Abstract:
A radical approach to school work organisation, curriculum and pedagogy at Year 9 was developed in response to the needs of the Year 9 cohort. Its main features were a residency at Clunes, a City campus experience, and an autonomous program at the Glen Waverley Campus. Two teacher teams were established with the freedom to design curriculum and pedagogy which best matched the needs and interests of young adolescents. This paper describes the issues and dilemmas faced when: a) interposing this radical 'interval' in the context of traditional schooling; and b) requiring teachers to work collaboratively in teams. Both qualitative and quantitative measures were used to evaluate the impact on both teachers and students.