GTAC? A Mystery
INTERVIEW WITH GTAC’S TONY CHIOVITTI
By Jaclyn Huynh
Tony Chiovitti. A member and educator of one of Victoria’s specialist centres at GTAC. What do we know about GTAC? We’ve all been there at least once but that doesn't really give us an insight into what actually occurs in this ominous building. What do they do? What are they teaching us? Does anyone really know what goes around in this institute?
Not a lot of people are aware of what happens around GTAC. Here’s what Tony Chiovitti tells us:
“GTAC is one of Victoria's maths and science specialist centres, there are actually six of them in Victoria and one of them happens to be sited here at University High School, and we run programs for students of all Victoria from years 5 through to year 12s. All of our programs are focused on life sciences, which doesn't necessarily have to mean biology, it could also include other disciplines such as industry maths, physics, and computer science, but the idea is that life science is the theme.”
Next question: Do you [Mr. Chiovitti] feel as though you are a part of UniHigh considering the fact that not a lot of people know what happens around GTAC?
“I do feel like I’m a part of UniHigh, I don't think it's often appreciated. But we do interact a lot with the teachers here at UniHigh. So to answer your question, yes I do because I know a good amount of the teachers and we do interact quite a bit not just for education.”
Do you wish GTAC was more ‘well known’ or put on a pedestal?
“I think if UniHigh students actually appreciated what they have here is something that is a resource for all Victorian schools, I think that would be valuable for them to know and I think in many ways, it's very highly regarded, the fact that GTAC is here actually also raises the profile of the school.”
Could you describe your role in GTAC and how your job works?
“It's an educational role. So what we do is we design and develop programs that are based on life science, and it's modern, contemporary science that we're trying to showcase with students. So part of it is that teaching is part of the development of those programs, but it's also helping to oversee the students who come and visit the centre every day, they come from all over Victoria. It's also working with scientists in the neighbourhood to help develop those programs, so we do a lot of things in collaboration with those scientists. And a lot of those scientists will come in and help with the teaching in the program. So, probably UniHigh students who have visited us will know that they actually work in small groups with the scientist mentor, who guides them through the experiments and that's what sort of gives that special flavour of the GTAC programs. But we're involved in all of that plus administration, and other things which need to be attended to.”
What do you enjoy about your job?
“I enjoy pretty much everything about it. I enjoy working with students, enjoy working with scientists, I enjoy working with my colleagues, I enjoy the excitement of being able to engage with modern life sciences, and being able to share that wonder and that passion with visiting students.”
Do you wish you could interact more with the students? Why or why not?
“You’ve got to bear in that we're dealing with different schools every day, and so UniHigh students in that regard will mean they have a special place. So whenever they come it's always an occasion for us. We're delighted whenever UniHigh students come over. I think generally we see them I think for VCE and also for years 8 and 10. That might be the case. So if you're a student at UniHigh, you'll probably get exposure and if you choose that sort of path, you’ll probably get exposure to GTAC programs throughout the time that you're here.”
My last question is; what is often your impression on new students such as those at Unihigh who come for the first time or students from other schools across Victoria?
“Well, usually when students come here, I'll spend part of the beginning of the program with the education officer. So if you're asking from the student's point of view, that is what they're experiencing. Usually what we'll do is we'll introduce what the themes are going to be, we might work with the students, to enable the students to actually start building some concepts in that area. So it’s about cells, for example, it's to understand what cell structure is you know, depending on what program you're doing, it's to start building a foundation, but then what will happen is that for the bulk of the program, most of the program, the students will then move to the benches, and it's really hands-on doing lots of experiments. You know, being able to work with a scientist mentor, using technology, that's pretty much the same sort of technology that'd be using in the research labs like next door across the road, but being able to do that, the students themselves use that equipment to solve a problem or to answer some question that's posed and begin a project, hacking the scientific concepts, which will be related to the curriculum, but it goes beyond that. And most importantly, reports working with a scientist mentor, as well. So that's it's kind of like building that relationship and using the science mentor as a source of inspiration, a role model. So that's the student perspective.”
To summarise, GTAC isn't as odd as you might believe. It serves a very important role, and as students, we should be grateful to be so close to such an institution. The value of science teaching cannot be overstated, and we are extremely lucky to have the opportunity to do it in a real working space.