A Taste Of University Life Excites Year Six Students
A Taste Of University Life Excites Year Six Students
Year six students from St Monica’s Primary School experienced a taste of university life at their recent learning experience at La Trobe University. Multiple groups enjoyed classes in a range of specialty areas such as forensics, health science, formulations and microscopes.
The first group we visited were learning about formulations. They were tasked with creating their own lip glosses. Some were fonder of this project than others, with the girls visibly excited but the boys a little less impressed.
Max said the lip-gloss looked like snot. “I think I’m going to give it to my mum, she’ll like it!”
It was heartening to see a student help another after he asked for help with making his lip-gloss. No hesitation at all, but enthusiasm to assist his fellow classmate. Their teacher was very impressed and delighted to see this behaviour as it demonstrated their advancement in their learning.
Over in the Microscopes class students were looking at dead insects, bugs and flowers through the microscopes. All were clearly engaged in this activity and from their comments they were fascinated at what they saw. A few remarked that they hadn’t ever used a microscope before and found it really cool.
Another group we visited were learning about sugar in the Health Science building. A teacher commented that she was very impressed at how well the students knew the difference between natural and added sugar and their ability to distinguish the two in foods. This class was very interactive, and they had different foods on their tables with the number of tablespoons of sugar that each contained.
It was great to see the intrigue, excitement and optimism of all the students as they participated in their university experience.
Not one student was disconnected or seemed to be having a bad time – a sign of the effectiveness of Passions and Pathways in opening students’ minds to the idea of university study.
The sessions we part of the Passions and Pathways ‘Experience La Trobe’: the third-year it has been offered, as part of the Passions and Pathways experience. Grade six students from Eaglehawk, Lightning Reef and Specimen Hill also participated in this stimulating learning experience. Lunch in the student café was an enjoyable way to finish!
