READY TO TAKE ON
THE WORLD*
The findings
Most of the participants (83 per cent) said they had had
a choice in opting for a Cambridge programme at school.
The most prominent reasons for their choices related to
the rigorous and challenging nature of the curriculum;
flexibility of the Cambridge programme and the broad
range of subjects offered; gaining college credits; and
obtaining qualifications recognised by universities in the
USA and beyond. The students said they had developed
a number of important skills throughout their Cambridge
programmes which are useful for university study:
• writing skills and critical thinking, analysis, and
evaluation skills
• time management and note-taking skills and the
ability to study independently
• perseverance and the ability to work under pressure.
Cambridge’s priority is to ensure that our programmes
prepare students well for future study. So we regularly
conduct research to check that they do just that.
One recent study, carried out by researchers Stuart
Shaw and Magda Werno, delved into the experiences
of students at Florida State University (FSU) in the
USA. All of the students in the study had completed
Cambridge qualifications, and were at various points in
their university journey. Broadly speaking, the research
found that the students believed that their Cambridge
education had helped them to develop a range of skills
and learning attitudes that were useful for university.
But how had it done that, and what else did the research
find?
The study the participants were 104 FSU students with
Cambridge programme credits. They were aged between
17 and 22, and came from a range of degree courses and
year groups. A senior member of the FSU admissions
team sent potential participants an online questionnaire,
which provided a framework for evaluating the impact
of the Cambridge high school programme on university
readiness.
*taken from Cambridge Outlook issue 25
TED CAMBRIDGE DAY
TED Ankara College Foundation High School in Turkey
invited school leaders and teachers in Turkey to its
4th Cambridge Day entitled, “The future of education:
designing teaching to prepare students for tomorrow’s
world” on 27 May 2017.
This year’s event explored how educators can develop
teaching methods that emphasize deep learning
and transferable skills. The participants of the event
considered what ‘collaboration’ means in an educational
context and explore what can be done in terms of teaching
to foster collaborative skills. There were also concurrent
sessions where teachers of Cambridge qualifications
shared their experience with the participants.
THE CLAPPER 2016 - 2017 107
INTERNATIONAL
PROGRAMS