How it works

Booster series – U2B/U3B for Writing and Numeracy

• Boosting student achievement towards the Upper 2-3 Bands.
• Writing and numeracy programs are available for students.
• Writing and Numeracy Squads are available to your staff.
• Create strategic pathways (e.g. Year 7/9) in Round 1 and Year 8 in Rounds 2-3 leading into next year (see step 2).

UNIFY series

• UNIFY stands for University, Neuroscience and Industry for You.
• Higher-order thinking extension for mid-to-high achieving students.
• Critical thinking, creative writing and STEM for students
• Collaboration with like-minded students and community experts.

READiscover program – Years 7-8-9 only

• Reading and comprehension skills for Years 7-8-9 students who are two to three years behind in their reading age.
• Reading Squad is available to your staff.
• Create strategic pathways (see step 2).
  

Most schools create strategic pathways across the year.

• Round 1 = 30 January – 5 May | Term 1 Week 2 – Term 2 Week 3
• Round 2 = 15 May – 18 August | Term 2 Week 5 – Term 3 Week 6
• Round 3 = 21 August – 24 November | Term 3 Week 7 – Term 4 Week 8

Primary schools example

Reading, writing or numeracy across 3 rounds
Year 5 → Year 4 → Year 4
Year 3 → Year 2 → Year 2

UNIFY Series – example pathways across 3 rounds
Critical Thinking → STEM – Danger Zone → STEM – Green Zone
STEM – Code Breaker → STEM – Design IT → STEM – Shape Up
Critical Thinking → Creative Writing → STEM – Code Breaker
Code Breaker – STEM → Web Coder – STEM → Critical Thinking

Secondary schools example

Booster​ Series - suggested pathways across 3 rounds
Year 7 → Year 7 → Year 7
Year 9 → Year 8 → Year 8

UNIFY Series – example pathways across 3 rounds
Critical Thinking → Philosophical Thinking → Debating
Critical Thinking → Legal Thinking → Debating
Coding - STEM → Creative Writing → Marine Zone - STEM
Code Breaker – STEM → Web Coder – STEM → Marine Zone – STEM

The IMPACT Centre is fully funded by investing schools. Participation costs cover the salaries of IMPACT Centre staff who are employed by the Department of Education (DoE) and general operational costs. Investing for Success (I4S), general school budgets and FTE staffing allocations provide opportunities for innovation and investment.

You can invest cash or a small fraction of FTE to join the IMPACT Centre programs in 2017. 

General facts

• ​Each round extends across 12 school weeks.
• Schools select students according to the selection criteria – see individual project outlines for details.
• A group is made up of 12 to 14 students – with students coming from the same school or from a combination of schools.
• Schools can enrol one or more groups in a round.
• Students take part in web conferences and eLearn activities.

Web conferences

• A group of 12 to 14 students logs in to a weekly web conference lesson with an IMPACT Centre online teacher.
• The lesson occurs once per week for 60 to 70 minutes in a negotiated, regular timeslot.
• Schools nominate three possible lesson times for each group and we can generally accommodate one of these.
• Schools enrolling half groups or individual students will need to be more flexible with their timetable requests so we can match you with other schools.
• Each student works at their own computer with internet access – you may need to book a suitable venue.
• Students must wear a headset with microphone. You must purchase this equipment if it is not already available.

eLEARN

• Students, nominated staff and parents can access additional project activities at any time with internet access via ​www.elearn.eq.edu.au.
• Involvement in these additional activities is not compulsory, but is highly recommended as they help your students get even more out of the course.
• Some schools devote class time to the eLearn activities.
• Some schools create a project club before school or at lunchtime and encourage the students to access the internet and complete the activities.
• Some schools ask each student to access the activities at home with parent support (if internet access is available).

Staff involvement

Web Conference Supervisor

• Schools must provide a Web Conference Supervisor – class teacher, librarian, coach, STLaN, HOC, Principal, Teacher-Aide etc.
• The Web Conference Supervisor must be supportive of the program, keen to develop their skills and be capable of managing the behavior of the group.
• We request that your Web Conference Supervisor logs into the session to support the students and online teacher.
• Your Web Conference Supervisor will develop their knowledge and skills and is welcome to engage in co-teaching with our online teacher.
• This is an excellent opportunity to build staff capability at your school.
• You can appoint one person to this role or share the opportunity amongst a small number of staff across the round or the year.

Project Coordinator

• Your school also needs to appoint a Project Coordinator.
• Your coordinator organises your school’s participation. The coordinator leads student selection; nominates your preferred lesson times; and provides our team with student and staff details.
• Your Project Coordinator and Web Conference Supervisor can be the same person if required.