Explore8 – Where Real-World Learning Meets Purpose and Passion
What happens when you take 192 Year 8 students out of their regular timetable and invite them to solve real-world problems with creativity, compassion and courage? You get Explore8, a dynamic, hands-on learning experience that has completely immersed our students over the past week.
Explore8 is our signature emPower project for Year 8s, and it sets our girls apart. It is an immersive week of learning that uses the design thinking process to guide students through discovering a social or ethical issue, brainstorming possible solutions and developing a realistic idea they can test and reflect on. It’s education with purpose and it’s driven by the students themselves.
From Interview to Impact
The journey begins before Explore8 week even starts. Students spend time identifying a problem they are passionate about, then seek out someone to interview to learn more. The insights from these interviews form the basis for the next step: clearly defining the issue they want to address.
Once Explore8 officially begins, the girls enter the ideate phase, where big thinking is not just encouraged, it’s expected. Students are challenged to come up with many possible solutions before selecting one to develop further. Their final idea must be achievable, ethical, and importantly, financially viable.
The Explore8 Design Thinking Process
To guide their learning, students follow a structured design thinking process:
- Empathise – Conduct an interview to understand someone else’s experience and uncover real needs.
- Define – Analyse the insights and clearly articulate the problem they want to solve.
- Ideate – Brainstorm as many creative solutions as possible, then choose one to pursue.
- Prototype – Design and build a draft version of their solution. How will it work? What makes it better?
- Test – Share the prototype with their original interviewee or target audience for feedback. Can it be improved? Is it financially viable?
This process empowers students to think deeply and act meaningfully.
Learning from Real-World Innovators
Throughout Explore8 our students heard from inspiring alumni guest speakers who offered their own experience of tackling big problems with heart and innovation. These speakers, including our own Principal Jennifer Oaten, inspired our students with stories of resilience, leadership and the power of small actions to create meaningful change:
- Nicola Principe (2014), a cancer researcher completing her PhD in immunotherapy, showed students how the design thinking process mirrors scientific research, from hypothesis to solution.
- Lynne Loo (2009) spoke passionately about the global challenge of food waste and how sustainability starts with the choices we make.
- Emily Daniels (2014) shared stories from her time nursing on board the Mercy Ships, bringing compassion and courage to the forefront.
- Shannon Ziegelaar (2009), co-founder of Buddiup and Sisterup, shared how she uses empathy-driven design to support young people with disabilities to live healthier, more connected lives.
- Jennifer Oaten (1985), spoke on empathy and leadership, two of the most important qualities for any change-maker.
emPowering Girls to Think Big
Explore8 isn’t about coming up with perfect solutions. It’s about learning to think critically, act ethically and grow through the process. The week challenges students to:
- Be curious about the world around them
- Show respect for differing perspectives
- Build resilience through testing and refining their ideas
- Take initiative in creating a solution that matters
These are the qualities that will serve them far beyond the classroom.
Through Explore8, our students have created thoughtful, realistic projects that respond to real needs. Some may not have worked perfectly the first time, and that’s part of the learning.
Learning isn’t just about ticking boxes or getting the right answer. Through Explore8, students discover how to think with empathy, act with integrity and turn bold ideas into meaningful action. It’s this kind of learning that leaves a lasting mark and helps shape the future leaders our world needs.
- DesignThinking, Explore8Program, Featured, MercyValuesinEducation, SantaMariaCollegeemPower, StudentInnovation, StudentInnovationProjects, Year8RealWorldLearning
Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
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