VAPS is excited to offer PICS programs in 2026! This program is fully subsidised (free) for high-ability government school students through the Department of Education’s Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series.
Please contact VAPS directly to discuss opportunities.
The PICS program is specifically designed to engage and challenge high-ability students in Victorian schools by fostering critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative dialogue, fully aligned with the Victorian Curriculum F–10. These incursions are designed to bring philosophy to your students directly into the classroom without added extra costs relating to travel or venue fees.
The design of these incursions can also be negotiated with the school to suit local context and needs.
Alignment with Victorian Curriculum
This program deliberately integrates multiple learning areas and capabilities from the Victorian Curriculum, especially focusing on the critical and creative thinking capabilities. Students will develop their thinking skills through structured philosophical dialogue, addressing the Critical and Creative Thinking and Personal and Social Capability areas. The program actively supports the Speaking and Listening strand of the English curriculum by encouraging students to articulate, justify, and refine their ideas through reasoned discussion. Furthermore, these incursions are adjustable to your specific school context—the program incorporates content from Humanities, Science, and The Arts, providing interdisciplinary enrichment linked to the students’ inquiry.
Catering to High-Ability Students
High-ability students will be challenged through a two-stage thinking process: first, they engage in isolated reflection on carefully curated philosophical stimuli that are intellectually sophisticated and varied. These stimuli provoke high-level abstract and ethical thinking, inviting students to wrestle with open-ended, complex questions without predetermined answers. Second, students participate in facilitated dialogue where they collaboratively explore these questions with peers of similar high academic capacity from multiple schools. The conversations are student-led rather than facilitator-driven, ensuring that students exercise autonomy in steering discourse toward their own lines of inquiry. This approach nurtures deep cognitive engagement, metacognition, and advanced reasoning skills, aligned with the expectations for enrichment and extension in the Victorian Curriculum for high-ability learners.
Promoting Interaction and Connection
The program emphasizes multi-school groupings to bring together diverse students from various socio-cultural and educational backgrounds, fostering a rich environment for exchanging ideas and perspectives. This diversity promotes not only cognitive challenge but also empathy and social understanding, which underpin the Intercultural Capability of the Victorian Curriculum. By engaging in dialogue rather than debate, students cultivate respect and openness to differing viewpoints, strengthening social bonds and collaborative problem-solving. Regular facilitated sessions build ongoing relationships, enabling students to refine their thinking collectively over time. Partnerships with Victorian agencies such as Museums Victoria, NGV, and Zoos Victoria ensure that discussions remain relevant and connected to real-world contexts, increasing motivation and meaningful engagement.
In summary, this program offers a high-calibre, interdisciplinary platform that rigorously challenges high-ability students, develops essential curriculum capabilities, and fosters meaningful interaction and connection between learners, addressing key priorities of the Victorian Curriculum F–10.
VAPS thanks the Victorian Government and the Victorian Challenge & Enrichment Series for funding support with regards to this program in 2026.
