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In Focus
Inside
Expert interview Dr Gerard Calnin explores what makes for successful school evaluation
Top tips How best to do effective teacher research
Alumni Three university students share their inspirational journeys
Issue 33, January 2020
THE MAGAZINE FOR CAMBRIDGE SCHOOLS WORLDWIDE
Making an impact How do we measure what really makes a difference in education?
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ISSUE 33, JANUARY 2020
Contents News 4 Update
The latest news, including Cambridge Global Perspectives Week in March
In focus: Evaluating impact 6 Introduction
What works in education, for whom, when and under what circumstances?
8 The great and the good What makes a great teacher?
10 Introducing CEM The Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring joins the Cambridge family
11 Top tips Advice on classroom research
13 Self-regulated learning School students in Cambridge employ strategies for learning
Welcome
14 Expert interview Dr Gerard Calnin explains how to make a success of school evaluation with data and external accountability
Case study 16 Nahar International School
For one school in Mumbai, the Cambridge School Self-Evaluation Service led to bespoke teacher training
Feature 18 What they did next…
Alumni share their stories
Behind the scenes 21 The Service Development
Manager The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, school re-approval visits and more
Support for schools 22 New resources and guides
Our latest products and services
Professional development 24 Support for educators
Cambridge School Leader and Teacher Standards
A view from... 27 Portugal
About us Cambridge Assessment International Education prepares school students for life, helping them develop an informed curiosity and a lasting passion for learning. We are part of the University of Cambridge.
The new year is often a period for self- refl ection; a time when many of us take stock of our lives and make changes for the future. What will you be looking to do di� erently over
the next 12 months? Personally, I’m looking forward to making more of an impact by focusing my e� orts on areas where I can make the biggest di� erence.
As education professionals, too, we must always be mindful of how well we’re doing, evaluating the impact we’re having on our students’ learning outcomes, and assessing where improvements can be made. In this issue, our In Focus section looks at measuring the e� cacy of our classroom practice. On page 8, Rob Coe, of Evidence Based Education, shares his defi nition of what makes a teacher ‘great’ – that is, a willingness to do what it takes to be more e� ective, when measured, year on year.
Turn to page 14 for Dr Gerard Calnin’s take on successful school self-evaluation. We welcome the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring to the Cambridge family – read more on page 10 about the formative assessments they provide. Plus, there’s all the usual news about developments to our programmes and support.
We’re already busy planning the next issue of Cambridge Outlook, which will take its inspiration from our fi rst Cambridge Global PerspectivesTM Week, running from 1 to 7 March (see more on page 4). We would love schools to get involved, so please do look out for more information at www.cambridgeinternational.org
Meanwhile, let us know what you think of this issue by emailing [email protected]. My hope, as always, is that you’ll fi nd it a thought-provoking and inspirational read.
Any feedback on this issue? Anything you would like to read about in the next issue? Contact us at: Cambridge Outlook magazine, Cambridge Assessment International Education, The Triangle Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8EA, UK t: +44 1223 553261 f: +44 1223 553558 e: [email protected]
Cambridge Outlook is published on behalf of Cambridge Assessment International Education by John Brown. www.johnbrownmedia.com [email protected] For John Brown: Rebecca Crane, Editor Cover Illustration: Kiki Ljung
Cambridge Outlook is printed on paper that is certifi ed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an organisation that works to promote the practice of sustainable forestry worldwide. The FSC certifi cation label on this magazine guarantees that the trees that have been harvested to produce it are replaced or allowed to generate naturally.
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CONTENTS
Christine Özden Chief Executive, Cambridge Assessment International Education
Keeping you up to date with news from Cambridge International and our schools around the worldN ews
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@CambridgeInt www.facebook.com/cambridge.int www.cambridgeinternational.org/linkedin www.instagram.com/cambridgeint
4 CAMBRIDGE OUTLOOK ISSUE 33, 2020
Cambridge Schools Conference in the US
The US will host the fi nal Cambridge Schools
Conference in our 2019/20 series. Exploring this year’s theme of Evaluating impact: how effective is our school and classroom practice?, the conference will take place from 19 to 20 June 2020 in Orlando. We will also be hosting pre-conference workshops on 17 and 18 June. Learn more at www.cambridge international.org/conference
We’re inviting Cambridge schools worldwide to take part in Cambridge Global Perspectives™ Week from 1 to 7 March 2020.
The week will give students and teachers the chance to fi nd out more about our Cambridge Global Perspectives programme – showing them how they can start to develop skills for life while learning about global issues.
Free Global Perspectives lesson plans for primary and secondary students will be available to download from our website soon, ready for teaching during
the week. Each lesson will be an hour long and focus on developing one key skill. We will be asking participating schools to share what they did during the lesson on our social media channels using the hashtag #GlobalPerspectivesWeek.
Schools already o� ering Cambridge Global Perspectives can get involved by sharing what they are doing in their own Global Perspectives lessons and projects that week, again using the hashtag #GlobalPerspectivesWeek.
We will also be revealing the fi ndings of our Global Perspectives Survey
featuring the views of thousands of students aged 13 to 19 on global issues, as well as sharing stories from students and teachers on why they love the subject.
The Cambridge Global Perspectives programme o� ers students from primary upwards the chance to develop life-long skills, including critical thinking, research and collaboration.
For regular updates on how your school can get involved in Cambridge Global Perspectives Week, and to sign up to take part in the special one-hour lessons, go to cambridgeinternational.org/gpweek
#CambridgeLearners Cambridge schools are sharing their student success stories on Instagram. Follow us and use the hashtag
#CambridgeLearners to stay connected with Cambridge schools and learners across the globe.
Get involved in Global Perspectives Week
CAMBRIDGEINTERNATIONAL.ORG 5
NEWS
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A pilot scheme to develop bilingual education in Vietnam has reached a major milestone with the o� cial registration of Chu Van An High School as the fi rst state high school in Vietnam to achieve Cambridge International School status.
Hanoi People’s Committee and Hanoi Department of Education and Training launched a pilot scheme in 2017 teaching a mix of the national curriculum in Vietnamese, and English language courses delivered in partnership with Cambridge International.
The successful project was extended to a further seven secondary and high
First state high school in Vietnam joins the Cambridge community
schools in the capital in 2018, giving learners the chance to follow the Cambridge Lower Secondary maths and science curricula and to study Cambridge IGCSEs and Cambridge International A Levels.
Regional conferences Our regional schools conferences are taking place in March and April this year.
Our fi rst ever Latin America Schools Conference takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 26 to 27 March 2020. It explores the theme Achieving greatness in education communities: why everyone matters.
The East Asia Schools Conference in Wuxi, China (18 to 19 April), focuses on building a refl ective and engaged school community.
In Turkey, we’ll bring schools together for our seventh Cambridge International Day on 21 to 22 March.
Contact your local team for details of regional events at www.cambridgeinternational.org/ regionalcontacts
Research insights
Students benefit most from linear assessments The UK’s Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual), the qualifications regulator, has published a report* on the impact on students and teachers of the UK government’s reforms to GCSE exams over recent years.
In the early 2000s, the UK government introduced a ‘modular’ approach to GCSEs. This meant students taking exams at intervals throughout the syllabus.
From 2013, the government reverted to linear assessments for GCSEs, i.e. taking all
exams at the end of a course. The move was partly inspired by Cambridge IGCSE and International A Level, which have always used the linear model based on our own research of student outcomes and classroom practice.
The Ofqual research concludes modular exams did not produce the anticipated better results, and that the return to linear assessment “was a response to concerns that modular examinations led to constant testing and were partly responsible for a perception that exam standards had declined in England.”
Studies show Cambridge qualifications are same standard as UK equivalents An independent study by UK NARIC, the UK’s national agency for the recognition and comparison of international qualifications and skills, has found that the Cambridge IGCSETM can be considered of a comparable level to the reformed GCSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
This latest study builds on findings
in 2016 where Cambridge IGCSE demonstrated overall comparability to UK GCSE standard and Cambridge International AS & A Level to UK A Level standard. Leading universities around the world accept Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International AS & A Level as equivalent to UK GCSE and AS & A Levels. The study gives reassurance that recent reforms to UK qualifications have not affected the university recognition of Cambridge qualifications.
Read the UK NARIC benchmarking studies at www.cambridgeinternational. org/our-standards
6 CAMBRIDGE OUTLOOK ISSUE 33, 2020
IN FOCUS A
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Evaluating impact Lee Davis, Cambridge International’s Deputy Director, Education introduces this issue’s In Focus, which explores how we evaluate what really makes a difference in education
s educators, we often ask ourselves what works in education; what helps students to progress beyond what we would expect of
them anyway; and what improves overall attainment? Here, at Cambridge International, we see any intervention or programme aiming to address these questions as a theory of change. And, in doing so, we must establish three key factors:
1. What are the student outcomes we are interested in making visible to stakeholders? Is it simply attainment in public examinations, or something more nuanced, such as enhancing students’ belief that they can succeed?
2. Next, what is the mechanism that will bring about these outcomes and what will fire this mechanism? This is the programme or intervention that we, as educators, believe will bring about the outcomes we are looking for, and includes things like a new reading intervention, changes in pedagogical approach, or a myriad of other practices aimed at raising standards in schools.
3. Finally, and this is critical to a more sophisticated understanding of what works in education, we need to establish context. What is the environment in which these programmes are being administered? What are its unique characteristics and can the environment be confined so as to prevent any external influences from interfering with the mechanism’s operation?
In this way, we can state that an action is causal only if its outcome is triggered by a mechanism acting in context. So, perhaps the
“What interventions will bring about the student outcomes we are looking for?”
question is not, ‘What works in education?’ but rather, ‘What works for whom, when and under what circumstances?’ Only then can we be more confident in the conclusions we arrive at.
With that in mind, we invite you to explore this edition of Cambridge Outlook magazine, where we attempt to address the problem of evaluation and understanding impact in a number of ways.
Professor Rob Coe looks at the research into
In this section 8 Professor Rob Coe on what makes a great teacher
10 Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring joins us
11 Tips on how best to do classroom research
13 Students refreshed by self-regulated learning
14 Dr Gerard Calnin on whole-school evaluation
16 Nahar International School evaluation case study
CAMBRIDGEINTERNATIONAL.ORG 7
INTRODUCTION
e�ective teaching practice and challenges long-held notions of what we think works in education – such as reducing class sizes, or giving students lots of praise (pages 8–9).
The article by Dr Gerard Calnin considers the role of whole-school evaluation in helping schools to improve. He suggests, on pages 14–15, that only through obtaining data and feedback from all school stakeholders (parents, teachers and students) will leadership have the necessary information upon which to act and form the next school improvement plan.
Dr Sue Brindley, a senior lecturer at the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Education, invites teachers to evaluate their own practice through action research and provides some valuable tips on how to do this. Turn to page 11, to find out how “we can, through research, have an informed and empowered professional voice and thus be part of the national and global conversation about education.”
The In Focus section also includes a case study on Nahar International School, Mumbai, India. This school went through Cambridge International’s School Self-Evaluation Service last year and, as a result of this process, implemented a professional development programme for their teachers focusing on assessment for learning and di�erentiated instruction. Find out, in the feature on pages 16–17, how Cambridge International helped Nahar International School with its professional
development and, subsequently, how they evaluated its impact.
Finally, this edition is an open invitation for you all to reflect upon your practice and to honestly evaluate how well you are doing. Educating young people and preparing them for future study and the world of work is one of humankind’s noblest pursuits. Therefore, we encourage you to take the
opportunity to explore some of the ideas and practices presented here; to attend related conferences and workshops; such that you are able to confidently answer, ‘what works for your students, when and under what circumstances?’
“We can, through research, have an informed and empowered professional voice and thus be part of the national and global conversation about education”
8 CAMBRIDGE OUTLOOK ISSUE 33, 2020
EVALUATING IMPACTIN FOCUS
ROB COE Rob Coe joined Evidence Based Education in February 2019 from his role as Professor in the School of Education at Durham University in the UK. He is a co-author of the Education Endowment Foundation’s
Teaching and Learning Toolkit, lead author of the Sutton Trust report What Makes Great Teaching? and a co-author of the Teacher Development Trust’s Developing Great Teaching report.
What makes a great teacher? We could spend a lifetime trying to decipher that. It’s complex… But, actually, I do have a simple defi nition: a great teacher is one who is willing to do what it takes to be demonstrably more e� ective, when measured, year on year. It’s our professional and moral responsibility to keep on learning and to be as good as we can be.
Do smaller class sizes enable our teachers to be great(er)? Research informs us that smaller class sizes have only a modest impact on students’ learning outcomes. This may be counter-intuitive, especially if we think good teaching means giving students individual attention and feedback.
Consider, even in a small class, you can’t spend much time giving one-to-one feedback. So, a teacher needs to have strategies for feedback and individual attention that work in a class situation. That takes skill and expertise. Great teachers have e� ective strategies for use with fi ve students, or 35. They’re able to assess whether learners have understood ideas and give feedback tailored to needs.
Having said that, research has indicated that smaller class sizes have a big e� ect on teacher stress levels, wellbeing and motivation. This is
We ask Rob Coe of Evidence Based Education what makes ‘great’ teaching?
THE GREAT and THE GOOD
ROB COE
Research can sometimes challenge the things you thought you knew. Rob Coe welcomes this – it makes you think again and think harder
CAMBRIDGEINTERNATIONAL.ORG 9
“A great teacher is one who is willing to do what it takes to be more e� ective, when measured, year on year”
EXPERT INTERVIEW
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Rob Coe delivers his keynote speech at the Cambridge Schools Conference UK, September 2019
noteworthy as we need to retain our teachers and keep them motivated to be better year on year.
What about the role the most skilled teachers play in motivating students? Clearly, there’s a relationship between motivation and attainment. One viewpoint is that motivation drives attainment and, of course, that’s true. But, in the context of school learning, it works conversely too. Kids who have experience of success and believe they can succeed are more motivated.
School is an environment where every child knows how well they are doing, relative to others. If, after years of school, the feedback has been that you are not winning at this game, you are not going to be motivated. Studies that have captured attainment and motivation, over a period of years, suggest that attainment drives motivation, not vice versa.
So, as a teacher, if you have an unmotivated class, it may be productive to fi nd a way to, almost, ‘trick’ your students into achieving. When you’ve given them a taste of what it is to be a successful learner, then motivation will follow.
Do the best teachers give a lot of praise? Research suggests that too much praise isn’t good. It transmits subliminal messages that are not helpful, for example, if you get praised for something that isn’t really that special, then the subtext is we’re not expecting you to do anything better than this.
Teachers, therefore, have to be careful. While it’s natural to want to praise kids, too much of the wrong kind of praise has a negative e� ect.
The research around Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindsets and the ability to believe you can improve is powerful. Mindsets, and the di� erent attributions that learners have for why they are successful/or not, are so important. When giving feedback, a successful teacher will cue learners to think about why they have/haven’t been successful.
We need to encourage learners to attribute success and failure to factors they can control. Rather than attributing a poor outcome to ability or bad luck (factors beyond their control), a good teacher will encourage attributions to poor planning, something the student can work on.
However, some learners respond well to negative feedback – it lets them know you think they are capable of more. Research suggests students learn more for teachers with high expectations – as they try to reach those standards that are asked of them. The very best
teachers weave together and judge the individual student, the moment and the context – and give feedback positively (or not) at the right time.
And great teachers use effective questioning? Questioning is a core part of pedagogy. When you are talking to one student, it is easy to ask questions to get an understanding of knowledge, but when you factor in 30 kids, it becomes trickier. One student answering one question does not give insight into what the other 29 know. You need to be able to assess what is in every student’s head – great teachers will have strategies at their disposal that allow them to do this: techniques which give you an answer from every student in the room.
Questioning and assessment are used to cement learning – connecting the ideas, knowledge recall, elaboration, are all part of the learning process.
How does assessing teachers play its part? Would you teach a concept to a student without ever assessing or questioning them to see whether they had mastered the idea? You wouldn’t. So why would it be di� erent with a teacher? As teachers are continuously trying to learn these incredibly hard concepts and skills, then assessment is necessary. There isn’t learning without assessment.
What is the role of professional learning? Professional development, learning to be better, should be our guiding principle. All teachers can develop and improve. That’s why it’s important to think about how to design professional development. If you are a school leader, you have a responsibility for developing your sta� . Remember, a great teacher continues to learn and improve.
ccurately measuring a child’s potential and progress can transform learning, helping teachers to make good decisions about
individual students and their educational needs. CEM, the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, is one of the largest providers of formative assessments for children of all ages, and we are pleased that it is now part of the Cambridge family.
CEM already works in many Cambridge International Schools, particularly in the Middle East, South East Asia and China. CEM’s assessments support teaching and learning on the Cambridge Pathway and help teachers predict results at Cambridge IGCSE, O Level and International A Level.
Katharine Bailey, Director of Policy at CEM, explains how CEM’s assessments can help schools worldwide.
What assessments does CEM offer schools? If you are going to give pupils their best chance, you need to understand their knowledge, skills and attitudes, and use the best possible data to set realistic and motivational targets and focus on progress. CEM provides baseline assessments for learners aged 3 to 19. These assessments help schools to understand their students’ needs, to get a
CEM, the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, has joined the Cambridge family in a partnership between Cambridge Assessment and Cambridge University Press
Introducing CEM measure of each individual’s aptitude for learning and their potential, as well as to measure the impact the school is having on learners as they progress.
Why are CEM assessments useful for schools? We know it is vital that teachers have access to reliable information to support them in making the best decisions, so they can transform the academic outcomes of the children they teach. Our standardised assessments are based on robust research and o� er schools a valuable profi le of baseline, predictive and value-added scores. That information helps schools to tailor their planning, teaching and learning, fi nd the best ways to allocate resources and track students’ progress.
What impact can CEM assessments have? CEM assessments can help improve teaching and learning in so many ways. Schools all around the world tell us how they have seen the assessments help teachers to really understand their students, how they have improved student performance in specifi c areas, and how they have been used to inform planning, set aspirational targets, and give parents a picture of how their children are performing. Senior leaders have told us how CEM data has helped them transform their schools by helping them to transform learning.
Now that you are part of the Cambridge family, what are you most looking forward to? The reason we exist as an organisation is that we believe in giving teachers reliable information so that they can learn more about the children in their care, adapt their teaching accordingly, and give pupils the best possible chance to do well. Joining Cambridge is a hugely exciting opportunity, enabling us to support more educators worldwide.
Katharine Bailey has worked at CEM for more
than 20 years. She has extensive experience
working with schools and governments in the UK
and around the world
A
“Schools all around the world tell us how they have seen the assessments help teachers to really understand their students”
CEM is one of the largest and longest- established research groups. A not-for-profi t organisation, formerly part of the University of Durham in the UK, CEM works with schools and education professionals in 70 countries, and the quality of their assessments is widely recognised in the UK and globally. Visit www.cambridgeinternational.org/cem or talk to your local Cambridge representative.
10 CAMBRIDGE OUTLOOK ISSUE 33, 2020
EVALUATING IMPACTIN FOCUS
PRACTICAL ADVICE
CAMBRIDGEINTERNATIONAL.ORG 11
Dr Sue Brindley is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Cambridge, Co-ordinator of CamStar, a teacher research network, and Visiting Professor at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. Sue is currently writing a book on teacher research.
6. Keep your data collection limited. More is not better – your research will illuminate one area but do not generalise. Your research does not have to be objective, scientifi c, quantitative or produce ‘the answer’ – you are looking instead for insights that contribute to working teacher knowledge.
7. Consider methods. In teacher research, data is often collected through interviews, surveys and observation – the former two rely on clear and precise questions: trial your questions fi rst with a small number of students not involved in your research to make sure they work.
8. Analyse the data. What story has your data revealed? Did you answer your research questions? What did you fi nd that surprised/pleased/ disappointed you? What
might you do di� erently next time?
9. Share your fi ndings. Teachers have vast repositories of knowledge that do not get shared because there is no forum for doing so. It’s ‘sticky knowledge’, like burrs on clothing – but teacher research creates that platform for discussion. Ensure colleagues, managers and policymakers know about your research.
10. Make it part of your professional identity. Research revives the curiosity about teaching and learning that brought us into teaching (and keeps us here). We can, through research, have an informed and empowered professional voice and thus be part of the national and global conversation about education.
Dr Sue Brindley, Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Cambridge, is passionate about teacher research, which, she asserts, generates the intellectual energy that informs us as teachers: “Undertaking research allows us to explore approaches to teaching in ways defi ned by us, and thus entirely relevant to our contexts, school cultures and circumstances.” Below, she shares some advice.
Name: A. Teacher
Research speciality: Bilingual learning
Top tips for teacher research
1. Keep the research area small. It is tempting to take on a huge topic (‘How can I make feedback more e� ective?’) but this will only generate large amounts of unfocused data. Scale down and be precise
in your defi ned area, for example, ‘How do four students in Year 9, class X, use feedback over one half term?’
2. Get organised and stage your research. Try four stages: fi nding out and writing the research question; collecting data; analysing data; presenting your research.
3. Research doesn’t have to be solitary. Don’t feel you should go it alone. Working with colleagues within and across schools can be enjoyable and productive.
4. Read around the area. Get to know what others have said about your fi eld. Read with a critical eye. (What is the basis for the claims made? Does the writer have vested interests in presenting particular outcomes?)
5. Use your reading to defi ne your question. Good teacher research questions have clear boundaries and are sensibly limited in scale. Ask one ‘big ’ question and break that down into two/three smaller questions. Don’t try to research everything about an area – you can always develop a project further later.
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11/11/19 6:24 PMMC Series Magazine Ad.indd 1
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EVALUATING IMPACT IN FOCUS
CAMBRIDGEINTERNATIONAL.ORG 13
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Learning to learn Liz Duncombe
, Cambridge In ternational’s
Digital Learni ng Manager, a
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Talbot, Cambr idge Internati
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Education Ma nager, take the
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ake of it “Research says you can’t help learners become self-regulated until you’ve helped them build a bank of strategies”
elf-regulated learning (SRL) is the idea of students taking a proactive and self-refl ective approach to their own learning, and using di� erent cognitive
approaches to achieve their goals. It covers many aspects of how students learn – planning, monitoring, motivation, behaviour, strategy use, metacognitive thinking and goal setting. It’s about helping students learn how to learn.
The theory is that students build up a repertoire of strategies to help them learn more e� ectively, and they are then able to select the one best-suited for each learning task. Mnemonics, concept mapping, fl ash cards, quizzes and force-fi eld analysis are some of the techniques taught.
Cambridge International’s Digital Learning Manager, Liz Duncombe, and Education Manager, Sarah Talbot, share an interest in educational research and decided to develop a programme for self-regulated learning. They approached a local school in Cambridge to ask if the teachers wanted to get involved in SRL classroom research. The school agreed to trial the strategies with Year 11 and sixth-form geography students.
“The research says you can’t help learners become self-regulated until you’ve helped them build a bank of strategies,” says Liz. “Our project helps with that.”
Sarah continues, “A lot of students use SRL strategies implicitly, but they’re not explicitly aware of when best to use them. Developing a self-regulated learner is about making them explicitly aware.”
Liz and Sarah created a website of strategies, enabling the students to choose what worked best for them. Three learners share what they found empowering about SRL.
Anna: “I’ve been struggling with revision, so having strategies is good. The concept maps are helping me to see the links between ideas and how one idea infl uences another. I like mind mapping to break subjects down; and fl ash cards work for repetition of information. SRL is helping me to organise myself. Before, I was just fl icking through books and highlighting sections. The foundations of these techniques will help my future learning.”
Nick: “I fi nd it hard to structure arguments. SRL is about controlling your own learning, having an understanding of what you need to work on; and doing that independently. If I work on developing essay-structuring skills, it will help me to show I have a better understanding of a subject.”
John: “I’ve learned to approach a subject in chunks. Let’s take medicine. Sitting down and saying, ‘Let’s revise medicine,’ is daunting! Whereas, ‘Let’s revise Edward Jenner,’ feels more approachable.
“For history, I have many dates and events to remember, so I put Post-it Notes around the house. Even when I’m not revising, I’ll see reminders and they serve as a ‘refresher’ for what I’ve learned. I’m then likely to revisit those facts in more detail.
“As you can get bogged down in a topic, you can also fi nd yourself bogged down with a specifi c revision strategy, so it helps to come at a subject from a different angle. If I focused all of my revision on essay writing, it’s not going to be enjoyable (so I’ll likely avoid revising!). But if I can vary it, do crosswords and quick-fi re questions, I’m going to retain the knowledge because I’ll remember doing that specifi c activity. Varying revision helps retention of various knowledge.
“The bank of learning strategies is a comfort blanket. As the exams get closer, I will exhaust some strategies and likely need new ones.
“After my exams, I may not actually use the ‘knowledge’ again. But the approaches I’ve been taught will be useful at uni and in years to come.”
For more ideas on this area, download Getting Started with Metacognition at www.cambridgeinternational.org/ teaching-and-learning
14 CAMBRIDGE OUTLOOK ISSUE 33, 2020
EVALUATING IMPACTIN FOCUS
GERARD CALNIN Dr Gerard Calnin is a Scholar-Practitioner with The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) and was formerly a Research Fellow at The University of Melbourne. His current research interests are in school leadership, teacher evaluation and school effectiveness.
Prior to working at EdUHK, Gerard held senior leadership roles in P-12 schooling and at the system/
sectoral level; he was also an international research fellow in the US and UK. He works with schools and school systems, and presents at conferences globally on a regular basis.
Gerard points to the affi rming qualities of school self-evaluation
Dr Gerard Calnin, Scholar-Practitioner at The Education University of Hong Kong, specialises in
school evaluation and effectiveness. From his home in Australia, he travels worldwide on a mission
to help schools improve
Sadly, the evidence suggests most school evaluations don’t improve student learning outcomes,” admits Gerard Calnin. This may
seem a surprising statement from someone who travels the globe advocating evaluations.
“When a school evaluation is not done well, we see negative e� ects, such as the demotivation of teachers. This can happen when there’s only a surface-level process rather than a commitment to using evaluation to measure strengths, identify weaknesses and initiate change,” continues Gerard.
Even so, he a� rms, the best way to secure improvement is to engage in school evaluation.
“In a school, we talk about students needing feedback about their performance. Ideally, we
The POWER of school
self-evaluation
should model that practice – it’s important for teachers and schools to get feedback about how well it’s going. It’s about building a culture of learning that says it’s good to be measured and to use evidence for improvement.
“One of the rewarding things about being involved in a successful school self-evaluation is that it often a� rms the positives that are going on in that school. Good evaluation will conclude, ‘you are doing a really stunning job in the following areas…’ That is so positive for team morale. I often have comments afterwards, ‘We thought we were doing the right things, but it’s so reassuring to have the data that backs up our instincts.’”
Gerard believes there are several key ingredients in the mix of successful evaluations.
Firstly, there needs to be an understanding of school improvement and what factors, within a school, make a real di� erence to the outcomes of all students. He identifi es these as: great teachers, e� ective leadership, professional learning communities and networks.
“When school self-evaluation is done well, it crystallises and focuses attention on the areas that need improvement, so as to avoid wasting time and money on those ‘improvement’ strategies that don’t actually make much of a di� erence. So, when anyone asks me about the cost of evaluation, my response is simple: ‘can you a� ord not to do it?’”
“Evaluation is futile without continuing to measure the impact of the changes you have made”
CAMBRIDGEINTERNATIONAL.ORG 15
EXPERT INTERVIEW
When starting out, involve all stakeholders in the process of questioning and refl ection – usually in the form of a survey. You need to ensure that you are asking the right questions to generate valid data to inform the next steps.
“In my experience, schools have the most successful evaluations when they have an external coach or mentor – he or she typically has expertise in school improvement strategies and data collection. They should have an understanding of what it is we really want to know from the evaluation – what data collection needs to happen and what data are valid. The mentor will steer the school through that initial data collection phase.”
And yet, data collection is, in a way, the easy part. The di� culty is in interpreting the evidence and deciding next steps. “It’s crucial the school knows how to interpret the fi ndings,” says Gerard. “But we shouldn’t expect leadership teams to be experts on data analysis. Schools are awash with data – on attendance, wellbeing, exam results – so much so, they don’t know what to do with it. The function of the external support is to analyse the evidence and make recommendations on what needs to happen next for the school to improve.
“Remember, this is an astute PR exercise, too. It is comforting for stakeholders, especially parents, to know that an independent person is making recommendations, based on the evidence. That shows transparency and builds trust.
“Further, without that external support, I’m afraid, it’s human nature to avoid tackling the
really tricky stu� . Once you’ve identifi ed the areas that need attention, sad to say, it’s so much simpler for a school to set out to work on the uniform and its grounds – for example – rather than teachers’ attitudes, which are much harder to tackle but are going to make the real di� erence to students’ outcomes.”
Gerard advises schools to choose one or two areas to focus on – not those easily ticked o� the list, but those that will enact real change. “Commit to one or two areas, and it still may take two years before you see an improvement in performance.”
Again, Gerard reverts to the importance of data – you’ll only know whether an intervention is working as it was designed by collecting the same data sets, two years on, and tracking the impact. Self-evaluation requires commitment and a degree of patience – it is futile without continuing to measure the impact of the changes you’ve made.
“Some school leadership teams just don’t have the perseverance and stamina to see the change through… Next year, they might even want to do something di� erent, and they keep trying something new, shiny and sparkly, as opposed to focusing on those things that matter.
“Finally, to secure successful evaluation, there should be accountability. And not all schools like this part,” concedes Gerard, laughing. “But it sharpens commitment. If you have to report back, to parents or government, then schools are more inclined to be engaged in the process and they sustain their e� orts for a longer period of time.”
Gerard has the last word: “Of course, evaluation needs to be ongoing. The process needs to be repeated every two years. After which time, you should see improvement and you’ll be able to refi ne the strategy for the next round. Because we never reach the end, there will always be lots to do…”
We should aim to build a culture of learning – with foundations built upon evidence and feedback
EXPERT INTERVIEW
16 CAMBRIDGE OUTLOOK ISSUE 33, 2020
EVALUATING IMPACTIN FOCUS
chool self-evaluation can be a really e�ective tool for school improvement. By reflecting on their practice, school leaders
and teachers can work together to identify ways to become more e�ective and ensure the education they provide is the best it can possibly be.
At Cambridge International, we o�er a service to help schools with their self-review. It follows a three-step process and ensures that decisions about areas of school performance that need improvement are informed by evidence and data.
How it works Step 1: Stakeholder surveys All the key stakeholders at your school
take part in a survey which is based around a set of standards for school self-evaluation. These standards describe how e�ective schools work.
Step 2: Analysis of results Based on the outcomes of these surveys,
we prepare a comprehensive report for your school’s leadership team.
Step 3: Identify areas to improve A Cambridge consultant meets with you
to discuss the report findings and agree next steps.
In practice: a school’s experience Nahar International School in Mumbai, India used our School Self-Evaluation Service in December 2018. As a young international school, the school’s leadership team had been doing a lot of work to communicate their vision to parents and teachers. The teaching and learning approaches encouraged
Nahar International School in India embarked on the Cambridge School Self-Evaluation Service. Here, they share their experience
Nahar International School is a young school in Mumbai with more than 1300 students. It provides education from the early years through to age 19
Measuring impact IN MUMBAI
by Cambridge International are di�erent from the traditional education system in India, and so it was important to gain acceptance of these methods.
Principal of Nahar International School, Vandana Arora, explains: “There was a need for us to know how all our stakeholders viewed our approach to education. Were our e�orts being conveyed to them? Did they understand the reasons for this pedagogy? Did they agree with us? It was important for us to use a third party to get feedback from our stakeholders and help us decode and analyse the feedback.”
Step 1: The surveys The school asked students, parents and teachers to complete surveys anonymously. “Getting to know how our stakeholders perceive the school, and its growth, gives us a reality check,” says Vandana. “It was crucial for us to grasp whether our definitions of success and failure matched those of our stakeholders. We do not believe that success is measured only through end-of-year results, and we hoped our parents and teachers didn’t either.
“The survey explored all aspects of how the school functions and provided us with an in-depth
S
CAMBRIDGEINTERNATIONAL.ORG 17
“The journey of self- evaluation was a journey of discovery. It strengthened our confidence in the work we do and provided motivation to be the change-makers we wish to be”
Vandana Arora, Principal
CASE STUDY
understanding of teacher and parent concerns. Typically we explore these areas much less than student concerns.”
Step 2: The findings The survey report was very useful in understanding the needs of parents and teachers. Vandana says: “The results mostly matched our expectations – for example, getting a lower rating overall from the parent section and a high rating from the student body. Reaching out to parents is a work in progress, and the report gave us clarity about specific areas where we need to work more with them.
“We were hopeful of receiving good feedback from our teachers, and we did receive positive results. However, the feedback helped us to realise that teachers felt less confident in certain aspects of the teaching and learning process and would appreciate further professional help.”
Step 3: The improvements “The post-survey discussion took place between Cambridge International consultants, our senior leadership team and me,” says Vandana. “It was a learning process because it helped us decode the results we’d received, in the light of world standards. Certain areas where we had been marked down were areas of concern for most schools. But other aspects were specifically a concern for our school – the discussion helped us probe the reasons for this.”
The improvements needed included an engagement plan for parents and a three-day training workshop for 40 teachers who teach Grades 5 to 9. Students in these grades work towards board exams and the teachers wanted more support.
What’s happened since In order to measure the impact of the training on the teachers’ classroom practice, we asked teachers to complete a self-e�cacy questionnaire pre- and post-training, which provided further data to be able to calculate the e�ect size.
E�ect size is a simple way of quantifying the di�erence between two data sets – before and after an intervention or experiment. It emphasises the size of the di�erence. Therefore, the larger the e�ect size, the larger or more significant the di�erence. The overall e�ect size for this bespoke training was found to be 3.52. By most established measures, this represents a significant impact on the self-e�cacy of teachers and their practice.
Further analysis of the data indicated that the training had the biggest impact on helping teachers to plan lessons with well-defined links to previous learning and learning objectives, with an e�ect size of 5.62. The training had the smallest impact on helping teachers develop the ability to motivate all students to learn: the data indicated an e�ect size of only 1.34. Measuring the impact of professional development in this way not only aids evaluation, but it also enables conversations to begin regarding next steps and how a school might further improve.
“I have seen my teachers benefit immensely from the training provided,” says Vandana. “The journey of self-evaluation was a journey of discovery [for our school]. This survey has served as reassurance to parents and teachers that the school was doing the right thing in most areas.”
Learn more You’ll find an online guide to our School Self-Evaluation Service at www.cambridge international.org/school-improvement
The school asked students, parents and teachers to complete surveys anonymously
18 CAMBRIDGE OUTLOOK ISSUE 33, 2019
FEATURE
Cambridge International aims to equip all students for life after school, and we’re always thrilled to hear what Cambridge learners go on to achieve. Three inspiring alumni share their stories
Name: Amrita Date School: Podar International School, Mumbai, India Studied: Cambridge International A Levels in Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Maths; Cambridge International AS Level in English Language Went on to: Degree in Pharmacy, University of Mumbai, followed by a Master of Research (MRes) degree in Drug Discovery and Development, Imperial College London
The Cambridge emphasis on ‘real-world’ science was helpful.
We learned essential concepts but also talked about the equipment and processes used in labs and industry. This sparked an interest in scientifi c
research and gave me an insight into the techniques I’d be using if I decided to study science at uni. The broad curricula also allowed me to make an informed decision about the right degree for me. In chemistry, for example, we learned about drug design and delivery, and in biology, we discovered more about penicillin. I was fascinated and went on to study Pharmacy before doing a Master’s in Research at Imperial College London.
“Several topics I’d already covered at A Level made up part of my degree, so it was useful to have background knowledge. Cambridge qualifi cations emphasise the importance of precision and repetition in order to ensure reliable results, and also
planning, evaluation and analysis – all essential for a science career. My work ethic, time management and study techniques, which I gained at A Level, also allowed me to succeed. After my Master’s, I’d like a career in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery.”
Name: Maggie Jiang School: Juanita High School, Washington State, USA Studied: Cambridge International AS & A Levels in Maths, Biology, English Literature and History; Cambridge International AS Levels in English Language and Global Perspectives & Research Went on to: University of Washington, Seattle, USA
I am currently doing a degree in Computer Science. After,
I’d like a career in software engineering.
“My Cambridge qualifi cations earned me college credits, which means the length of my course has been reduced. I received 45 credits – the equivalent to one school year’s-
worth of studies. At my uni, up to 15 credits can be granted for each A Level exam, and up to 7.5 for each AS Level.
“Besides the advantages I gained with the university credit system, my Cambridge education pushed me to be a better thinker and learner. I enjoyed
a rigorous education that o� ered in-depth learning, and I’ve become a more motivated and ambitious student because of it.
“I’ve learned to think critically, consider multiple perspectives, and problem solve e� ectively. All of these prove useful as course content becomes more challenging.
“I’ve made a good choice with the University of Washington. The school is large and with a diverse student intake; everyone can fi nd their own community. The on-campus
housing options suit me – they provide freedom, independence, and convenience – learning how to live on my own has been liberating. When I walk through campus and explore the city of Seattle and the lively waterfront, I feel very lucky to be here.”
worth of studies. At my uni, up to 15
a rigorous education that o� ered in-depth learning, and I’ve become a more motivated and ambitious student because of it.
consider multiple perspectives, and problem solve e� ectively. All of these prove useful as course content becomes more challenging.
University of Washington. The school is large and with a diverse student intake; everyone can fi nd their own community. The on-campus
housing options suit me – they
Maggie, University of Washington,
Seattle
Amrita, Imperial College London
What they did next…
CAMBRIDGEINTERNATIONAL.ORG 19
FEATURE
“Helping to make healthcare more a� ordable and accessible in the world’s poorest communities is something I’m passionate about”
Name: Yang Fan Yun School: Macleans College, Auckland, New Zealand Studied: Cambridge International A Levels in Maths, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, English Literature and Geography Went on to: Stanford University, USA
ang chose Macleans College, Auckland, because it o� ered Cambridge programmes,
which gave him the fl exibility to study a broad range of subjects in greater depth, and it supported his future university ambitions.
Always a high achiever, Yang received a ‘Top in the World’ award for Cambridge International A Level Geography and the 2018 Prime Minister’s Award for Academic Excellence, in recognition of his most outstanding examination results and the highest academic excellence while he was a student at Macleans College.
After being o� ered a place by many of the world’s top universities, Yang chose Stanford University in the US and began his degree in September 2019. His course is focused on economics, human biology and public policy – subjects chosen to support his long-term ambition of delivering equal access to a� ordable healthcare.
“Stanford o� ers a liberal arts education that lets you explore di� erent subjects – I always wanted to pursue my interests in biology, chemistry, maths, economics and engineering.
“Helping make healthcare more a� ordable and accessible in the world’s poorest communities is something I’m passionate about. My mum and grandfather have always encouraged me to be a good person and give back to society. If you blend
my love for economics, biology and the life sciences – knowing how to make things cost-e� ective, while being at the cutting edge of medical research – that’s going to be benefi cial to society. That’s what I want to do. I want to make a di� erence.
“Stanford’s location in Silicon Valley places it at the forefront of innovation and entrepreneurship. I look up to people like Bill and Melinda Gates, who, with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, have found a way to use their money to benefi t society.
“Life at Stanford is pretty incredible – the experience of living and learning with diverse, equally talented peers is incredibly immersive, and the opportunities are truly infi nite. I fi nd I’m really busy every day, not just studying but also mixing with other students and involving myself in the activities that I love. Top US universities also tend to be incredibly generous in supporting you fi nancially, if your family might otherwise struggle to pay the costs, so I would strongly encourage anyone interested to go for it!”
Y
Yang with the New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern
Yang was a member of the winning
team at the 2018 National
Debating Finals in New Zealand What they did next…
Share your story Alumni, we’d love to hear about your further education and career-path story after school. Get in touch with us at outlook@ cambridgeinternational.org to share your story, and read about more inspiring young people at www.cambridgeinternational.org/alumni
cambridge.org/education/science
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CAMBRIDGEINTERNATIONAL.ORG 21
BEHIND THE SCENES
Going the extra mile
I spend a lot of time talking to customers and regional colleagues,
trying to understand schools’ needs so that I can be their voice in Cambridge.
I work on new services that give added value to schools, for example the Cambridge Upper Secondary Science Competition. Schools often tell me they want to do more, so last year we piloted our fi rst science competition for Cambridge IGCSE and O Level students. We were overwhelmed by the response.
We are running the competition again this year and have seen a 40 per cent increase in the number of schools signing up. The regional and overall winners are announced in May.
I also manage our partnership with The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. Both our organisations believe that learning shouldn’t be confi ned to the classroom, and we encourage our schools to o� er the Award alongside our programmes.
It’s about encouraging students to go the extra mile. The Award pushes young people to step outside their comfort zone.
The values it promotes are in line with the Cambridge learner attributes – encouraging students to be confi dent and resilient, to take responsibility, to be team players. The students take part in an Adventurous Journey and give service back to their community.
I’ve also helped to introduce a programme of school re-approval visits. We were keen to ensure that our schools continue to meet our high-quality registration standards. So, we’ve developed a process whereby a regional manager goes back into a school to check in with them, discuss their progress and assess whether additional support is required.
Recently, I accompanied a regional manager on a school re-approval visit to Singapore National Academy in Surabaya, Indonesia (see right). They are huge advocates of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. In fact, they are the largest Independent Award Centre in Indonesia.
I am looking forward to working with other schools in the near future to understand what more support they need from Cambridge International.
BEHIND THE
SCENES
As we broaden our education offer, it’s the job of Sophie Hewitt, Service Development Manager,
to bring new services to life
Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Singapore National Academy, Indonesia
Stuart Ellis, Dean – Head of High School Is the Award popular at your school? Yes – around 95 per cent of students sign up in Year 9, when they start Cambridge IGCSEs.
How does the Award complement your school’s curriculum? Our programme focuses on holistic and character outcomes, such as collaboration, autonomy and empathy. The Award offers great opportunities for learners to build such attributes, especially the Voluntary Service and Adventurous Journey sections.
How does the Award impact on teachers? Most of our staff will join two or three Adventurous Journeys per year, and see it as job enrichment.
What do parents think of the Award? We hold presentations to show its relevance to student outcomes. Parents see clear benefi ts.
Joelynn Josephine Tamrin, Gold Award participant How has the Award helped you and do you think it will benefi t you in the future? It’s encouraged me to get involved in my community. The Voluntary Service section has developed my leadership and teamwork skills and helped me to be more confi dent with new people. I hope the Award will enhance my university application too. The experience has made me grow as an individual.
Have the projects undertaken impacted on you? I visited an isolated school and taught kids less fortunate than myself. I experienced what it’s like to have fewer resources and I’ve learnt to be more grateful.
For the full interview with Stuart and Joelynn, go to www.cambridgeinternational.org/intaward
Joelynn Josephine Tamrin (far left) on her Adventurous Journey, part of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award
Sophie joined HRH the Earl of Wessex (centre right) to announce our
partnership with the Duke of Edinburgh’s International
Award in Malaysia
22 CAMBRIDGE OUTLOOK ISSUE 33, 2019
Stay up to date We publish a Syllabus Changes guide every September to give advance notice of changes. Find it at www. cambridgeinternational.org/new
Resources are now available to support the Cambridge Primary and Lower Secondary programmes’ four new subjects: art & design, digital literacy, music and physical education.
Schools registered to teach these programmes can log on to the Cambridge Primary or Cambridge Lower Secondary support sites and download assessment guidance, curriculum frameworks, schemes of work and teacher guides – at no extra charge.
We recommend that teachers book a place on our online introductory training courses to help them teach and assess the new subjects with confidence. Five-week courses start in February and June 2020. Sign up at www.cambridgeinternational.org/events
Support for new Cambridge Primary and Lower Secondary subjects
Support for schools The latest resources and developments
to support you and your learners
Making exam instructions clearer for students We are taking some steps to make the instructions we give in exams clearer for students.
As part of this, we are changing the front covers of all of our question papers from the March 2020 exam series onwards. We are improving the wording and layout; we want to make sure that the instructions for candidates are clear and the layout is consistent. We are not changing what the candidate needs to do, or how many questions they need to answer – this will remain the same as on our published specimen materials.
We have also published a list of command words and their definitions, to help learners and teachers understand the requirements of specific exam questions. The list includes commands such as ‘analyse’, ‘contrast’ and ‘evaluate’. It will appear in new and revised syllabuses published from 2019 onwards, and the command words will be used in assessments from 2022.
To see sample question paper covers and the list of command words, go to www.cambridgeinternational.org/new and select ‘School support’.
Resource Plus gives teachers access to high-quality videos, ready-made lesson plans and teaching materials to help explain challenging topics to learners. We’ve now developed Resource Plus materials to support the teaching of Cambridge O Level Biology, Chemistry and Physics. This means that Resource Plus is now available for 16 of our most popular syllabuses. Learn more at www.cambridgeinternational. org/resourceplus
Resource Plus for Cambridge O Level sciences P
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CAMBRIDGEINTERNATIONAL.ORG 23
Endorsed resources We work with publishers to endorse resources to support your teaching. Our subject experts thoroughly evaluate each of these titles to make sure that they are highly appropriate for Cambridge programmes.
CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A LEVEL CHEMISTRY* RESOURCE: Student’s Book PUBLISHER: Collins Allow students to develop and strengthen practical skills in a range of contexts, deepen understanding of key concepts and provide opportunities to draw connections between topics in chemistry.
Website: www.collins.co.uk/cambridge Email: [email protected]
HODDER CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY (MATHS, SCIENCE, ENGLISH) RESOURCE: Learner’s Books, Workbooks, Teacher’s Packs, Digital Resource Packs PUBLISHED BY: Hodder Education The Hodder Cambridge Primary series focuses on the respected mastery approach and encouraging active learning, which are core to the Cambridge approach. As a result, learners gain a deep understanding of the subjects, allowing a smooth transition to the next stage of their educational journey.
Website: www.hoddereducation.co.uk/ cambridgeprimary Email: [email protected]
MARSHALL CAVENDISH CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY MATHS RESOURCE: Student Book with Enhanced eBook, Activity Book, Teacher’s Guide PUBLISHED BY: Marshall Cavendish Education Bringing trusted pedagogies from Singapore into your classroom, this series is designed to build a strong conceptual foundation in maths. Using engaging visuals, culturally relevant content, and concise language, the series enables young and non-native English learners to learn e� ectively.
Website: www.mc-maths.com Email: [email protected]
CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A LEVEL BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS SERIES (NEW EDITIONS)* RESOURCE: Coursebook with Digital Access, Digital Coursebook, Digital Teacher’s Resource, Workbook with Digital Access and Practical Workbook PUBLISHED BY: Cambridge University Press Written with strong support for language development, including key science vocabulary and key defi nitions throughout. Available in 2020, new editions fully cover each of the syllabuses, helping your students develop the practical and analytical skills to fl ourish. This fl exible range of resources meets the real needs of your classroom.
Website: www.cambridge.org/education/science
RESOURCES ROUND-UP
Did you know that our website is available in seven di� erent languages, as well as in English? We’re about to launch sites in Vietnamese and Bahasa Indonesia, adding to our existing sites in Arabic, Chinese, Italian, Spanish and Thai. They give an overview of Cambridge programmes, and can be helpful when schools are talking to parents.
You can also open country-specifi c pages for India and the US – just click on the ‘Change language/country’ icon at the top of the Cambridge International homepage. Go to www.cambridgeinternational.org
We continuously look to improve our support materials for exams offi cers. Here’s our latest update:
Cambridge Handbook 2020 – what’s new The Cambridge Handbook 2020 contains new information, including how we have simplifi ed access arrangements for schools. We have also changed the name of Phase 3 in the handbook because we think ‘Coursework and moderation’ (rather than ‘Teacher assessment’) explains more clearly what this phase is about. The handbook is available in the ‘Exam administration’ section of our website, along with other useful guidance documents. Go to www. cambridgeinternational.org/examsoffi cers
Exams offi cer training Our exams offi cer training is available in the Online Learning Area. You can set up your own account and self-enrol at https://learning.cambridgeinternational.org/ professionaldevelopment
Supporting our exams officers
Switch our website to a different language
* T H E P U B L I S H E R I S W O R K I N G W I T H C A M B R I D G E A S S E S S M E N T I N T E R N AT I O N A L E D U C AT I O N T O W A R D S E N D O R S E M E N T O F T H E S E T I T L E S
24 CAMBRIDGE OUTLOOK ISSUE 33, 2019
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Cambridge School Leader and Teacher Standards in action
TRAINING and DEVELOPMENT
ore and more schools are becoming aware of the Cambridge School Leader and Teacher Standards, which are proving to be a useful
shared reference point for schools, teachers and leaders who aim for improvement year on year. The Standards define key characteristics of e�ective leadership, teaching and learning, and provide a framework against which schools can measure the impact of their professional development.
Two Cambridge International managers explain how they are working to develop and implement the Standards, and a school in Angola describes how the Standards led them to introduce a Cambridge Professional Development Qualification (PDQ).
The education manager Sarah Turner, based in the Cambridge o ce, UK “I have been working with the Cambridge School Leader and Teacher Standards since they were created in 2018. One of my priorities has been to make the Standards more
accessible and useful and, as part of this, we developed a ‘RAG’ tool. This online tool asks teachers and leaders to
M
evaluate their practice by rating a series of statements in a grid as Red, Amber or Green. It helps them to benchmark their current position, identify their training needs and measure the impact of interventions they put in place.
“This year, I will be validating the Standards, working with our schools to ensure they are fully fit for purpose, and developing more tools to support their use.”
The schools manager Mark Barber, formerly based in Cape Town, South Africa Mark Barber was our Senior Manager for Southern Africa for eight years, before relocating to the Cambridge o�ce in September 2019.
“My role included carrying out approval visits to schools wanting to register with Cambridge International. I was always on the lookout for more e�ective ways of evaluating good leadership and teaching during these visits – concepts which are much harder to identify when compared with evaluating the physical environment, for example. I’ve found the Standards to be useful in this respect, as they set out clear goals. The RAG grids allow practical assessment and sit very well with our own school registration standards.
“What was notable is that schools welcome the Standards as an objective view of how we can work together to help them improve, as a valuable tool and a positive intervention. Naturally, one of our key goals is
Find out more You can download the Cambridge Teacher Standards and School Leader Standards, and the RAG grids, at www.cambridgeinternational.org/ schoolstandards
There is a RAG grid for each Cambridge Teacher and School Leader Standard, so you can focus on the one that is most relevant to your situation. You do not need to consider all the Standards at once.
For more on the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM), see page 10.
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“Schools welcome the Standards as an objective view of how we can work together to help them improve”
CAMBRIDGEINTERNATIONAL.ORG 25
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
to help schools improve – and now that the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) has joined the Cambridge family, we have more tools to support schools than ever before.”
The school leader José Thokozani António Wina, Colégio Angolano de Talatona (CAT), Angola “As part of Cambridge International’s school re-approval process, we requested a visit from our Cambridge Senior Manager for Southern Africa,
Mark Barber. He carried out the visit using the Cambridge Teacher Standards and gave a set of recommendations, one of which was to introduce a Cambridge Professional Development Qualification (PDQ) programme. To spearhead the PDQ, we received the RAG grids for the Cambridge Teacher Standards 5 and 6 and asked all our teachers to complete them. These helped us to identify the strengths and weaknesses in our teaching and learning culture.
“We were then able to start working towards improving our approach. I was enrolled for the PDQ Programme Leader course, during which I designed our PDQ programme based on the needs of the teachers and learners identified from the RAG grids.
“Our PDQ programme will help to grow our teachers so that they can be more e�ective in the years to come. Moving forward, we will carry on using the RAG grids, as the progress checklists keep us focused on areas where we need to improve.
“All this helps both teachers and learners to develop a culture of lifelong learning.”
Above: Cambridge School Leader and Teacher Standards define key characteristics
of effective teaching and leadership
“Our PDQ programme will help to
grow our teachers so
that they can be more
e�ective in the years to
come”
Staff at CAT value the new PDQ programme
Trust 25 years of partnership with Cambridge Assessment International Education Ensure full coverage of the revised Cambridge syllabuses, for examination from 2022.
Try before you buy with eInspection copies of our new Student’s Books – free for 30 days: www.hoddereducation.com/cambridgeinternational
We are working with Cambridge International to gain endorsement for these forthcoming IGCSETM and A Level titles.
ISBN: 978 1 51048 497 9 ISBN: 978 1 51047 853 4
Cambridge IGCSETM
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Nick Mazur: How has your school grown since it opened in 2013? Felipa Gomes da Costa: Santo António started with 76 students in 2013 and has grown to just over 200. As well as growing in size, we have also grown in stages – we recently opened our primary phase and are now looking to expand further into a new
campus. Expansion is needed! NM: What Cambridge programmes do you offer? FGC: We o�er all stages of the Cambridge Pathway, including Cambridge Global Perspectives at all phases from primary through middle school. In our Cambridge International A Level/AICE Diploma years, it is a compulsory subject. We like to o�er a range of subjects at Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International AS & A Level to ensure that students have a well-rounded, broad education that consists of not only academic subjects but also creative, technical and more vocational subjects as well.
A view from… PORTUGAL Felipa Gomes da Costa (left), Headteacher of Santo António
International School, Portugal, talks to Nick Mazur, Cambridge International’s Senior Manager, Europe
REGIONAL VIEWPOINT
NM: What Cambridge IGCSE subjects do you offer? FGC: All of our pupils complete nine Cambridge IGCSEs, including the core subjects English, maths and science. They also take at least one additional language and pick another five option subjects from the humanities, foreign languages, Global Perspectives and vocational subjects. NM: Does the school’s location have a bearing on the character of your school? FGC: Evidently. We are very privileged to be located in Estoril, on the coast, just along from Lisbon. The culture and metropolitan life of the capital is only a 20-minute train ride away, and we have beautiful beaches on our doorstep. We draw on both to enrich our lessons. For example, we take our cross-country running sessions on the sea wall. Estoril was where a number of European royalty came for exile during the Second World War, so the area is rich in history and has some exquisite architecture. Our students commute from the surrounding local area and also from the city.
NM: How would you describe the ethos of Santo António International School? FGC: Our school is about providing pupils with a rounded outlook and skills – both academically and for life. We honour values such as respect and integrity. Above all, as a small school, we are centred on quality learning and really getting to know our students and their families at this important stage in their lives.
NM: Do you have any links with other schools? FGC: We work collaboratively with schools in Lisbon and Porto, and have started to work with schools in Hungary and Spain. This helps to give our students a global perspective.
Felipa Gomes da Costa
Felipa was a founding member of Santo António International School (SAIS) and has been
headteacher there for five years. An architect-turned-teacher, she brings her specialism to design &
technology lessons at the school. Her ethos is based on
complementing academic studies with work experience
and hands-on experimentation. She is a passionate basketball player and plays in the school parents’ after-school club, as well as coaching the school
mixed team for the Junior NBA League. She has four children.
If you’d like to be featured on this page, email [email protected]
Santo António International School takes full advantage of Estoril’s beautiful coastline to enhance lessons
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Conference delegate, 2019
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