IGNITE Expo
On the evening of Monday 15 May La Trobe University’s Union Hall was abuzz with Year 9 students.
After a semester of learning about their own passions, hobbies and interests, the students became experts on 100 different topics.
Learning to paint, and crochet, making motorised bikes, perfecting cooking, building PC’s, the list of topics was extensive, and a huge crowd made it possible for the IGNITE students to share their learning proudly and confidently.
For IGNITE I chose to make my own alcohol-free perfumes. I felt very happy with my choice making perfumes, but it ended up being a lot harder than I thought. My favourite part of IGNITE was getting to present to everyone at the expo night because I loved getting to show people my final perfumes and getting their feedback on the scents of them. I also loved getting to see what everyone else did.
Gemma
My IGNITE project was on studying the different mediums of art. I really liked this topic because I am very well versed in it, and it has been my passion for years. My favourite part of this was getting a set time to do something I enjoyed. I was very happy with how my table turned out, and I was good at answering people’s questions.
Stephanie
IGNITE was a fabulous subject in which I enjoyed learning about my hobby and exhibiting my result. I worked on a PC in which I worked on over the last six months. I enjoyed going around and looking at other people’s work and their interests and hobbies. It was fun to see what my friends had worked on over the last 6 months. I felt I worked very hard on my project, and I am very proud of my result. I also enjoyed the learning process and getting into what I loved doing. On the night of the Exhibition, I enjoyed looking at everyone’s work and what they had accomplished.
Louis
IGNITE is a semester-long subject under the direction of Dr Rochelle Fogelgarn from La Trobe’s School of Education, that tests the theory that students learn best when allowed to choose what they are most interested in.
Assisted by Pre-Service Students, the learning is then facilitated, not ‘taught’. There were many wonderful reconnections with parents and grandparents as the students looked for a variety of ways to learn, not just by googling.
