Beginning 28 July 2018, the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia (AISWA) in conjunction with the Department of Education presented HASS Week 2018, a cross-sector celebration of the Humanities and Social Sciences learning areas.
AISWA Consultant Future-focused Teaching and Learning Maree Whiteley, with Gold Industry Group Executive Officer Rebecca Johnston
By directly linking the Primary Year 10 Humanities and Social Sciences syllabus (which includes history, geography, civics and citizenship, and economics and business) to the Curriculum, students are engaged to challenge their own way of thinking and extend their focus to better understand the wold and how people participate in it.
The week's events culminated in the two-day HASS Week Conference, which included an exhibition space where businesses set up booths to showcase their latest offerings of new teaching materials, textbooks and educational resources.
Both primary and secondary school teachers visited the exhibition, held in the Theatre Foyer of the State Library of WA, over the two conference days, using the time to network with colleagues and pick up new ideas for classroom learning.
Gold Industry Group's booth included a display of both the Perth and Kalgoorlie #heartofgold Discovery Trails, the GIG School Guide with HASS lesson plans, the Deloitte Australia Golden Nation report, and more. Teachers from both primary and secondary schools expressed interest in the GIG's lesson plans, linked to the Australian Curriculum, available for year 5 and 9.
GIG pitched the #heartofgold Discovery Trails to teachers as a unique excursion option for either primary or secondary students, with the optional ad-on of The Perth Mint heritage tour and exhibition to further student learning about the gold sector. For those unable to take students on an excursion, teachers were encouraged to instead use the Heart of Gold Australia app as a classroom resource in conjunction with the HASS lesson plans.
GIG also presented two prizes to Maree Whiteley, AISWA Consultant Future-Focused Teaching and Learning, who gave them away at the end of each conference day to a primary and secondary school respectively. The all-expenses paid excursions will take a class of 30 students from each school and up to 6 adults on a guided tour of the Perth #heartofgold Discovery Trail, with lunch and transport included. The prizes were of particular interest to teachers from smaller Independent schools, where excursions are not always an option due to financial constraints.