therefore not simply on what students know, but on what they can do with what they know.
Through Endeavour, students are expected to become increasingly confident in:
exploring different ideas, perspectives and disciplines;
thinking critically, creatively and independently;
researching and evaluating information and evidence;
collaborating effectively with others;
communicating ideas through writing, discussion, presentation and digital media;
creating purposeful products for authentic audiences;
reflecting on their learning, contribution and personal development;
connecting classroom learning with experiential and service opportunities;
contributing positively to their community and the wider world.
Ultimately, Endeavour asks students not simply What do you know? But rather, what can you do with what you know?
Google Sites
Report abuse