Background

Following feedback received from schools and the community in the 2018 SACE Stage 2 Review [PDF 172KB] the SACE Board began to redesign Stage 1 Personal Learning Plan (PLP), to be replaced with Exploring Identities and Futures (EIF).

We used the SACE Board’s promise to shape education so that students thrive to reconceptualise the subject, the pedagogy, the assessment, and quality assurance procedures.

EIF will meet the requirements for SACE completion currently satisfied by PLP.

Exploring Identities and Futures (EIF)

The intention behind EIF is to assist students to recognise their individual strengths and see that the purpose and value of learning is much more than knowledge and grades. Through EIF students will:

• explore identity and belonging
• develop agency
• pursue and develop an area of interest that matters to them

In EIF students will lead their own learning and use a self-directed approach to move away from the old ‘what do you want to do’ and towards ‘who do you want to be.’

Pilot 1

Pilot 1 in semester 1 2022, tested the first version of the new EIF subject outline and the shift in teacher practice in a live environment with 19 participating government, independent and catholic schools across South Australia.

Analysis and evaluation of the pilot provided valuable insights and recognised refinements that were adapted for the second pilot. Some key learnings included: 

• pilot teachers suggested that students thrived when growing and learning occurred in an area of personal value (passion) 
• students were able to transfer their learning of new skills and capabilities into their approach with other SACE subjects 
• as pilot teachers stepped back from providing instruction and scaffolds, students stepped in and were able to authentically engage in learning that was of personal value and interest 
• assessment processes emphasised the role of the teacher in using natural evidence of learning, agency, feedback and metacognition to progress student learning. 

Pilot 2

Seventy-one schools are participating in the second pilot for EIF during Semester 1, 2023. The pilot community includes schools from metro and regional South Australia, the Northern Territory and all sectors: government, Catholic and independent.

During Pilot 2 the SACE Board continues to work closely with schools to design, adapt, and test new curriculum, assessment, and pedagogical approaches to improve the learning experience for students.

Pilot 2 testing and learning focus:

• pedagogical change required to successfully deliver the new subjects across a diversity of teachers
• development and testing of professional learning to support co-agency, metacognition, natural evidence of learning and feedback
• involving school teaching and learning leaders in the implementation of professional learning for their school’s teachers
• role of school leadership in sponsoring and resourcing the new subjects
• ensuring teacher practices support success for all students, including students who experience disadvantage.

Pilot 2 schools have:

• engaged in professional learning about the four pedagogical themes central to the intent of EIF, with a deep dive into:
  • agency (including co-agency in learning design) 
  • natural evidence of learning, 
  • self-regulation (metacognition and self-efficacy), and 
  • feedback.
• developed professional learning plans to test different ways to build teachers’ pedagogical practice in their site context
• engaged in cross-site communities of practice to workshop ideas, discuss their experiences, and adapt to the nuances of their specific context.

What’s next?

Pilot evaluation, learnings and insights will be shared and inform professional learning to prepare schools for implementation.

Professional Learning

Please visit our Preparing for Exploring Identities and Futures page for details of upcoming events.