Catalyst • Junior Secondary Curriculum • Handbook 2021
Personal Learning Program
The Personal Learning Program (PLP) is a
three-year, sequential learning program aimed at
developing individual abilities and skills as well as
providing the flexibility for students to explore new
areas of interest or continue learning in disciplines
that align with their passions and academic strengths.
The principles of individual and meaningful learning
are organising tenets of the Personal Learning
Program.
Students grow their understanding of who they are
as learners through this program which includes
participation in four Action Projects each year that
are incorporated into each student’s Core learning,
and the opportunity to select and study a wide range
of Discovery Courses across their junior secondary
schooling.
Action Projects
Catalyst Action Projects are purposeful, problembased
activities designed to engage students in a
rich learning experience. These learning projects
offer students the opportunity to explore broader
applications of their learning and apply new found
skills and understanding to relevant, real-life problems
and issues. Collaboratively, students will discuss,
research, analyse, create and debate problems and
issues specific to their project. Rather than being an
extension of the curriculum, an Action Project is a
medium by which students come to experience and
engage with it.
Students will participate in one Action Project each
term in either their Science or Humanities and Social
Science Core subjects. Across Year 7-9 students will
complete 12 Action Projects. Outlines for Action
Projects for each Junior Secondary year can be found
on the following page.
Discovery Learning Banks
The Discovery Learning Banks offer a wide range
of practical and academic courses. In all junior
secondary years Discovery courses are organised
into year specific learning banks. The arrangement
of Discovery courses in these important years of
schooling provides significant choice across a broad
range of subject disciplines.
Across a student’s Junior Secondary schooling, they
will select and complete eight Discovery courses. Each
course runs for one semester and results in up to 31
hours of instruction.
X and Y Language Courses
All students will study a foreign language in Year 7;
Chinese or French. In Years 8 and 9, students can
elect to continue language studies as part of their
Discovery learning program. In both these years, a
foreign language can be studied over the course of
a semester by choosing the relevant X course, or as
a year-long course by selecting both the X and Y
courses for a chosen language.
A variety of feedback and assessment methods are
used. Self-assessment, reflective writing, online
networking and checklists are used to provide
practical advice during the course of the project.
The challenge-based nature of each project provides
tangible evidence of final performance. Students are
encouraged to present their learning in a variety of
ways, encouraging their creativity and control over
their learning as well as allowing for their different
learning styles.
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