Play Based Learning (PBL) is a program that is run in the Junior year levels. The purpose of PBL is to provide students with a range of opportunities through play to develop communication, creativity, and collaboration skills. During PBL sessions, students are given the autonomy to work at any station on any task they want to. The teacher’s role is to move throughout the stations scaffolding students with the tasks they are taking part in, having authentic conversations students, asking explicit and specific questions, model types of play, demonstrate sharing and cooperation etc.

Some examples of our PBL stations are:

• Creative (art and craft, painting, drawing, building and designing)

• Imaginative (dress ups, real world scenarios such as shops, vets)

• Sensory (play dough, shaving foam, water play)

• Discovery (magnifying glasses, tools to measure, investing pants and seeds)

• Literacy and Numeracy (creating own books, counting, and sorting various materials)

• Indigenous Awareness Sessions (with support from our KESO - Koori Education Support Officer DET)

The activities within the stations are changed on a regular basis and the student’s feedback, ideas and suggestions woven into the PBL stations to maximise student agency and engagement.