Instead of downtime after school, 12 high-achieving young students have opted for weekly classes in computer coding and circuitry challenges at USC’s Fraser Coast campus.

The Years 7, 8 and 9 students from Urangan State High School’s Academic and Cultural Excellence program are being mentored through the tricky mental tasks by USC Bachelor of Primary Education students.

During the classes, the students use codes and circuits to create different instruments controlled by sensors and signals, including interactive traffic lights, a Morse code generator and a motion sensor.

USC Lecturer in Education Dr David Martin said the six-week program was a partnership between USC Fraser Coast and Urangan State High to develop STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills.

“The focus of these classes is hands-on learning and bringing innovation to the classroom,” Dr Martin said.

“It gives USC’s Education students the opportunity to expand their skills at teaching STEM subjects, as well as developing their confidence, self-management skills and employment outcomes as they train to become educators.

“The high school students get to challenge themselves by taking part in an interactive learning journey involving raw computer programming and an open-source electronics platform."

The three USC Education students taking part in the mentoring workshops are Mathew Wenzel, Brittany Soames and Julie Curtis.

— Clare McKay