Three ISA Grade 10 students recently received recognition for their hard work in their Global Online Academy (GOA) courses, as their semester one culminating projects were selected to feature in the online Catalyst Public Showcase.

ISA began a partnership with GOA back in 2021 in order to promote student voice and choice. As a member school, not only did ISA provide students with increased opportunities to broaden their academic horizons with increased course offerings, but also the chance to pursue their passions, discover new subjects which spark their interest, and above all, instil an increased sense of agency. Students are able to choose exactly which subjects to explore, allowing them to tailor their learning programme to the path that most fits them. Student agency is the foundation of the GOA organisation, and the Catalyst Exhibition was created seven years ago to celebrate this.

GOA is soon adopting Catalyst as the culminating project for all of its courses, as it challenges students to find their own voice and agency through creating, designing and exploring their ideas. Each student, with feedback from their teachers and peers, poses a question to drive their project forward, using one of three tracks as a guide: ‘Respond’ which proposes a solution to a chosen UN Sustainable Development Goal; ‘Share’ which applies research to offer a response to a Beautiful Question, or ‘Impact’ which aims to make an impact on a chosen community. 

This year, Catalyst was held from 8-12 December, and students were given opportunities to celebrate each other’s work across all GOA courses and discover what their peers have been working on. Of over 590 student projects in total submitted to GOA during the summer, only 19 of them were selected as exemplary and published in the Catalyst Project 2022-2023 Public Showcase, including ISA Grade 10 students Lilly, Freya and Daniela, as part of their Introduction to Psychology, Architecture and Entrepreneurship in a Global Context courses respectively.

ISA supports students on their individual journeys to self-discovery, challenging them to share their ideas from diverse perspectives and pursue a range of interests and passions outside of traditional classroom learning. Our partnership with GOA continues to be a fantastic opportunity for students to benefit from an increased sense of agency over their own learning experiences, nurturing their confidence to make decisions about their own future path.

Well done, and congratulations to Freya, Lilly and Daniela!