6 minute read
Science
CURRICULUM
New WACE Courses Year 12 Aviation General Course: Year 11 Aviation General Course was introduced in 2017 and it has led to Year 12 General Course in 2018.
Years 11 and 12 ATAR Aviation Course: Both Years 11 and 12 Aviation ATAR Courses were offered to students in 2018.
Years 11 and 12 Earth and Environmental Science (EES) General Course: This general course was offered to Year 11 students in 2018 and it will lead to Year 12 General course in 2019. Students who are interested in Geology and Environmental studies, would benefit from this course.
College Improvements The College finalised the establishment of an aviation and virtual reality (VR) room in 2018. This room is fully equipped for the Aviation course, including a dedicated VR insight C172 flight simulator and also offers a suite of VR computers for students to experience the three-dimensional view of the structure of cells and its organelles.
INCURSIONS AND EXCURSIONS
Astronomy Excursions During the year, Astronomy students in Years 9 and 10 attended two camps to launch and recover a highaltitude balloon at Dowerin and a rocket at Perth advanced rocketry in Toodyay. The high-altitude balloon collects particles from the upper atmosphere and once recovered, Mr Bill Cooper and students download and analyse data and images using various software.
(images available – see Bill Cooper)
Gliding Air Experience In Term 2, the Aviation students visited Cunderdin Airfield for a gliding air experience flight. Students were enthusiastically engaged and it was evident that their natural ability and confidence to some degree resulted from using the simulators. This experience enables students to use their conceptual knowledge and place it into a practical context.
Year 11 Biology Field Investigations Biology students in Year 11 attended two camps where they explored the wildlife at Dryandra and the Stirling Ranges and prepared conservation management plans.
Meeting Mr Oliver O’Halloran During Term 3, students met Mr Oliver O’Halloran, known as the youngest person to fly around Australia, at Jandakot Airport. Oliver, from St Virgil’s College (the Tasmanian Edmund Rice College), was an inspiration to our boys in his ability to organise his funding, plan the activity and realise his dream of flight.
Year 7 Sustain Our Swan Incursion Students examined the water quality of the adjacent Swan River using data-logging equipment. This course was facilitated by the Department of Parks and Wildlife and coordinated by Mr Michael Slack-Smith. This was
Mr Cyrus Naseri
an excellent introduction to environmental awareness, where students developed a sense of stewardship of the river for the future.
COMPETITIONS
National Science Competition Students in Years 11 and 10 participated in the National Chemistry Quiz and Australian Science Olympiad competitions respectively and several participants achieved pleasing results, including Distinction and High Distinction certificates.
USA Space Camp and Astronomy Scholarships Aidan Darmawan (11.6) was offered a Space Camp scholarship comprising a trip to NASA Space Centre in America during July 2018.
Furthermore, in 2018 the Astronomy Scholarship was awarded to Sri Krishnain (Sri) Dharmapuri (10.4) who displayed a genuine interest and in-depth knowledge in his selected research topic.
National Science Week National Science Week is Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology. Thousands of individuals, students and scientists are involved and take part in events organised for Science Week. In 2018, our College also took part in celebration of the Science Week and students from the Junior School and Senior School participated in several events and activities during Term 3. Year 7 students enjoyed several investigations and demonstrations in the area of sustainability and conservation. Students in Years 8 and 9 also took part in hands-on activities to explore static electricity using physics apparatus such as Vader graph generator and Wimshurst machine.
In addition, the Science Department invited three guest speakers during National Science Week. The Junior School students were visited by Dr Kari Pitts, from WA’s ChemCentre, who captivated them with tales from her work as a forensic research officer. Students learnt how forensic evidence can be collected from chemical traces from the life cycle of insects.
Year 9 students received an engaging presentation from Mr Darren Lomman, CEO and Creator of GreenBatch. This company is working towards building Western Australia’s first plastic recycling facility. They have started a program in schools where students bring in empty PET bottles of water and exchange them for 3D printing filament. Trinity College is fortunate to be selected as one of the program’s trial schools.
Students from Years 10 and 11 also enjoyed a presentation from Dr Anais Pages, from CSIRO division of Mineral Resources. Dr Pages talked about her study of early, primitive life forms, such as the stromatolites in Shark Bay. Her research work has taken her to China, France, Western Australia and Antarctica, as well as working with NASA exploring the possibility of life on Mars.
The Science Department also hosted a group of Year 6 students (40 students) from Saint Peter’s Primary School during Science Week in 2018. Students enthusiastically participated in a variety of activities including a tour of the observatory, exploring plant cells in three dimensions using VRs and making models of solar systems.
Following consultations over the 2017 course and Semester 1 in 2018, the Science Department was able to form a partnership with the School of Plant Energy Biology at The University of Western Australia (UWA), which led to the establishment of VR classroom and production of Virtual Reality programs (VRs). VR has been used in different domains due to the immense possibilities it offers. Its application in educational fields adds multiple dimensions across the various academic disciplines. It appeals to even the least responsive of users, therefore leaving no student behind. It is expected that VR, in times to come, will transform education .
In 2018, Year 8 students participated in a pilot study involving virtual plant cell which was conducted by the Plant Energy Biology (PEB) affiliated with the UWA. The PEB has offered expanding suite of educational virtual reality and 360° video experiences. This cutting-edge education uses emerging technologies to teach plant cell biology to students. Our students were actively involved and this immersive experience was due to the fact that there were no distractions. They also became immediately engaged which is useful in today’s world of limited attention spans. Exploration of the structure and various organelles combined with a hands-on approach assisted students with their learning and retention of information.
The other factor which is crucially important to note is the ‘digital generation’. Today’s students are generally more clued up about technology than their parents and use it on a constant basis. Everything from Facebook and Twitter through to such things as computer games, mobile phone apps and the iPad forms a large part of a teenager’s lifestyle and teachers are aware of this use and reliance upon technology. Thus, it makes sense to use this as part of learning. At Trinity College, our approach is blended learning where several learning approaches are combined. This means a mix of computer-aided learning such as virtual reality systems with traditional forms of learning. This hybrid approach is designed to meet the needs of all students, irrespective of their learning style.
Mr Cyrus Naseri Head of Science
VR Function - VPC Showcase 9.11.18
