The Broadening
Horizons Program
Program Overview
Build learning and career aspirations of the students, develop the enterprise skills students will need in the future world of work, contribute to Gippsland’s prosperity and growth, create a link between the curriculum and the workplace, and provide real-world learning opportunities by linking students with industry and community.
Watch our video for a quick introduction
Currently implemented in20+ Schools throughout Victoria
Who is the program for?
Local industry and community organisations, schools from Grade 3 to Year 10, parents and carers.
What does the implementation process look like?
A member of the Broadening Horizons Team will support you through every stage of the implementation, starting from partnership formation, program planning and delivery, professional development and continuous improvement.
Why the program exists
The program was co-designed in response to some research undertaken initially in 2013, which showed that students in Gippsland face significantly increased challenges compared to their counterparts in metro Melbourne, Student engagement, high school completion rates and youth unemployment rates all stood out as signs that young people in Gippsland need attention and these challenges remain today.
To address these challenges, Broadening Horizons was co-designed by community leaders, government and local industry representatives, with the thinking that linking schools with industry would help to lift the aspirations of our young people by providing high-quality exposure to the world of work. We know that real-world learning experiences have the greatest impact when education providers and employers work together with students early and intensely. Moreover, by developing students’ understanding of enterprise skills and how these skills will equip them for lifelong learning, we can better prepare younger people for the future world of work. And the research shows this to be the case.
So, what do we do to respond as a program: We connect schools with industry through meaningful partnerships, with the aim that these partnerships ultimately play a role in shaping students’ futures through exposure to authentic career education. This means that the program embraces real-work learning for young people to gain a sense of what they could do into the future. A key goal of the program is to open students’ eyes to the wider world of work around them. We do this through building aspiration, increasing school engagement with industry, parents and community, contributing to prosperity, and improving student engagement.
What you can expect from the program
Learning has a local and global focus that uses community expertise Students’ enterprise skills are developed through real-world learning Partnerships are mutually beneficial and activities are co-planned A focus on students from grades 3 – 10 Parental engagement and family connection are factored into activity planning A lively community of practice that supports the continuous improvement of all aspects of the Program Evidence of impact.
With more than30+ Industry partners
We’re the link between
Industries, Schools & Parents
Industries
Nurture a positive and productive partnership with teachers. Provide a contemporary problem of practice that forms the focus of the student learning experience while also being present to mentor and guide students. Participate in the community of practice and utilise available professional development.
Schools
Nurture positive and productive partnerships with industry partners. Enable the linking of the program to curriculum and plan for the delivery within the school timetable. Participate in the community of practice and utilise available professional development.
Parents
Opportunity to get more involved in their child’s learning experience, provide support and insights into the world of work, attend pitch events and celebrate the achievements of students
Implemented at your own paceFlexible Program delivery
The program is inherently flexible in how it can be delivered. Programs have in the past been delivered in various ways to suit the individual school, such as:
Across a full term (6-8 weeks)
As an intensive (5 days consecutive delivery)
Year-long delivery (multiple industry partnerships)
Customised delivery to suit specific requirements
How the program is implementedThe Learner Journey
Broker the relationship
The Broadening horizons Team broker a relationship between Industry partners and participating schoolsPlan and prepare
The broadening horizons Team, the teaching staff and the industry mentors meet to create a partnership plan and program plan.
Mentor meets the students
The industry mentor attends the school to meet with the students who are then organised into groups and presented with an industry challenge.
The mentors meet the student’s onsite
The Industry Mentor supports the students during a visit to the challenge site and discusses the problem at hand and prompts thoughts for possible solutions
Students problem solve
The students develop ideas and solutions in their groups with support from their teachers and industry mentors. The industry mentor visits regularly to challenge thinking whilst the students are developing a prototype of their solution
Students prototype and pitch their solution
Students present their prototype insights and reflections to the wider school community and industry partners through a showcase and receive feedback on their pitch.
Review and Record
The Students review their experiences and record their reflections throughout the process.
Program Debrief
Students present their prototype insights and reflections to the wider school community and industry partners through a showcase and receive feedback on their pitch.
Broadening HorizonsLearning Model
In the program, students explore industry-related real-world problems and exposure to professions and industry skills requirements via an enquiry based/ project-based model. The Broadening Horizons Learning model is broken up into four phases and mirrors the methodologies used in workplaces to navigate problems of practice.
Pre-workPlanning
Planning for teachers and industry partners includes planning both the program for delivery and planning around the partnership. Two of the central documents resulting from ‘planning’ is the partnership plan and the program plan.
Planning may also include preparing the student’s mindsets (employing a growth mindset) for undertaking this work and understanding the model of enquiry (the design thinking process).
Teachers need to consider, based on the student cohort how will you deliver and reinforce knowledge around careers, industry and skills.
UnderstandEnquire / Define
Students meet their industry mentors and learn about their industry partners including careers and pathways information, and the types of skills involved in professions.
Students are presented with a selection of industry challenges that they can choose to work on with their industry mentor (s). Students work over a period of time (term, semester) with their mentor to develop a solution. They learn more about the industry, and the different professions involved in solving the problem, as they delve deeper into the problem. They focus on enterprise skills development throughout the project.
DesignIdeate / Prototype
Students use several tools and strategies, provided by both industry mentor(s) and teachers to develop ideas and solutions to test. They test their ideas with industry, peers, and other stakeholders (often industry experts or potential users). They develop a prototype of their solution.
DeliverTest / Launch
Students test their prototype and refine it. They prepare to present their prototype and insights, learnings, and reflections back to the industry. They showcase their solutions at Broadening Horizons workshops and in their school to parents, peers, industry, and the broader community.
EvolveReview / Improve
Students review their work and overall experience. They record their observations and reflections and how they could improve. They sign off and debrief with their industry mentor. They are encouraged and supported by teachers to maintain contact with industry mentors and return the following year to present their experiences to a new cohort of students undertaking the program. They are given the option to participate again in a mentor capacity alongside the industry the following year.
Our trusted program partners
FAQs
The following list of frequently asked questions should provide some insight into any unanswered questions you might have about our program. If you still have questions, please feel free to contact us.
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The program is fully funded by the Victorian State Government and there is no cost to schools or industry to participate.
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The BH team support teachers and industry mentors to deliver their programs. Professional development, as well as planning and delivery resources, are provided by the team.
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Broadening Horizons has existing relationships with many local industries and community organisations throughout our region. The team also can help with establishing new partnerships with new industry partners not currently participating in the program.
Is private industry involved?
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Yes. We work with a number of private industry partners throughout our region.
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No. Broadening Horizons has run in independent schools and is available to all schools.