Trinity Bay State High School, established in 1960, is a co-educational institution located in Manunda, Queensland, Australia. Reflecting the multicultural nature of Cairns, about 48% of students speak a language other than English at home, and approximately 35% identify as Indigenous, with many being Torres Strait Islander. The school's motto, "Academic, Innovative, Caring," underscores its commitment to providing a comprehensive and inclusive education. During Term 4 of 2019, the school participated in a pilot program with Code Avengers to explore new and inclusive ways of engaging students in digital technologies.
Trinity Bay State High School serves a diverse student population, including a significant proportion of Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander students. However, existing teaching and learning programs did not fully cater to the varied cultural backgrounds and experiences of these students, leading to disengagement in digital technologies education.
While the school had used other coding platforms like Code.org and Grok Academy, many students struggled to connect with the content due to unfamiliar cultural references and a lack of relatability. For example, Torres Strait Islander students found difficulty engaging with Grok Academy because of its reliance on Western pop culture references, such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, which were not widely recognized in their communities. This cultural disconnect limited their ability to fully engage with and benefit from digital learning experiences.
Furthermore, the school needed a platform that could support both experienced and novice digital technologies (DT) teachers by providing structured progress tracking, adaptive learning paths, and differentiated instruction to accommodate students with varying levels of ability and learning needs. The goal was to find a solution that would not only increase engagement but also ensure equitable learning opportunities for all students, particularly those who had previously struggled in traditional digital technologies programs.
To address these challenges, Trinity Bay State High School partnered with Code Avengers, an interactive platform designed to teach coding, computational thinking, and web development in a way that is engaging and accessible to all learners.
Key features that contributed to the platform’s success included:
Character and narrative-driven lessons that resonated with students from diverse backgrounds.
Alignment with the Australian curriculum, ensuring relevant and pedagogically sound content.
User-friendly interface, enabling both experienced and inexperienced DT teachers to facilitate lessons effectively.
Built-in diagnostic tools to track student progress and identify both struggling and high-achieving students.
Gamification elements, such as badges, points, and challenges, that motivated students to engage with the content and persist through difficult concepts.
Real-world applications, where students could apply their coding skills to practical problems, fostering a deeper understanding and making learning more relevant to their experiences.
Customisable lesson paths, allowing teachers to tailor the curriculum to individual student needs and learning styles, making digital education more inclusive and adaptable.
“This is really fun. I just want to get a high score and I’m learning coding at the same time.”
— Year 7 Student, Trinity Bay SHS
Implementation and Key Findings
Throughout the pilot, the impact of Code Avengers became increasingly evident:
Higher Engagement: Students, particularly Year 7 Indigenous girls, demonstrated increased enthusiasm and success compared to previous platforms.
Improved Differentiation: Special needs students, including those with cognitive and physical disabilities, were able to engage effectively with the platform, often exceeding expectations.
Support for At-Risk Students: Code Avengers was successfully used for students in alternative education settings, such as in-school detention, and for those experiencing social anxiety or bullying, providing them with a safe and rewarding learning experience.
Seamless Teacher Support and Onboarding: Code Avengers ensured a smooth onboarding experience, providing responsive technical support and professional development sessions to help educators maximise the platform’s potential.
The Code Avengers pilot at Trinity Bay State High School demonstrated the effectiveness of culturally responsive, character-driven educational technology in improving engagement and outcomes for a diverse student body. The platform’s structured approach, ease of implementation, and built-in assessment tools made it a valuable resource for both students and teachers.
The success of the pilot has encouraged further adoption of Code Avengers at Trinity Bay, not only within core Digital Technologies classes but also in Design courses to introduce HTML, CSS, and web development. Given its success, the school sees Code Avengers as a viable long-term educational tool for engaging a broad range of students, particularly those from historically underrepresented backgrounds in STEM.