AIF | FAQs
FAQs
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Rationale
Why is the SACE moving from the Research Project (RP) to Activating Identities and Futures (AIF)?
Students are living and learning in a local and global context that is changing rapidly around them, and they are engaging with learning and assessment differently now from how they did in the past.
In 2018, the South Australian Government undertook a Stage 2 Review to investigate how senior-secondary education could be improved for the future generation of students. The report noted that “…teaching and learning in the senior years must evolve to support and challenge students to develop deep knowledge entwined with the capabilities to apply that knowledge in the world beyond school”.
In response, the SACE Board worked with all three education sectors (Catholic, government and independent) to reshape curriculum and assessment with the aim of enabling every student to thrive. This includes revitalising the Research Project (RP) to better meet the needs of current and future students in a changing world.
We are also currently working on a range of other projects, such as the Capabilities and Learner Profile project, and the Recognition of Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge and Learning project. You can access information about these in the Innovating the SACE section of the SACE Board website.
Where can I find out more about what happened in the pilots?
Information about the development of AIF, can be found on the SACE Board website.
School readiness
How do I know whether my school is ready to implement AIF in 2025?
School readiness should be determined by the school on a case-by-case basis. Information provided at the Term 2 Teaching and Learning Leader conferences will be useful in supporting schools to make an assessment about what they need to do to implement AIF in 2025. We suggest you consider the logistical and operational implications, such as staffing and timetabling, but also the school’s ability to transition from RP to AIF.
What happens if my school is not ready to implement AIF in 2025?
If your school is not ready to implement AIF in 2025, it can continue to offer the Research Project in 2025, which will be the final year the RP is offered. We ask that you support your staff to attend the professional learning events, and engage with the support materials and resources.
Throughout the remainder of 2024, the SACE Board will be providing Information Sessions and Educator Workshops to help the system prepare for implementation, complemented by a range of online materials and networks. If your school is not ready to implement AIF in 2025, we strongly recommend that representatives from your school engage in these events to assist your preparation for 2026.
What support will SACE provide to schools or teachers so that they can successfully teach AIF?
Schools will be provided with the following to support their implementation of AIF:
- AIF Teaching and Learning Leaders conferences (which can be booked now)
- AIF Teacher implementation workshops (which can be booked now)
- AIF section of the SACE Board website (where additional materials will be added throughout 2024)
- School communications collateral including a letter to families, the subject description, and slides for schools to use to communicate with students and the broader school community are available on our website.
How can schools best support their staff to implement the new subject?
Curriculum leaders responsible for AIF should attend a Teaching and Learning Leader conference. Bookings for these sessions are currently open through the SACE website.
Schools should consider which staff members will be teaching AIF, and support them to attend a Teacher implementation workshop.
Leaders and teachers can also access the AIF material on the SACE website, including supporting materials as they are uploaded, and videos from pilot schools.
You may also like to consider how any existing work at your school may already complement the pedagogical approaches that underpin AIF (agency, natural evidence of learning, metacognition, feedback).
If our school was involved in the pilot in 2024, do we need to attend any more sessions or workshops?
Pilot schools are not required to attend the Teaching and Learning Leader conferences or Teacher implementation workshops, but they are welcome to do so to hear the latest information about AIF, including accessing the updated subject outline and implementation timelines.
What support is available to assist regional schools to attend workshops and information sessions?
The Teaching and Learning Leader conferences will be online, and Teacher implementation workshops will be held at venues across Adelaide, regional South Australia and online. Funding is available if there are significant barriers to attendance for your school. Please contact the SACE Board and talk to a member of the AIF project team.
What support materials are SACE providing for schools to use with the community?
Schools will be supported to communicate with staff and the community via the following:
- Teaching and Learning Leader conferences (which can be booked now)
- School communications collateral including a letter to families, the subject description, and slides for schools to use to communicate with students and the broader school community are available on our website.
Are there any pre-approved Learning and Assessment Plans (LAPs) or exemplar materials for AIF?
AIF does not require a Learning and Assessment Plan. Participants at educator workshops will have the opportunity to engage with student work samples to explore how pilot 2 teachers have navigated the complexity of the new subject. By engaging with a range of work samples, participants will join in professional conversations that focus on how pilot teachers and students have approached the challenges of teaching this new subject. We will provide examples of student achievement against specific assessment features and samples that demonstrate student agency to support teachers in exploring the subject.
Is there a PLATO course?
A PLATO course is in the process of being developed for AIF. In the meantime, initial clarification and exploration of the course will be via face-to-face Teacher implementation workshops.
Are there any online resources that schools can access?
Online resources are being placed on the AIF section of the SACE Board website and will be updated as they become available. This will include a range of on-demand tutorial videos and other collateral.
Relationship to the Research Project (RP)
Do students still need to complete RP?
No. Students who complete AIF are not required to also complete RP. Completing AIF will meet the same compulsory requirement of the SACE.
If a student has already completed RP, do they also need to complete AIF?
No. Students who have already completed RP are not required to complete AIF.
If a student started RP in 2024, but didn’t complete it, what should they be enrolled in for 2024?
Schools should consider to what degree the student has engaged in the learning. If a student has completed significant learning in RP and has almost completed the learning requirements, the school can result them against the RP code in 2025. However, if a student has not engaged in the learning, the school may determine that it is beneficial for the student to be enrolled in AIF and complete that learning program in 2025.
Relationship to Exploring Identities and Futures (EIF)
When are EIF and AIF being implemented in schools?
EIF professional learning and support was provided in 2023 for implementation in 2024 for all schools. Our intention is that Stage 2 Activating Identities and Futures will be implemented in schools in 2025. However, if schools are not ready to implement the new subject, they can continue to offer the Research Project until the end of 2025. Please note, implementation support in 2024 will be focused on AIF.
What are the connections between EIF and AIF?
There is a strong connection between EIF and AIF. The two subjects have been deliberately designed as a progression of learning and function, and to serve as ‘bookends’ to the SACE. The exploration of identities and futures in EIF continues into the Activating Identities and Futures at Stage 2.
Timetable and Operations
What can I put in my curriculum handbook?
Schools are welcome to use the sample AIF description available on the website, and they may adapt to meet the school’s communication format or site context if desired.
How many teaching hours should be allocated to AIF when constructing the timetable?
AIF has been designed as a 10-credit subject that is completed in the equivalent of one semester or 60 nominal hours. Some pilot schools have used different timetabling arrangements, and this is at the school’s discretion.
Can AIF be completed in Year 11 or Year 12?
AIF is a Stage 2 subject, that is typically completed by students in either Year 11 or Year 12. This decision is at the school’s discretion; however teachers and students must be aware that they are undertaking a Stage 2 subject at meet Stage 2 performance standards.
Can AIF be taught via a team-teaching model?
Yes. AIF is a flexible subject that can be taught via different structures in different schools, including through a team-teaching model.
Can AIF be completed offline or via distance-education models?
Yes. During pilot 2, AIF was tested with some schools that successfully delivered the subject via a distance-education or online-learning model.
What is the enrolment code for AIF?
The enrolment code will be 2AIF10.
Students eligible for modified subjects
Is there a modified version of AIF, and what is the enrolment code?
During the second AIF pilot, we tested whether the subject was flexible enough for all learners — including those students who are eligible for a modified program — to experience success if they actively engaged in a learning program. This concept was tested with schools that had enrolments for students eligible for modified programs in mainstream classes, special classes/units, and special schools.
Evaluation data from the pilot revealed that many students who were eligible for modified subjects were on track to achieve a C grade or higher in AIF, using reasonable adjustments. The data also revealed that there are still a small number of students whose learning entitlement can be achieved only through a fully personalised modified curriculum.
In response, AIF (modified) has been developed and is available for teaching in 2025.
However, in the first instance we strongly encourage schools to consider whether students may be able to access learning via the non-modified version if individual reasonable adjustments are made so that students can access their learning entitlement with their peers.
The subject code for Activating Identities and Futures Modified is 2AFM10.
HR & Staffing
What should schools do if they do not have the HR profile/teacher contracts already in place for 2024?
School readiness should be determined by the school on a case-by-case basis. Information provided at the Term 2 Teaching and Learning Leader conferences will be useful in supporting schools to make an assessment about resourcing considerations for implementation AIF in 2025. Schools should consider which teachers are best placed to attend 2024 Educator Workshops and how the school can best develop internal capability and readiness for teaching in 2025.
A limited number of educator workshop sessions will be scheduled for early term 1, 2025, for AIF teachers who are appointed over the holidays.
What is the disposition of an AIF teacher?
AIF does not require any subject-specific knowledge, and there is no requirement that teachers have previously been teachers of Research Project. During the pilot, AIF was successfully taught by middle-school and senior-school teachers at all stages of their careers (graduate through to lead).
This subject is best suited to teachers who value opportunities to develop relationships with students and see the learner as their 'area of expertise', who will embrace the role of being a learner alongside their students, and who are open to seeing evidence of learning in a range of formats.