Bialik has a spectacular campus and is very well funded. They have outstanding facilities including a student garden, indoor pool, etc. The science rooms aren't on quite the same level as some of the newly remodeled primary school areas, but each classroom has an interactive whiteboard and is quite functional.
I observed two different classes: years 11 and 12. I found the students to be very sharp- when Colin introduced me as a teacher from northern NY one immediately asked me if I lived close to where the prisoners escaped. Another student, upon hearing I went to Cornell, asked if that was the college that is both private and public. Quite impressive- I know very little about the colleges in Australia and never would have made those sort of connections when I was in high school. Perhaps part of it is how western-centric the culture here tends to be (music, tv, etc.), but I think that it goes deeper than that.
So back to the teaching... Colin said that a big part of his job is giving the students exposure to different ideas. They grasp the concepts very quickly so he doesn't feel the need to do extensive rote practice, so he has ample opportunity to discuss current events. This is partially enabled by the longer periods that Bialik utilizes: 60 minutes vs. most other schools' ~50 minute periods. No dedicated prac (lab) periods, but they have class most every day.
One of the things that struck me most about the school was its culture. Colin said that they never have discipline issues, and that the culture of learning is deeply ingrained throughout the school. For example, he commented that he rarely has problems with students completing their work. If anything, students come asking for more! I can't quite say the same thing about my own students... This culture starts at the top- teachers are expected to model ongoing learning for the students and frequently talk about what they've recently learned or seen with their classes. An interesting sidenote was that while Colin did an excellent job sharing cutting edge research with his students, he was equally comfortable admitting that he didn't quite know how pentaquarks worked. The interactions between teacher and student struck me as much more of a conversation than a purely didactic lecture. It was mostly teacher-centered, which Colin freely admitted as much. However, he said that he feels this is the best way to give them the material they need in an efficient manner so that they can spend extra time covering topics from current events or those outside the curriculum.
Bialik is known for having some of the highest test scores in Victoria. I asked what this was from- the qaulity of the teaching or something else. Colin quite humbly stated that it was partially due to his teaching, but also attributed it to the emphasis that the school puts on the value of genuine learning from an early age and also the quality of the students who take his courses.
One interesting note was that his classes do not currently have any female students. Physics is not compulsory in Australia, nor is it a prerequisite for any college courses of study. Chemistry on the other hand, is a prerequisite for the study of medicine, so many more students take that course.
Two final comments
After school I tagged along with another teacher, Alon, who runs the robotics club for middle school students. They were doing some excellent work with a soccer competition and I was really impressed with the level of thinking these young students were putting forth. They also gave me a fascinating lesson on the different pronunciations utilized by Aussies and Kiwis.
Bialik recently had some students travel to the United States to attend Space Camp in Huntsville and Orlando. I had some very interesting conversations with teachers and students about the differences between our societies: they covered the spectrum from food to racism.
At the end of the day I spent way more time at Bialik than I had planned, but it was more than worth it.
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