The Magic Science series is a course based on scientific experiments and activities relevant to everyday life, with a focus on the study of chemistry, physics, biology, astronomy and geology as well as their related academic vocabulary and scientific theories.
Under the guidance of our experienced tutors, students are encouraged to design and participate in scientific experiments and discover interesting scientific phenomena and solve problems to fully stimulate the students' interest in scientific exploration and learning. Additionally, students are also taught to summarize experiment results in an accurate and logical manner.
Magic Science is a science exploration course for primary school students from grades 2-6. This course integrates the South Australian Education Departments’ standards for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), ACARA (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority), and Australia's Grades 7-9 Big Science Contest curriculum and competition content to help improve students’ independent thinking and teamwork ability.
The course content also teaches algebraic calculations and report writing skills relevant to scientific learning such as how to logically record findings. By cultivating the students' scientific thinking, we help in laying a solid foundation for students participating in future scientific competitions (Australian Science Olympiads) and endeavors. Refer to 'Sample Booklets' for more details.
Year 7-9 Science Programs
The Magic Science series is a course based on scientific experiments and activities relevant to everyday life, with a focus on the study of chemistry, physics, biology, astronomy and geology as well as their related academic vocabulary and scientific theories.
Under the guidance of our experienced tutors, students are encouraged to design and participate in scientific experiments and discover interesting scientific phenomena and solve problems to fully stimulate the students' interest in scientific exploration and learning. Additionally, students are also taught to summarize experiment results in an accurate and logical manner.
Magic Science is a science exploration class for students from grades 8-9. The course incorporates the scientific academic vocabulary required by ACARA (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority) for grades 8-10 and integrates the vocabulary and scientific concepts into more than 100 carefully selected science activities that are relevant to everyday life.
To better help students in grades 8-9 to lay a strong foundation for scientific theory as fast as possible, Golden Key Education has also organized a team of science teachers specifically for this course. The team has developed and compiled the curriculum from a combination of science competitions (Aus. Science Olympiads) and 11th and 12th grade science learning content. Each team member is not only registered but is also a professional teacher with backgrounds in 11th to 12th grade physics, chemistry and biology. Refer to 'Sample Booklets' for more details.
Course Description
The Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) was introduced in Australia in 1978 as the first Australia-wide mathematics competition for students. It has since spread internationally, with students in more than 30 countries attempting the same problems. In recent years the competition has been available in two formats (online and paper), allowing even more students to participate worldwide.
The AMC is for students of all standards. Students are asked to solve 30 problems in 60 minutes (Years 3–6) or 75 minutes (Years 7–12). The problems are designed to test mathematical thinking and questions are designed so that they can be answered just as quickly without a calculator as with one. The problems get more difficult through the competition, so that at the end they are challenging to the most gifted students. Students of all standards will make progress through the problems, and also be challenged along the way.
Please contact Mr. Pan for our course details.
Maths Olympiads / AMC (Sample Questions)
Programs for 2022 Scholarships & Entrance Exams (Private & Public Streams)
Naturally, selective entry exams will assess the extent to which the candidate has learnt to analyse, understand, communicate and build relationships with others and with the world around them. Throughout their primary schooling, students develop capability in critical and creative thinking as they learn to generate and evaluate knowledge, clarify concepts and ideas, seek possibilities, consider alternatives and solve problems. Critical and creative thinking involves students thinking broadly and deeply using skills, behaviours and dispositions such as reason, logic, resourcefulness, imagination and innovation in all learning areas at school and in their lives beyond school.
Thinking that is productive, purposeful and intentional is at the centre of effective learning. By applying a sequence of thinking skills, students develop an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the processes they can use whenever they encounter problems, unfamiliar information and new ideas. In addition, the progressive development of knowledge about thinking and the practice of using thinking strategies can increase students’ motivation for, and management of, their own learning. They become more confident and autonomous problem-solvers and thinkers.
An astute written response requires the candidate to be creative, innovative, enterprising and adaptable, with the motivation, confidence and skills to use critical and creative thinking purposefully. This capability combines two types of thinking: critical thinking and creative thinking. Though the two are not interchangeable, they are strongly linked, bringing complementary dimensions to thinking and learning.
Critical thinking is at the core of most intellectual activity that involves candidates learning to recognise or develop an argument, use evidence in support of that argument, draw reasoned conclusions, and use information to solve problems. Examples of critical thinking skills are interpreting, analysing, evaluating, explaining, sequencing, reasoning, comparing, questioning, inferring, hypothesising, appraising, testing and generalising.
We support and actively nurture creative thinking. Creative thinking involves candidates learning to generate and apply new ideas in specific contexts, seeing existing situations in a new way, identifying alternative explanations, and seeing or making new links that generate a positive outcome. This includes combining parts to form something original, sifting and refining ideas to discover possibilities, constructing theories and objects, and acting on intuition. The products of creative endeavour can involve complex representations and images, investigations and performances, digital and computer-generated output, or occur as virtual reality.
We encourage candidates to think deeply and differently in order to enrich their ideas and conceptualisations. This is known as concept formation - the mental activity that helps us compare, contrast and classify ideas, objects, and events. Concept learning can be concrete or abstract and is closely allied with meta-cognition. What has been learnt can be applied to future examples. It underpins the organising elements.
Finally, we encourage and actively hone those personal traits and qualities that allow candidates to excel in their process of learning to learn. Dispositions such as inquisitiveness, reasonableness, intellectual flexibility, open- and fair-mindedness, a readiness to try new ways of doing things and consider alternatives, and persistence promote and are enhanced by critical and creative thinking.
Key features about our scholarship programs
Establishing scholarship and selective entry testing is a resource intensive undertaking for any school looking to attract the best and brightest. As such, these activities have been outsourced to a small handful of institutions that specialise in the development, delivery and implementation of academic aptitude testing frameworks. If you are planning to register your child for a scholarship or selective entry test, it is likely to be provided by ACER or Edutest. The rewards for success in these tests are substantial. Students who make the cut emerge with a high degree of self-confidence and motivation. Furthermore, the average financial savings from a scholarship placement is around $75,800 per child over the course of their secondary schooling . The ranking methodology is designed to finely differentiate students at the margins with emphasis given to the top end of performance.
Both ACER and Edutest employ broad capabilities testing methodologies and empirically proven test materials to assess and rank applicants. Candidates are required to demonstrate a range of skills including the ability to interpret, infer, deduce and think critically. Preparation for these tests is vastly differently to preparation for school-based assessments as there is no structured curriculum or content syllabus to follow. Instead, candidates must focus their efforts on their time management, organisation, applied reasoning and problem-solving skills to excel. The tests are age and level specific. They broadly fall under three categories:
• Mathematics & Science
• Humanities - Comprehension & Interpretation
• Written Expression
Golden Key Education is invested in the training and coaching of our next generation of bright thinkers and problem solvers. We believe that in preparing for selective entry examinations, the most appropriate mode of preparation is through visual learning and encouraging practical applications of intuitive decision making. We train our students to think on their feet. Through active learning and mentoring, our students will practice rigorous discipline in their information organisation and possess creative latitude in their ability to adapt their critical thinking to different problem types.
The following sections, and their examples, illustrate how we intend to deliver these outcomes.
Enhanced Writing & Communications
Golden Key’s ‘Brain-It-On’ Adolescent Mental Development program was created to help local students meet their learning needs as well as the educational standards of South Australia. It is a series of classes designed specifically to help students from years 3-6 to broaden their cognitive training and improve independent thinking skills.
Taking into account the differences in English skills and age, the classes are divided into two levels, Level 1 (Basic) and Level 2 (Advanced). This is designed to address the various kinds of problems faced by young students at different stages in their education whilst also laying down a solid foundation to increase their independent thinking capabilities.
Golden Key Education have established the Golden Key teaching team in order to help students cultivate important skills such as logical thinking, creative thinking, focus, memory recall, communication, calculation and rapid reading levels. Integrating the South Australian Education Departments ‘Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority’ (ACARA) standards for years 3-6, the team have designed 4 exciting classes filled with fun activities as well as a course booklet for students. Also included are mathematics and English lessons in accordance to the South Australian syllabus as well as UMAT (Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test) related training. Students will be able to have an enjoyable learning experience whilst also improving their skills and emotional intelligence.
The Brain-It-On program has prepared 4 different classes for both difficulty levels. These four lessons include the Detective Lessons, Patterns & Problem-Solving lessons, Pictorial Memory Lessons and Attention & Time Management Lessons. These lessons include fun and exciting activities like puzzle solving, role playing, memory recall and ‘truth or lie’ games, with a focus on logical & deductive thinking, reading and writing as well as memory association and other activities designed to nurture and encourage learning.
The Detective Lesson portion will present to students a hypothetical scenario, allowing them to take on the role of a detective and improve their focus, observational skills and logical analysis abilities in a fun and exciting setting. Different scenarios will provide different experiences related to observation and reasoning skills. Student will also experience different levels of logical analysis through the presentation of information in a variety of ways to help promote intellectual development as well as logical analysis methods. This is particularly useful for students participating in the AMC Maths Competition during the logical analysis portion of the competition.
The Patterns & Problem-Solving segment of the course combines local ACER Scholarship mathematics courses with the Standard Curriculum to help children develop mathematical pattern recognition and analysis capabilities. This not only benefits students by improving their all-round learning capabilities but also helps students attempting ACER scholarships to attain excellent results.
The Pictorial Memory section will provide students with English paragraphs, flow charts and other different English text and image materials. Through reading and capturing key information within a short period of time and strengthening associative memory to improve rapid memory recall, students will improve their written and logical analysis skills whilst laying a strong foundation for students attempting ACER scholarships and future UMAT tests.
The Truth and Lies section teaches students through games and the use of descriptive language to improve their language analysis and communication skills as well as improving their emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills. This will help students in their future development in both society and the workplace.
The Brain-It-On course will provide a booklet to students to aid them in their study. The booklet each student receives will be based on the educational background of the students and which class they attend (Level 1 or Level 2). After participating in the fun class activities, students can use the booklet to help them review and summarize each lesson.
Please contact Mr. Pan for our course details.
SAT:
First administered in 1926, the SAT was created to democratize access to higher education for all students and to ensure that all students had a chance to go to college. Today, the SAT serves as both a measure of students’ college readiness and as a valid and reliable predictor of college outcomes.
When used in combination with high school GPA, SAT scores are shown to be the best predictor of a student’s likelihood to succeed in college. The SAT is among the most rigorously researched and designed tests in the world. It provides colleges and universities with valuable information about college readiness.
The SAT is part of the SAT Suite of Assessments and over 1.6 million students take the SAT annually. It is accepted or required at nearly all four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. Developed with input from high school teachers, college faculty, and enrollment professionals, the SAT covers core content areas deemed essential for success in college—critical reading, mathematics, and writing.
AP:
There are a million paths to your future. By giving you the opportunity to explore what interests you the most, AP courses help you find and pursue your unique direction.
There are more than 30 AP courses, each one of which connects directly to a wide variety of college majors and careers. For example, if you’re thinking about law enforcement, did you know that it might help to take AP Psychology? Or that, if you want to be a sociologist, AP Statistics could be a good first step?
AP courses also help you transform the subjects you’re enthusiastic about into a fulfilling future. If you’re into studying languages, taking one in AP could help you in everything from a college major in languages to a career in Anthropology, Ethnic Studies, or Fashion Design.
Please contact Mr. Pan for our course details.
Overview:
International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) is a suite of six full-colour competitions designed specifically for primary and secondary students.
ICAS are conducted annually in Australia and in over 20 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, Pacific countries, and America. Top scoring students in each year level in each subject are awarded a UNSW medal. ICAS is conducted by UNSW Global, Educational Assessment Australia.
UNSW Global Pty Limited is a not-for-profit provider of education, training and consulting services and a wholly owned enterprise of the University of New South Wales (UNSW).
ICAS caters for students in years 2 to 12 (years 1 to 12 for Singapore) and assesses students skills in Computer Skills (now Digital Technologies), English, Mathematics, Science, Spelling and Writing.
Please contact Mr. Pan for our course details.
Overview:
The AEAS Assessment is specifically developed or selected for international Primary and Secondary school students wishing to study in Australian and international schools in other countries.
The AEAS English language proficiency tests are developed under contract to AEAS by the Language Testing Research Centre at the University of Melbourne. The test development meets the highest international standards with reliability and validity of test materials well established. The AEAS Report presents accurate information on students’ abilities.
The AEAS Assessment includes:
• English Language Proficiency (2 hours)
• Mathematical Reasoning Ability (30-45 minutes)
• Non-Verbal General Ability (30 minutes approximately)
1. English Language Proficiency:
The English language tests assess a student’s ability using threshold approach. This is based on the minimum level of English language proficiency required before an international student can be expected to cope in Australian schools.
• Year 4 - 6
• Year 7 - 9
• Year 10 - 12
2. Mathematical Reasoning Ability:
All year level has a mathematical reasoning test of 45 minutes.
All mathematical reasoning tests is multiple choice. The test are commercially produced and are designed to test understanding of mathematical principles and ideas. If a question involves terms or symbols which the student is not familiar with, they will be explained in sufficient detail to enable the student to answer the question.
3. Non-Verbal General Ability:
All students complete a multiple choice test free of language which takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. The test administrator is able to give the instructions in the students’ primary language.
The non-verbal reasoning test provides an indication of the student’s general ability level. It provides a measure which is independent of learning in specific school subjects.
Test items involve analysing the sequence of an abstract pattern and selecting the next pattern in the sequence from four or five possible answers. Instructions are only given at the beginning of the test. Students should apply the same principles to all question in the test.
Please contact Mr. Pan for our course details.
It’s a 50-minute, multiple choice competition testing critical thinking and problem-solving skills, not just factual recall, so you can find out what’s really going on inside their heads. Questions are set in real-life, contemporary contexts, making them relatable (and interesting).
Competition questions in the Big Science Competition are aligned with the Australian Curriculum – Science. • Science inquiry skills: including identifying and formulating questions and hypotheses for testing; making predictions, collecting, analysing and evaluating data and drawing valid conclusions; interpreting and communicating information through appropriate representations and media.
• Science as a human endeavour: including the development of science knowledge and processes across cultures and over time; its application in areas of human endeavour; its significance in informing personal and societal decisions and actions; and the influence society has on science.
• Science understanding: core concepts relating to Biological, Chemical, Earth and Space Sciences, and Physical Sciences that are designated at each stage.