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Meridian International School
School Administration & Leadership
Name of Contact
Role & Responsibility
Contact Details
School Administration
Ms. Natálie Vacková
Secretary: Early Years & Primary School
+420 775 581 801
Ms. Michaela Mrázková
Secretary: Secondary & High School
+420 775 581 223
Ing. Pavlína Daliková, PhD.
Registration Manager
+420 775 581 580
Mgr. Veronika Dudová
Qualifications & Examinations Coordinator
Educational Counsellor
+420 775 581 223
Mr. Semih
Finance Manager
+420 775 581 801
Ms. Radka
School Accountant
+420 775 581 801
School Leadership
Mr. Ahmet Gürsoy
Director of School
+420 775 581 801
PhDr. Michal Hájek
Deputy Director of School
mhajek@meridianedu.cz
+420 775 581 801
Ms. Radka Žaková
Head of Early Years
+420 775 581 801
Ms. Arianne Elbaum-Rejsek
Head of Primary School
+420 775 581 801
Mgr. Tereza Anýžová
Assitant Head of Primary School
+420 775 581 801
Mr. Richard W. Jackson
Head of Secondary & High School
+420 774 507 577
Mr. Hüseyin Ayvaz
Deputy Head of Secondary & High School
+420 775 581 223
Ms. Elena Gonata, PhD.
Safeguarding Lead
School Counsellor
+420 775 581 223
RNDR. Anna Florianová, PhD.
Head of Maturita Programme
+420 775 581 223
Ms. Karolína Střibná
Head of Czech Programme
karolina.stribna@meridianedu.cz
+420 775 581 801
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PSHE & RSE Programme of Study
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
PAGE NUMBER
PSHE & RSE Programme of Study Rationale
3
KS3 Global Perspectives Syllabus
5
Curriculum Framework
6
Challenges and Active Learning
9
Language and Dialogue in the Classroom
10
Developing KS3 Global Perspectives Skills
14
Giving Formative Feedback to Improve Learning
18
Differentiation
19
Using Digital Technologies
21
PSHE at Meridian International School
21
PSHE in Global Perspectives Classes
22
Year 7 PSHE Topics
25
Year 8 PSHE Topics
27
Year 9 PSHE Topics
30
Year 10 Global Perspectives Syllabus
34
Year 10 PSHE Topics
45
Year 11 Global Perspectives Syllabus
49
Year 12 Global Perspectives Syllabus
56
Year 12 - Transferable Skills
68
Year 13 Global Perspectives Syllabus
69
PSHE Skills for University, Careers and Life
80
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PSHE & RSE Programme of Study
1. Rationale
A whole school integrated PSHE (Personal, Social, Health & Economic) education prepares
students for life today and tomorrow. As educators, Meridian International School [MIS] is
conscious that what we teach in the classroom will influence the outlook, thoughts, opinions, and
attitude of our students. Not just now but as they take their first steps into a successful adulthood.
It is the hope of [MIS] that the education our students receive will foster lifelong aspirations, goals
and values. With this in mind, PSHE education isn’t just another school subject. It is the cross-
curricular backbone of any place of learning. PSHE presents the chance for every child and young
person to have an equal opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge they need to thrive now
and and in the future. This includes helping them to deal with critical issues they face every day
such as friendships, emotional wellbeing and change. It also aims to give them a solid foundation
for whatever challenging opportunities lie ahead, so they can face a world full of uncertainty with
confidence. From making informed decisions about alcohol to succeeding in their first job, PSHE
education helps students prepare for all the opportunities, challenges, life decisions and
responsibilities they’ll face. This in turn achieves a “virtuous circle”, whereby pupils with better
health and wellbeing can achieve better academically, and enjoy greater success. All of this means
that, when taught well, a great PSHE education will be an important component of any school,
popular with students, teachers, and parents.
A quality PSHE programme of study rests adjacent to many other [MIS] initiatives and policies.
An important factor of this is a dedicated RSE (Relationships & Sex) education, which is a compulsory
education in UK schools. As a British School Overseas (BSO), [MIS] is dedicated to offering a
beneficial PSHE & RSE programme of study to serve our unique international context. The teaching
of these issues is also a recommended requirement of the Ministry of Health, Education, Youth &
Sports in the Czech Republic. Internally, within [MIS], this programme of study serves as a
companion to our Global Perspectives & Soft Skills Development Programme of Study, in addition to
our commitment stated in the Child Education & Safeguarding, Personal Device, Health & Safety,
Positive Behaviour and Dress Code policies.
The key influence of this programme of study is the PSHE Association. The UK’s Department of
Education (DofE) provides funding to this organization so it can assist schools implement its now
statutory guidelines on PSHE & RSE. These formal guidelines can be found in this link: Relationships
Education, Relationships & Sex Education & Health Education.
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Purpose of the Programme of Study
This document is not a rigid policy of learning points and outcomes. It is a programme of study
which serves to guide, influence and help all members of [MIS] to understand the school’s approach
to PSHE education. Educators can use the programme and overviews to ensure the teaching of a
quality education, whilst parents will understand when and what is being taught. For students, it
will allow them to think about the topics both in and outside of school and, in addition, can serve as
a form of influence and support to the challenges they face as young people. The core themes are:
(i) Health and Wellbeing; (ii) Relationships; and (iii) Living in the Wider World.
The goals of the PSHE programme are to:
● Help create a safe and successful learning environment
● Promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of students
both in the school and to benefit wider society
● Prepare students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life
● Endorse and support school community cohesion
● Encourage the mental and emotional well-being of young people, as well as to help them
develop the tools to embrace the demands of life
● Learn about friendship and to encourage the points of view of others
● Teach young people how they should be when they group up
● Promote positive personal hygiene and how to look after oneself sufficiently
PSHE education at Meridian International School has been integrated into the Global
Perspectives curriculum and the School Social Programme. PSHE topics are covered during regular
Years 7 - 13 Global Perspectives lessons and the Class Teacher Hour. Transferable academic, social
and personal skills are taught, practiced and developed during these lessons. Our PSHE Programme
is cross circular and our students practice these essential life skills in every one of their courses. We
build our students’ toolbox of skills from KS3 to KS4 to KS5 in preparation for university, careers and
life.
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Meridian International School Prague [MIS]
ACADEMIC YEAR 2022/2023 – Secondary & High School
Years 7 - 9 - KS3 Global Perspectives Syllabus
What is Cambridge Global Perspectives?
Cambridge Global Perspectives is an innovative and stimulating skills-based programme which
places academic study in a practical, real-world context. It gives learners the opportunity to develop
the transferable skills that they need to be successful at school and university, as well as in their
future careers.
The programme taps into the way today’s students enjoy learning, including group work,
seminars, projects and working with other students around the world. The emphasis is on
developing students’ ability to think critically about a range of global and local issues where there is
always more than one point of view. Students study topics they are interested in – for example,
‘Trade and aid’ and ‘Diplomacy and national traditions’.
Cambridge Global Perspectives is a core part of the Cambridge Lower Secondary programme
and helps to strengthen the links across subjects. The focus of the teaching and assessment is
completely on the development of skills. This means that the learning objectives focus on skills that
learners will need rather than knowledge and understanding about specific topics. For example,
when learners use sources of information, the focus is on the skill of analysing the sources rather
than learning about the content of a particular source.
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Curriculum Framework
In Stages 7 and 8 the same objectives can be used to structure learning but the range of
materials and contexts provided to the learners will be increasingly complex. This allows learners to
revisit a skill and engage with concepts at a deeper level and in different contexts as the learners
become more confident. Stage 9 develops these further.
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The tables below show some examples of how skills development can be traced through the
Curriculum Framework:
Skills Development in Cambridge Lower Secondary Global Perspectives: Stages 7 to 8
Skills
Stages 7 to 8
Stage 9
Research:
Locate Sources and
Record Findings
• Construct research questions.
• Select, organise and record relevant information from
a range of sources.
• Use appropriate and safe online research methods.
Analysis:
Interpreting Data
• Identify perspectives.
• Explain how data supports an argument.
• Explain causes of a local or global issue and
consequences on others.
• Solve problems and suggest and justify different
actions to make a positive difference.
Evaluation:
Evaluating
Arguments
• Discuss the effectiveness of a source.
• Assess the development of an argument in a source.
• Assess the evidence in a source.
• Judge the winner of a debate.
Reflection:
Personal Learning
• Explain personal contribution to teamwork and identify
targets for improvement.
• Consider the benefits and challenges of teamwork.
• Consider personal perspective and personal learning.
• Identify skills learned or improved and personal
strengths and areas for improvement.
Collaboration:
Cooperation and
Interdependence
• Work as a team, assign roles and divide tasks fairly.
• Consider the skills of team members.
• Time management.
• Work together to achieve a shared outcome.
• Work positively to resolve conflict, solve problems and
encourage other team members to participate.
Communication:
Writing, Speaking
and Listening
• Present information and arguments clearly using audio
and visual presentation techniques.
• Write essays and reference sources.
• Listen to ideas and information and offer relevant and
well-judged contributions that demonstrate
understanding of the issue.
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Skills Development in Cambridge Lower Secondary Global Perspectives: Stage 9
Skills
Stages 7 to 8
Stage 9
Research:
Locate Sources and
Record Findings
• Construct a range of relevant research questions.
• Identify and accurately reference a wide range of print and
multimedia sources and use them to locate
relevant information and answer research questions.
• Select the most suitable methods and conduct research to
test predictions and answer a research question.
• Select, organise and effectively record relevant information
from a wide range of sources and findings from research,
justifying the method chosen.
Analysis:
Interpreting Data
• Identify perspectives and synthesise arguments and evidence
from a range of sources on a given topic.
• Identify patterns and trends in graphical or numerical data in
order to support an argument.
• Make some links between causes and consequences of an
issue at personal, local and global levels.
• Recommend an appropriate course of action and explain
possible consequences for a national or global issue.
Evaluation:
Evaluating
Arguments
• Evaluate a range of sources, considering the author and
purpose and how well they are supported by other
sources, explaining why some may be biassed.
• Evaluate the reasoning of an argument in a source,
considering the structure and techniques used.
Reflection:
Personal Learning
• Explain personal contribution to teamwork and relate to own
strengths and areas for improvement.
• Relate benefits and challenges of teamwork to personal
experience of working together to achieve a shared outcome
and identify targets for improvement.
• Explain how personal perspective on an issue has changed as
a result of conducting research and exploring different
perspectives.
• Identify skills learned or improved during an activity and
consider strategies for further development.
Collaboration:
Cooperation and
Interdependence
• The team assign roles and tasks with an appropriate rationale
and respond flexibly when required to help
each other achieve a shared outcome.
• The team member introduces useful ideas to help achieve a
shared outcome, and works positively and
sensitively to resolve conflict and solve problems, supporting
and encouraging other team members to
participate, when required.
Communication:
Writing, Speaking
and Listening
• Present coherent, well-reasoned and clearly structured
arguments with detailed referencing of sources
where appropriate.
• Listen to ideas and information and offer well-judged
contributions that shape the discussion of an issue.
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Challenges
It is important to provide our KS3 learners with opportunities to practise and review specific
skills, but to make the learning more meaningful, the Challenges combine a number of different skills
in the context of a selected topic. As students learn about the topics, they practise the skills of
research, analysis, evaluation, reflection, communication and collaboration. Each Challenge has been
designed to focus on all these main skills.
The table below shows a sample long-term plan supported by the Challenges in each of the
three KS3 levels.
Lower Secondary Challenges
Year 7
What makes
us human?
Diplomacy and
national traditions
Globalisation
Education
Seeking
refuge
Employment
Year 8
Water Crisis
Migration
Beliefs about
food
Looking at
the future
Trade
and aid
Sustainability
Year 9
Disease and
health
Conflict resolution
Sports for all
Languages
Writing
your
report
Reflection
Active Learning
Active learning is about learners being engaged in their learning rather than passively
listening and making notes. Instead, they should take part in a variety of activities that involve
thinking hard. Active learning can be done by learners in class or out of class, by working individually,
in pairs, in small groups or as a whole class. It can be done either with or without the use of digital
technologies.
Students are assigned investigative research tasks in which they practise their critical
thinking, problem solving, collaborative and communication skills. Students will often choose a topic
or issue that they find interesting and receive guidance from their teacher as they research and write
about that topic or issue. Students will begin to undertake independent self-study as they build their
skills to complete research tasks. They will collaborate with others to complete set tasks, achieve
goals and practice writing and presentation techniques. The important thing is that learners are
engaged in their own learning and have responsibility for their progress.
In Cambridge Lower Secondary Global Perspectives, students look at the issues in the world
they live in and consider different perspectives on these issues. They question information and
sources of evidence to draw their own conclusions and support their own opinions. These are all
examples of Active Learning.
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Useful principles for Active Learning include:
● Identify prior learning and build on this.
● Use a variety of individual, pair and group work.
● Promote high-quality talk.
● Use success criteria so that learners are responsible for their own progress.
● Encourage regular self-reflection and peer feedback.
Group collaboration is an important part of Cambridge Lower Secondary Global Perspectives.
It is important that group tasks are planned so that learners can work collaboratively rather than
simply sit in groups and work individually. One way of doing this is to give each group a task or
question and tell them that you will give each member of the group a number. After the allotted
time for the task is over, you then choose a number from each group to share their responses. As
learners don’t know who is going to be asked, they should all prepare how to answer if chosen.
Teachers should help students choose team leaders and delegate team tasks so that everyone on
the team has a task to complete that is different from the tasks of others, but the results of each
student’s individual tasks can then be combined for a teamwide result. These learning strategies will
create productive, efficient and successful teams.
The best learning will happen when you create an environment where everyone is
comfortable and familiar with routines and expectations. Learners will respond to all kinds of
activities if the atmosphere is one that encourages them to participate fully in developing their
learning. Active learning and group collaboration are the key components of Global Perspectives
and teachers must foster the essential skills for our students to succeed.
Language and Dialogue in the Classroom
Language is an essential communication tool in all classrooms. In Cambridge Lower
Secondary Global Perspectives, students and teachers celebrate the diversity of languages in their
classrooms. Even though the resources of the course are written in English, it does not mean that
all the dialogue in the classroom must be in English.
Students will learn a lot by being able to use their first language to aid their understanding of
global topics and the development of the Cambridge Lower Secondary Global Perspectives skills.
They will be able to transfer skills, concepts and learning strategies across languages if teachers
encourage ‘translanguaging’ in the classroom, allowing learners to communicate in different
languages. To do this, it is important that all Cambridge Lower Secondary Global Perspectives
teachers are ‘language aware’. Being language aware means that they understand the possible
difficulties that language presents to learning. These difficulties might arise because a learner is
learning the subject through an additional language or it might be the first time a learner has come
across certain vocabulary or structures in their first language.
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One of the leading authorities on bilingual education, Professor Jim Cummins, suggests that
learners need a minimum level of linguistic and conceptual knowledge in their first language to
successfully develop a second language. Once this knowledge is firmly established in a first language,
learners can draw on this learning when working in an additional language.
A teacher who is language aware understands why learners face the difficulties they do and
what they can do to support them. Teachers can encourage students to draw on their first language
to understand ideas and concepts. Teachers can pre-teach key vocabulary and use visuals with words
to encourage understanding and use a variety of text types to engage learners such as stories, poems,
presentations and news articles.
Promoting Discussion
Using talk partners can create a very positive classroom atmosphere because learners work
with different people. Many learners feel more confident discussing with a partner before giving an
answer to the whole class. An example is ‘think, pair, and share’ where learners are given the
opportunity to think about a question before they discuss it with a partner and then they share their
ideas in a small group or with the whole class.
Teachers can organise talk partners in either a structured or a random way. Partners can be
changed around at certain intervals to vary the experience.
The benefits of talk partners in Cambridge Lower Secondary Global Perspectives:
● Provides an opportunity for all learners to speak and listen to each other.
● Helps learners to generate ideas, views and opinions in a safe environment.
● Opportunity for all learners to voice their understanding of ideas and concepts.
● Participation by learners who might not be as confident in the whole-class situation.
● Develops thinking, speaking, listening, collaborative and cooperative skills.
● Ensures all learners are involved in the lesson.
● Enables learners to learn from each other.
● Provides thinking time.
● Encourages extended responses.
● Develops coherent thinking.
● Develops ‘process talk’ (thinking through talk).
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Promoting Writing
To develop learners’ research and written communication skills, teachers need to teach
learners how to take notes, organise these notes, and put together sentences and paragraphs which
link clearly. Working together with the learners’ English teacher will help teachers to understand
which skills they have already been taught. Cross-curricular communication and activities should be
planned between the Humanities and English Department. Global Perspectives teachers should be
aware of the language abilities of each of their learners as well as have an understanding of the skills
they are currently learning in their language classes. Students should practise the vocabulary and
grammar points that they are learning in their language classes. Cross-curricular communication can
help English teachers reinforce their students’ writing skills and improve essay writing in Global
Perspectives. Teachers should be aware of and promote these transferable skills across all courses.
Graphic organisers are useful in that they help learners visually represent their ideas,
organise information and grasp concepts, such as sequencing and cause and effect. They should not
be used as the end product, but as part of the process to help guide and shape learners’ thinking,
thereby making them participants in their own learning.
Examples of graphic organisers include:
● KWL charts: Learners categorise what they Know, Want to learn and have Learnt.
● Mind Maps and Spider Diagrams: Show the connections between a range of ideas.
Writing frames allow learners to decide how to structure their work before they start.
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Using Questions Effectively
If a student asks a question in class, they should look to fellow students to answer the question
first, rather than the teacher. Teachers should always ask students to share their thoughts and try
to answer each other’s questions. This will help develop critical thinking skills, problem solving skills,
confidence in speech and the ability to share one’s own perspective and understand the perspectives
of others. If learners are not initially confident enough to put their hand up and ask a question in
class, alternative approaches can be used.
Students should also be instructed in how to find the answers to their own questions through
investigative research. Of course, the best answers come from asking the right questions. Students
should be taught the different levels of questioning. Some questions ask for a simple descriptive
answer. The answers will consist of statements of facts and details. Other questions are looking for
an explanation. These answers want to know why or how something happens. Answers to these
questions will often consider causes and effect and action and consequence. Evaluative questions
will require students to make an analysis of arguments and evidence in order to arrive at a
conclusion. They will weigh evidence and make an assessment. These questions consider the debate
of an issue and look at different perspectives.
Question starters: One way to help learners to ask open questions is to regularly use question
starters. These encourage fuller, more justified answers from learners. Examples include:
● Who?
● What?
● When?
● Where?
● How do we know that ...?
● What if ...?
● How does this compare to ...?
● How would you ...?
● How did ...?
● Explain why ...?
● What might it mean if ...?
● What might happen if ...?
● How could you tell ... was true?
● How far…?
● How surprising…?
● To what extent…?
● What is the significance of…?
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Developing Key Cambridge Lower Secondary Global Perspectives Skills
Research
It is common for young learners to ask very general questions or questions that can be answered
by a simple search on the internet. This can be a problem if learners are creating a question for an
investigation or research. Learners will need support from the teachers to review, rework and
reword questions. Teachers should assist students in developing questions by conducting
preliminary research and guiding students through the initial exploratory phase of the research
process. Initial questions will lead to more questions and students can then begin to understand
how to arrive at the right question to ask for a research project.
For the Cambridge Lower Secondary Global Perspectives programme, we try to move learners
away from knowledge questions to more enquiry-based questions. This will allow them to develop
the skills and meet the learning objectives. Questions starting with ‘Why’ and ‘How’ can be very
useful.
Selecting Information Sources
Teachers need to consider how questions might be answered. It is good to take different
approaches so that learners see that they have a choice. All learners should use a range of
information sources. We use prompt questions like:
● Could you read some reference books?
● Could you conduct an investigation?
● Could you search online?
● Could you explore?
● Could you talk to people?
For other skills, teachers should encourage skills development through questioning.
Here are some examples:
Analysis
● What patterns do you notice?
● Which is the odd one out? Why?
● Put the following into categories.
● How is this similar to ...?
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Evaluation
● Put ... in order of importance.
● Is there a better solution? What?
● Why is ... good or bad?
● What changes would you recommend for next time? Why?
Reflection
● What worked well?
● Why was it successful?
● What didn’t work?
● Why do you think this was?
● What could you have done differently?
● What will you do differently next time?
Whole Class, Group, Pair and Individual Activities
Teacher-led Activities
Teacher-led activities are used sparingly within lessons, although to ensure learners engage and
understand it is essential that teachers ask a variety of questions and that learners are encouraged
to answer them individually and in small groups. Teachers need to model behaviour and actions and
demonstrate how to perform tasks for their students. During a teacher-led activity such as a
presentation, students can learn public speaking skills, body language, gestures, eye contact and the
audio and visual components of a proper slide presentation or video.
Examples of teacher-led activities include:
● Teacher Demonstration
● Teacher Talk/Presentation
● Teacher-led Discussion.
Individual Activities
Learners need to work independently at times. These kinds of activities are more interactive through
the use of peer or self-assessment. Teachers must always monitor internet research activity and
observe the results of daily research in a log, diary or report to ensure that the independent work
time is used efficiently and the students are meeting their goals.
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Examples of individual activities:
● Learners complete a worksheet that gets progressively more challenging.
● Learners create a leaflet or poster summarising recent learning.
● Learners carry out independent research, write a research log and essay.
● Learners carry out independent research and present their findings to others.
Paired Activities
Having someone to share ideas with is invaluable, and a constructively critical friend can offer advice
and guidance. Students should peer-review their work. Working in pairs helps learners to construct
meaning and both partners can be focused and engaged in learning. Pair activities allow learners to
understand different perspectives on an issue, recognize how they contribute to the shared activity
and observe how others contribute. Peer-review gives students a chance to recognize the strengths
and weaknesses in their work and the work of others.
Examples of paired activities:
● Learners consider their ideas individually, then share with a partner and the class.
● Learners peer assess each others’ work against a checklist.
● Learners complete problems as a pair to produce the ‘perfect’ solution/piece of work.
● Learner peer-edit essays and presentations.
Group Activities
Working in small groups, learners can take on varying roles and learn how to collaborate and
cooperate with others. Practising group work is essential for the student’s future success in IGCSE,
A Levels, university and careers.
Examples of group activities:
● Learners plan and carry out research on a topic they have selected.
● Small groups of learners rotate round a circus/carousel of activities, trying out each one.
● Learners work together to complete a task and then deliver their solution.
● Learners work together to make a poster, presentation or bulletin board.
● Learners help organise and participate in an activity in their school or local community.
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Organising and Managing Group Work
Groups can be arranged in many ways. Although learners often choose groups by friendships, it
is useful to organise groups in other ways, for example, by aptitude, interest or by ensuring they are
in groups of mixed ability. Importantly, learners need to experience working with a variety of their
peers, rather than sitting in the same group all the time.
One quick method of grouping learners is to number them as they come into the classroom and
allocate a number to each group of tables. If choosing their own groups, learners need to be given
a strict time limit to arrange themselves, say 30 seconds, and guidance on the need to include
everyone and choose sensible ‘working’ groups. Grouping by ability may be necessary if activities
are going to be differentiated by task.
Setting Ground Rules for Group Work
Clear ground rules are needed on how to conduct group work. You should develop these with your
class and could include some of the following:
● Respect and value everyone’s opinions and beliefs.
● Do not interrupt when others are speaking.
● Use and accept constructive criticism.
● Take your fair share of the tasks.
● Support and explain to each other – you have a collective responsibility.
● Set and define realistic goals.
● Stick to deadlines.
● Listen to each other and the teacher when instructions are given.
● Reflect on how you work with others.
Attention Gathering Techniques
Teachers need to send a clear signal that indicates when they want the class to listen. Simple ways
of doing this are by positioning themselves at the front of the room and holding their hand up.
Counting down from five to zero is also an effective method, as by the time zero has been reached
the class is silent, equipment is down and all eyes are on the teacher. Attention gathering techniques
are especially important in Global Perspectives when students are expected to transition from
individual work, to group work and to a teacher-centred plenary activity throughout the course of
an individual lesson. Lesson pacing, timing and sectioning are key components to the teacher’s
lesson plan.
Monitoring Group Work
While learners are working in groups, teachers need to consistently monitor progress. How much
teachers intervene in group work will depend on the age of the learners. It is important that teachers
do not intervene too much so that groups don’t become too reliant on teacher assistance.
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Teachers should allow learners to make mistakes, find their own errors and correct them and
encourage learners to help and support each other. This will encourage learners to become more
independent: a key Cambridge learner attribute. One way of doing this is to use the ‘three before
me’ rule. This means that learners are expected to look to three different sources of information
(peers, resources, etc.) before they ask you. You can also have a ‘three lives’ rule that states that
each group can only ask you three things during any one lesson or learning activity. This will help
students carefully consider which matters they should bring to the teacher and which ones they can
solve themselves.
Part of the teacher's role is to ensure that every member of a group is involved, that quiet
learners are not excluded and that no member is permitted to ‘freeload’. Standing back and
observing a group is a good start. You can then follow this up with questions directed at individuals.
For learners who are not engaged in an activity small targets can be set and a time limit given before
you return to the individual. Proper delegation of group activities is important. Every student brings
something unique to the team. Students should explore how they contribute to the team, recognize
their strengths and weaknesses and gain an understanding of the types of individual and team tasks
that they enjoy doing and which are the most rewarding.
Giving Formative Feedback to Improve Learning
As teachers observe learners working individually or in groups they will have many opportunities
to identify how their skills are developing. Throughout the programme learners will also regularly
reflect on their learning and progress. Together these will give teachers lots of information about
each learner’s strengths and weaknesses. In order to help learners make progress, they will need to
receive feedback on their skills and how they can develop them further. Students need feedback,
but they will not always seek it. One of the primary responsibilities of a teacher is to justify and
explain grades given using rubrics, mark schemes and direct and specific, qualitative teacher
feedback.
Oral feedback from the teacher - Speak directly with the student about their work in a quiet and
comfortable atmosphere. Provide a nice place to sit for the student, rather than looming over them.
Meet during the lesson off to the side for shorter feedback. For longer feedback conversations,
arrange a time outside of the regular class time to have a really good conversation about the progress
of a student’s work. Offer praise, constructive criticism and guidance to the student. The students
should listen and take notes during the conversation.
Written feedback from the teacher - Teachers should write comments directly in the margins, above
and below the student’s work. Digital comments should also be added to documents and the
comments section of Google Classroom or in an EduPage message. If a student’s work is to be filed
by the school, then the work should be photocopied so that the student can keep a copy of teacher’s
feedback. Students should respond to and resolve all written comments on the student’s work.
Teachers should follow up on all written feedback to assure the feedback was received and
understood.
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Self and Peer-Assessment - Peer-edits of rough drafts allows students to better understand the
criteria of the written assignment by reading and editing another student’s assignment. Multiple
students can peer-edit a single student’s document, allowing for increased readership of a student’s
work. This means that feedback can be given from multiple perspectives, rather than just from the
teacher. Self-assessment allows students to reflect on their work and identify their own strengths
and weaknesses. Self and peer-assessment should not replace teacher feedback, but complement
it. Teachers should monitor all self and peer-assessment to make sure it is being done correctly.
Response to Feedback
A very important, and sometimes overlooked, aspect of feedback is the follow-up stage.
Teachers should make sure that a record of all oral and written feedback is kept by the student.
Teachers then make sure that the student has understood the feedback and is aware of how to
respond to it. Plans should be made and goals set which allows the student to use that feedback to
correct mistakes, edit drafts, and improve and develop the written work, project or presentation.
Response to feedback can be logged in a diary. Teachers should always look for evidence that the
feedback was useful to the student and helped improve their work.
Differentiation
Differentiation is a strategy teachers use to make their lessons more inclusive. Differentiation
aims to promote learning so that all students reach their potential: the best that they as individuals
are able to achieve. Our skills as teachers will be to encourage learners on their journey to reach
their own personal goals through carefully planned provision of exciting and stimulating learning
experiences.
Differentiation means thinking about our learners’ needs and trying to match the teaching
methods, learning activities, resources and learning environment to individual learners or groups of
learners. The purpose of differentiated learning is to enable all learners to have a positive learning
experience and become successful learners.
Reasons for differentiation
Differentiation allows us to appropriately challenge each learner. This can be by providing
support for those learners who are struggling and more challenges for those that need it. It also
takes into account different preferences for learning and competencies and pace of learning and
development. All of our students learn in different ways. Some learners are visual and are drawn to
the arts and graphic design. Others are kinesthetic and sports orientated. Some learners are musical
and retain knowledge when it’s put to verse and rhyme. Thinking-oriented learners contribute to
the group by coming up with innovative ideas. Action-oriented learners help the group stay on task
and achieve goals. Learners with people-skills develop their interpersonal skills and contribute to
team harmony and leadership.
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Global Perspectives allows students to understand and reflect on their strengths and weaknesses
allowing them to improve and develop all other skills and attributes accordingly. Teachers need to
be aware of each of their student’s needs and plan and adapt their lessons to provide the best
possible learning experience for their students.
How to differentiate
We create and adapt teaching methods and resources or materials in a variety of different ways to give
each learner the opportunity to be successful in our classroom.
● Use different groupings: We vary the groupings of learners depending on the learning activity or learning
objective. Sometimes we decide that friendship groups are appropriate for a particular activity. At other
times, you might want groups of different competencies, for example, each group might have someone
who is competent in mathematics for a data handling activity. By organising groups in this way learners
will be able to gain ideas and skills from each other and all learners will be able to progress.
● Vary the activity: This is when learners meet the learning objectives in different ways. Learners might
engage with a topic through a variety of resources, such as artefacts, guest speakers, video clips and
music. Rather than working individually, allow learners to work in pairs or small groups.
● Vary the outcome: If the outcome is, for example, to create a display to demonstrate their learning, then
learners can do this in different ways: some learners might choose to write as their writing skills are quite
developed and others whose writing skills are developing might choose to include more images with
captions rather than extended writing such as portfolios, presentations, and displays.
● Vary the amount and type of learner support: This is when learners receive additional help and support
either from you, a classroom assistant or other learners. For example, when learners are discussing a
source, I work with a small group of learners whose evaluation skills are less developed than others, and
allow other learners to work in unsupported groups with a summary sheet of questions to focus their
discussion.
Appropriate resources can be provided and there are suggestions and resources for each of the
Challenges in the Cambridge syllabus. Learners who need extra support can also be encouraged to
choose their own support materials. This encourages them to be more independent in their own
learning and how they learn. As students progress in Global Perspectives and Research, they will
learn that they can pursue their own interests and talents as they work on essays and research
projects and team project presentations in preparation for IGCSE, A levels, university and careers.
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Using Digital Technologies to Support Teaching and Learning
Digital technologies are particularly useful for Global Perspectives lessons when used as part of
a range of effective teaching and learning methods. Learners can be empowered to be more
autonomous in their learning, yet also be critical and select the most appropriate technology to
support their requirements.
Digital technology is a valuable resource which learners can use to help develop their skills.
Teachers use digital technologies for a variety of reasons. One of these is to access information and
ideas for lessons. As Global Perspectives focuses on global topics, with information about these
topics changing regularly, the internet is a valuable resource for gaining real-time resources, for
example, up-to-date news and images for use as stimulus material.
Teachers can select other resources as part of their planning. Mobile devices such as tablets and
similar tools can be used within our standard classroom. Here digital technology can be presented
as a tool to support learning, similar to a box of books. This allows creative learners to make a
positive choice in their use of technology for a particular task, such as recording their presentation,
researching and checking ideas, or preparing an interactive quiz.
Practising using a variety of emergent technologies and applications to conduct research, write
essays, produce posters and create audio and visual presentations and videos prepares young
learners for academic and career success in the 21st century. These transferable hard and soft skills
will be developed and built upon in every year of Global Perspectives and will give students the
essential skills needed in every field of study and career path.
PSHE at Meridian International School
We clearly articulate the kind of education we aspire to provide which we ensure all members
of the school community (e.g. staff, pupils, parents/careers, governing body) understand and share
our aims. We also effectively create a sense of belonging, pride and identity in our school. We provide
an atmosphere of tolerance and diversity at Meridian International School. Elements of our PSHE
curriculum are taught not only in our Global Perspectives classes, but in all classes and in our Class
Teacher Hours and School Social Program. PSHE lessons promote consideration and respect towards
others (pupils and adults), good manners and courtesy. Our philosophy contributes to helping young
people from all backgrounds to feel as they belong and are valued.
PSHE Education also actively promotes good behaviour and positive character traits, including
for example courtesy, respect, truthfulness, courage and generosity. Meridian International School
has an important role in fostering personal and social skills in young people so that they can fulfil their
potential at school and are well prepared for adult life. Our PSHE programme emphasises clear
expectations on positive behavioural development and a well-planned provision for character and
personal development which can help promote good mental health, wellbeing and positive social
interaction.
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PSHE in Global Perspectives Classes
Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education is a school subject through which
students develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to manage their lives, now and in
the future. It helps children and young people to stay healthy and safe, while preparing them to
make the most of life and work. PSHE education addresses both students’ current experiences and
preparation for their future.
At Key Stage 3, PSHE education acknowledges and addresses the changes that young people
experience, beginning with transition to secondary school, the challenges of adolescence and their
increasing independence. It teaches the knowledge and skills which will equip them for the
opportunities and challenges of life. Students learn to manage diverse relationships, their online
lives, and the increasing influence of peers and the media.
Challenge I
Challenge II
Challenge III
Challenge IV
Year 7
Growing up
Communities
Planning for the future
Year 8
Relationships
Healthy lifestyle
Alcohol, tobacco and
other drugs
Money and me
Year 9
Sex, sexuality and
sexual health
Emotional wellbeing
and mental health
Identity
Risk and safety
PSHE education gives students the opportunity to consider their own and others’ values as
illustrated in the Value Rainbow below:
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PSHE education:
● Helps children and young people to protect themselves and others both online and offline.
● Improves their physical and emotional health.
● Develops personal attributes and soft skills.
● Supports academic attainment and employment prospects, with the greatest benefits
experienced by the most disadvantaged pupils.
Benefits to Pupils:
● PSHE-type anti-bullying interventions have a positive impact on the academic achievements of
pupils.
● PSHE-type interventions contribute to pupils’ increased physical activity and fitness levels,
improved fruit and vegetable consumption and avoiding smoking and vaping.
● Classroom-based PSHE-type behaviour programmes have a positive impact on behavioural
outcomes and, in turn, academic attainment.
Benefits to the Whole School:
● PSHE education supports the school’s vision and ethos.
● PSHE education provides a place for the student voice to be heard and incorporated into the
curriculum
● Children with better emotional well-being make more progress in primary school and are more
engaged in secondary school.
● As children move through the school system, emotional and behavioural well-being become
more important in terms of pupils’ school engagement, while demographic and other
characteristics become less important.
● Children with higher levels of emotional, behavioural, social, and school well-being, on average,
have higher levels of academic achievement and are more engaged in school, both concurrently
and in later years. In particular, emotional, behavioural, social, and school well-being at ages 7,
10 and 13 are significantly associated with later academic achievement at Key Stage 2 (age 11),
Key Stage 3 (age 14) and Key Stage 4 (age 16).
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Creating Ground Rules
PSHE Education helps reduce negative comments made by pupils towards other pupils; whether
intentional or not. To be effective, pupils and teachers need to develop ground rules together and
then test them in discussion and group activities, amending them as necessary.
Examples of ground rules:
● We will use language that won’t offend or upset other people.
● We will use the correct terms and if we don’t know them, we’ll ask.
● We will comment on what was said, not the person who said it.
● We won’t share our own, or our friends’, personal experiences.
● We won’t put anyone on the spot.
● We won’t judge or make assumptions about anyone.
Developmentally Appropriate Content
An essential element of getting PSHE education right is making sure that what is being taught is
age appropriate – or developmentally appropriate – for our pupils. At first glance, this seems
straightforward. There are clearly topics children need when they are younger, e.g. learning about
road safety, families or healthy eating, and some topics that are more appropriate when pupils are
older, for example learning about body image, sexual health and preparation for the world of work,
such as interview techniques and CV writing.
Safe Decision-making
The topics explored in PSHE relate directly to a child or young person’s life, when they may find
themselves in tricky situations, or ‘crunch moments’ where they have to make a very quick decision;
for example, a child who is dared to run across the road by their friends, a teenager who is being
pressured to send a naked photo of themselves, or a young person who is offered drugs at a party.
They will need to recall learning from PSHE at that moment to help them make their decision. It is
important that PSHE lessons help young people understand the actions they can take to keep
themselves and others safe and healthy.
PSHE lessons that highlight and promote positive social norms can be effective at reducing some
risks. For example, some people might drink heavily due to being influenced by their perception that
lots of others in their social group also do this and want them to join in. Discovering that in fact most
people don’t drink heavily, or approve of doing so, can reduce problem drinking both in those who
were only doing it to fit in, as well as in those who might have other motivators but don’t want to
stand out from the crowd.
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Year 7 PSHE Topics
1. Growing Up
Students learn about personal hygiene and how to identify ways of achieving and maintaining
healthy hygiene practices.
Students learn about puberty strategies to manage the physical and mental changes that are a typical
part of growing up, including puberty and menstrual wellbeing.
Students learn how we are all unique; that recognising and demonstrating personal strengths
build self-confidence, self-esteem and good health and wellbeing.
Students learn to understand what can affect wellbeing and resilience (e.g. life changes,
relationships, achievements and employment).
Students learn the impact that media and social media can have on how people think about
themselves and express themselves, including regarding body image, physical and
mental health.
Students learn about what is expected of them now that they have transitioned from primary school
to junior high school.
2. Communities
Students learn about their place in the community and how they can help out through community
activities and volunteering.
Students learn about how the issues that they face in their local community are similar issues felt by
other other localities in a global community.
Students learn about the community of their school and how they can play a role.
3. Planning for the Future
Students learn study, organisational, research and presentation skills.
Students learn how to review their strengths, interests, skills, qualities and values and how to
develop them.
Students learn to set realistic yet ambitious targets and goals.
Students learn the skills and attributes that employers value.
Students learn the skills and qualities required to engage in enterprise.
Students learn the importance and benefits of being a lifelong learner.
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Students learn about the options available to them at the end of Key Stage 3, sources of
information, advice and support, and the skills to manage this decision-making process.
Students learn about the skills they will need and the attitudes they will need towards self-study and
greater independence in secondary and high school.
Students learn about routes into work, training and other vocational and academic
opportunities, and progression routes.
Students learn the benefits of setting ambitious goals and being open to opportunities in all
aspects of life.
Students learn to recognise and challenge stereotypes and family or cultural expectations
that may limit aspirations.
Students learn different types and patterns of work, including employment, self-employment
and voluntary work; that everyone has a different pathway through life, education
and work.
Students learn about different work roles and career pathways, including clarifying their own
early aspirations.
Students learn about young people’s employment rights and responsibilities.
Students learn to manage emotions in relation to their future in high school, university and
employment.
4. Media literacy and Digital Resilience
Students learn that features of the internet can amplify risks and opportunities, e.g. speed
and scale of information sharing, blurred public and private boundaries and a perception of
anonymity.
Students learn to establish personal values and clear boundaries around aspects of life that
they want to remain private; strategies to safely manage personal information and images online,
including on social media.
Students learn about the benefits and positive use of social media, including how it can offer
opportunities to engage with a wide variety of views on different issues.
Students learn to recognise the importance of seeking a variety of perspectives on issues
and ways of assessing the evidence which supports those views.
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Year 8 PSHE Topics
Relationships
Students learn about different types of relationships, including those within families, friendships,
romantic or intimate relationships and the factors that can affect them.
Students learn indicators of positive, healthy relationships and unhealthy relationships, including
online.
Students learn about the similarities, differences and diversity among people of different race,
culture, ability, sex, gender identity, age and sexual orientation.
Students learn the difference between biological sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
Students learn to recognise that sexual attraction and sexuality are diverse.
Students learn that marriage is a legal, social and emotional commitment that should be entered
into freely, and never forced upon someone through threat or coercion.
Students learn how the media portrays relationships and the potential impact of this on people’s
expectations of relationships.
Students learn the characteristics and benefits of strong, positive relationships, including mutual
support, trust, respect and equality.
Students learn to respond appropriately to indicators of unhealthy relationships, including seeking
help where necessary.
Students learn the importance of stable, committed relationships, including the rights and
protections provided within legally recognised marriages and civil partnerships and
the legal status of other long-term relationships.
Students learn about the legal rights, responsibilities and protections provided by the Equality Act
of 2010.
Students learn about diversity in romantic and sexual attraction and developing sexuality,
including sources of support and reassurance and how to access them.
Students learn strategies to access reliable, accurate and appropriate advice and support with
relationships, and to assist others to access it when needed.
Students learn to understand the potential impact of the portrayal of sex in pornography and
other media, including on sexual attitudes, expectations and behaviours.
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Healthy Lifestyle
Students learn the importance of, and strategies for, maintaining a balance between school,
work, leisure, exercise, and online activities.
Students learn the benefits of physical activity and exercise for physical and mental health
and wellbeing.
Students learn the importance of sleep and strategies to maintain good quality sleep.
Students learn to recognise and manage what influences their choices about physical activity.
Students learn the role of a balanced diet as part of a healthy lifestyle and the impact of unhealthy
food choices.
Students learn about what might influence decisions about eating a balanced diet and strategies to
manage eating choices.
\
Students learn the importance of taking increased responsibility for their own physical
health including dental check-ups, sun safety and self-examination (especially
testicular self-examination in late KS3); the purpose of vaccinations offered during
adolescence for individuals and society.
Students learn strategies for maintaining personal hygiene, including oral health, and
prevention of infection.
Students learn how to access health services when appropriate.
Students learn the risks and facts associated with female genital mutilation (FGM), its status
as a criminal act and strategies to safely access support for themselves or others
who may be at risk, or who have already been subject to FGM.
Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs
Students learn the positive and negative uses of drugs in society including the safe use of
prescribed and over the counter medicines; responsible use of antibiotics.
Students learn to evaluate misconceptions, social norms and cultural values relating to drug,
alcohol and tobacco use.
Students learn the consequences of substance use and misuse for the mental and physical
health and wellbeing of individuals and their families, and the wider consequences
for communities.
Students learn about the wider risks of illegal substance use for individuals, including for personal
safety, career, relationships and future lifestyle.
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Students learn strategies to manage a range of influences on drug, alcohol and tobacco use,
including peers.
Students learn. information about alcohol, nicotine and other legal and illegal substances,
including the short-term and long-term health risks associated with their use.
Students learn the personal and social risks and consequences of substance use and misuse
including occasional use.
Students learn the law relating to the supply, use and misuse of legal and illegal substances.
Students learn about the concepts of dependence and addiction including awareness of
help to overcome addictions.
Students learn to identify, manage and seek help for unhealthy behaviours, habits and
addictions including smoking cessation.
Money and Me
Students learn to assess and manage risk in relation to financial decisions that young people
might make.
Students learn about values and attitudes relating to finance, including debt.
Students learn to manage emotions in relation to money.
Students learn to evaluate social and moral dilemmas about the use of money, including the
influence of advertising and peers on financial decisions.
Students learn how to recognise financial exploitation in different contexts e.g. drug and money
mules, online scams.
Students learn how to effectively budget, including the benefits of saving.
Students learn how to effectively make financial decisions, including recognising the
opportunities and challenges involved in taking financial risks.
Students learn to recognise and manage the range of influences on their financial decisions.
Students learn to access appropriate support for financial decision-making and for concerns
relating to money, gambling, and consumer rights.
Students learn the skills to challenge or seek support for financial exploitation in different
contexts including online.
Students learn to evaluate the financial advantages, disadvantages and risks of different
models of contractual terms, including self-employment full-time, part-time and
zero-hours contracts.
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Media Literacy and Digital Resilience
Students learn to understand how the way people present themselves online can have
positive and negative impacts on them.
Students learn to make informed decisions about whether different media and digital
content are appropriate to view and develop the skills to act on them.
Students learn that on any issue there will be a range of viewpoints; to recognise the
potential influence of extreme views on people’s attitudes and behaviours.
Students learn how to respond appropriately when things go wrong online, including confidently
accessing support, reporting to authorities and platforms.
Year 9 PSHE Topics
Sex, Sexuality and Sexual Health
Students learn about the strategies to manage the physical and mental changes that are a typical
part of growing up, including puberty and menstrual wellbeing.
Students learn about the purpose, importance and different forms of contraception; how
and where to access contraception and advice (see also Relationships).
Students learn that certain infections can be spread through sexual activity and that
barrier contraceptives offer some protection against certain sexually transmitted
infections (STIs).
Students learn about the different types of intimacy — including online — and their potential
emotional and physical consequences (both positive and negative).
Students learn about specific STIs, their treatment and how to reduce the risk of
transmission.
Students learn how to respond if someone has, or may have, an STI (including ways to
access sexual health services).
Students learn how to overcome barriers, (including embarrassment and misconceptions) about
sexual health and the use of sexual health services.
Students learn about healthy pregnancy and how lifestyle choices affect a developing foetus.
Students learn that fertility can vary in all people, changes over time (including menopause)
and can be affected by STIs and other lifestyle factors.
Students learn about the possibility of miscarriage and support available to people who are
not able to conceive or maintain a pregnancy.
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Students learn about choices and support available in the event of an unplanned pregnancy,
and how to access appropriate help and advice.
Students learn the different types of intimacy — including online — and their potential
emotional and physical consequences (both positive and negative).
Students learn about specific STIs, their treatment and how to reduce the risk of
transmission.
Students learn how to respond if someone has, or may have, an STI (including ways to
access sexual health services).
Students learn to overcome barriers, (including embarrassment and misconceptions) about
sexual health and the use of sexual health services.
Students learn about healthy pregnancy and how lifestyle choices affect a developing
foetus.
Students learn that fertility can vary in all people, changes over time (including menopause)
and can be affected by STIs and other lifestyle factors.
Students learn about the possibility of miscarriage and support available to people who are
not able to conceive or maintain a pregnancy.
Students learn about choices and support available in the event of an unplanned pregnancy,
and how to access appropriate help and advice relationships in providing support.
Emotional Well-being and Mental Health
Students learn how to identify and articulate a range of emotions accurately and sensitively,
using appropriate vocabulary.
Students learn the characteristics of mental and emotional health and strategies for
managing these.
Students learn the link between language and mental health stigma and develop strategies
to challenge stigma and misconceptions associated with help-seeking and mental
health concerns.
Students learn strategies to understand and build resilience, as well as how to respond to
disappointments and setbacks.
Students learn a range of healthy coping strategies and ways to promote wellbeing and
boost mood, including physical activity, participation and the value of positive.
Students learn how to recognise when they or others need help with their mental health
and wellbeing; sources of help and support and strategies for accessing what they need.
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Students learn the causes and triggers for unhealthy coping strategies, such as self-harm
and eating disorders, and the need to seek help for themselves or others as soon as possible.
[NB It is important to avoid teaching methods and resources that provide
instruction on ways of self-harming, restricting food/inducing vomiting, hiding behaviour
from others etc., or that might provide inspiration for pupils who are more vulnerable.
Identity
Students learn about simple strategies to help build resilience to negative opinions, judgements and
comments.
Students learn to recognise and manage internal and external influences on decisions which affect
health and wellbeing.
Students learn to accurately assess their areas of strength and development, and where appropriate,
act upon feedback.
Students learn how self-confidence, self-esteem, and mental health are affected positively and
negatively by internal and external influences and ways of managing this.
Students learn how different media portray idealised and artificial body shapes; how this influences
body satisfaction and body image and how to critically appraise what they see and manage feelings
about this.
Students learn strategies to develop assertiveness and build resilience to peer and other influences
that affect both how they think about themselves and their health and wellbeing.
Risk and Safety
Students learn how to identify risk and manage personal safety in increasingly independent
situations, including online.
Students learn ways of assessing and reducing risk in relation to health, wellbeing and personal
safety.
Students learn the risks associated with gambling and recognise that chance-based
transactions can carry similar risks; strategies for managing peer and other influences relating to
gambling.
Students learn how to get help in an emergency and perform basic first aid, including
cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of defibrillators.
Students learn ways to identify risk and manage personal safety in new social settings,
workplaces, and environments, including online.
Students learn strategies for identifying risky and emergency situations, including online;
ways to manage these and get appropriate help, including where there may be
legal consequences (e.g. drugs and alcohol, violent crime and gangs).
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Students learn to increase confidence in performing emergency first aid and life-saving
skills, including cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of defibrillators.
Students learn to understand and build resilience to thinking errors associated with gambling (e.g.
‘gambler’s fallacy’) the range of gambling-related harms , and how to access support for themselves
or others.
Media Literacy and Digital Resilience
Students learn that there are positive and safe ways to create and share content online and
the opportunities this offers.
Students learn strategies for protecting and enhancing their personal and professional
reputation online.
Students learn that social media may disproportionately feature exaggerated or inaccurate
information about situations, or extreme viewpoints; to recognise why and how this may influence
opinions and perceptions of people and events.
Students learn how personal data is generated, collected and shared, including by
individuals, and the consequences of this.
Cambridge Global Perspectives for KS3 at Meridian International School
Cambridge Global Perspectives for KS3 at Meridian International School builds upon and
reinforced our students transferable skills through the course of three years of study in order to
prepare them for success in their KS4 IGCSE examinations. It is a skills-based programme which
develops our student’s hard and soft skills and places academic study in a practical, real-world
context. Our students’ develop the ability to think critically about a range of global and local issues
and understand the perspectives of others. Through research, analysis, evaluation, reflection,
collaboration and communication, our students acquire a tool box of transferable skills that they
need to be successful at school and university, as well as in their future careers.
Practising empathy and compassion, respecting others, understanding personal boundaries,
awareness of actions and consequences, contributing to the local community and embracing
diversity are just a few of the essential concepts which our students continuously develop into
character-building, life skills. Cambridge Global Perspectives combines with our school’s PSHE
programme, where our students can acquire the essential skills, knowledge and wisdom to help them
navigate the increasingly complex world of the 21st century.
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Meridian International School Prague [MIS]
ACADEMIC YEAR 2023/2024 – Secondary & High School
IGCSE - Global Perspectives Syllabus - Year 10
Component 1 - Written Exam
Component 2 - Individual Research Paper
Component 3 - Team Project
This is the first year of a two year course on your way to earning the IGCSE certification. Students
will be examining a variety of topics from different perspectives: personal, local, national and global.
Students will be discussing current events and the developments of these events as they happen.
Students will also consider the historical context of these current events. Students will be practising
the interrelated skills of critical thinking, research, reflection, communication and collaboration.
The direction of this class will be research-based and student-driven. The students are expected
to contribute to many of the topics discussed. The primary objective of Global Perspectives is not
about learning content and facts, but developing the proper skills in order to better train the mind
to think. It is a matter of opening minds and encouraging empathy for the complexity of the world
and the human experience.
Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives provides opportunities for enquiry into, and reflection on,
key global issues. Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives encourages awareness of global problems
and offers a range of opportunities to explore solutions through cooperation and collaboration.
The aims of this course are to enable students to:
● Become independent and empowered to take their place in an ever-changing, information-heavy,
interconnected world.
● Develop an analytical, evaluative grasp of global issues and their causes, consequences and possible
courses of action.
● Enquire into, and reflect on, issues independently and in collaboration with others from different
cultural perspectives.
● Work independently as well as part of a team, directing much of their own learning with the teacher as
an active facilitator.
● Consider important issues from personal, local and/or national and global perspectives and understand
the links between these.
● Critically assess the information available to them and support judgements with lines of reasoning.
● Communicate and empathise with the needs and rights of others.
Students explore stimulating topics that have global significance. They learn to collaborate with
others from another culture, community or country. They assess information critically and explore
lines of reasoning. They learn to direct their own learning and develop an independence of thought.
35
Meridian International School, through the employment of the Cambridge IGCSE Global
Perspectives curriculum, emphasises the development and application of skills rather than the
acquisition of knowledge. Students develop transferable skills that will be useful for further study
and for young people as active citizens of the future.
Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives encourages you to become more aware of global problems.
It offers you opportunities to explore issues you are interested in; to work independently and to
research on your own. It also gives you the chance to build your team working skills of collaboration
and co-operation as you work with others to explore solutions to local issues. The course is not about
getting everybody to think identically; it is about finding out what others think and feel about the
global issues of today, reflecting on different perspectives and taking others’ ideas into
consideration.
Section 1: Syllabus content - what you need to know about.
This section gives you an outline of the syllabus content for this course.
The aims of the course are to help you to:
● Become independent and ready to take your place in an ever-changing, information-heavy,
interconnected world.
● Develop a grasp of global issues and their causes, consequences and possible courses of action.
● Enquire into, and reflect on, issues from different cultural perspectives, independently and with others.
● Work independently as well as part of a team, directing much of your own learning.
● Consider important issues from personal, local and/or national and global perspectives and understand
the links between these.
● Assess information available to you and support your judgements with evidence and reasoning.
● Communicate and empathise with the needs and rights of others.
Content overview
Young people face unprecedented challenges in an interconnected and information heavy world,
not least in how they will gain a sense of their own active place in the world and cope with changes
that will impact on their life chances and life choices.
Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives students will have opportunities to acquire and apply a
range of skills to support them in these challenges, including:
● Researching, analysing and evaluating information
● Developing and justifying a line of reasoning
● Reflecting on processes and outcomes
● Communicating information and reasoning
● Collaborating to achieve a common outcome.
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Students explore stimulating topics that have global significance. They learn to collaborate with
others from another culture, community or country. They assess information critically and explore
lines of reasoning. They learn to direct their own learning and develop an independence of thought.
Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives emphasises the development and application of skills
rather than the acquisition of knowledge. Candidates develop transferable skills that will be useful
for further study and for young people as active citizens of the future.
Critical Video Analysis
Provides students with an opportunity to develop the skill of thinking on their feet. Through the
use of documentary videos and accompanying viewing guides, students will develop the ability to
focus, anticipate and extrapolate answers from the presented information, in an effort to improve
their visual and auditory acuity and literacy.
Topics
Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives is built around topics; knowledge of content is not assessed.
However, each particular topic encompasses issues of global importance.
The topics are as follows.
Component 1: Written Examination
● Demographic change
● Education for all
● Employment
● Fuel and energy
● Globalisation
● Law and criminality
● Migration
● Transport systems
Component 2: Individual Report
● Belief systems
● Biodiversity and ecosystem loss
● Changing communities
● Digital world
● Family
● Humans and other species
● Sustainable living
● Trade and aid
37
Component 3: Team Project
● Conflict and peace
● Disease and health
● Human rights
● Language and communication
● Poverty and inequality
● Sport and recreation
● Tradition, culture and identity
● Water, food and agriculture
The textbook is structured so that teachers and students can choose a unique route through
it – it’s a sort of “build your own learning adventure” book. However, in the Meridian Global
Perspectives IGCSE course of study, we have constructed a structured curriculum that is unique to
this institution but has foundations in the suggested path set by the textbook authors.
Skills development activities:
Section A of the textbook includes skills development chapters which concentrate on the skills that
are used in Global Perspectives. Each skill development chapter is divided into three Levels.
● Level 1 introduces the skills.
● Level 2 develops and practises the skills.
● Level 3 extends and practises the skills. (Year 11)
It is suggested that it is best to work through the Level 1 skills from several chapters and apply
them to some research, before going back to work through Level 2. Students should then apply Level
2 to some research before going back to work through Level 3. You will get more out of the skills
practised this way, than if you simply work through all the skills levels at the same time.
It’s best to work through the skills development chapters in order, rather than for example
starting with Section 3.2, Level 3, however going back to an earlier chapter to revise a skill can be
very helpful. Sections B, C and D cover the topics from the Global Perspectives syllabus, helping you
to put your skills into practice and to start your learning journey.
Each topic chapter covers:
● Key issues
● Key language
● Stimulus material
● Skills practice activities
● Ideas for discussion, debate and practice
The topic chapters suggest one approach to developing your skills with relevant content. So long
as you do practise your skills, you can choose other stimulus material and other ways of exploring
the topics.
38
Year 10: Skill Development
Structure of the Year
● September - December: Individual Report
● December - March: Team Project
● March - May: Focused Written Examination Preparation
This is based on the Complete Global Perspectives for Cambridge IGCSE & O Level Textbook.
At the end of the module students will be able to:
1.1: Searching for Information (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Identify the types of information needed to answer different questions.
● Use precise and targeted search terms.
● Skim titles and first paragraphs to judge whether a result is relevant.
● Change search terms if necessary.
● Search within sites belonging to specific organisations, such as NGOs.
● Use advanced searches provided by search engines.
● Compare results from different search engines.
1.2: Reading and recording (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Identify key words that will develop reading skills and help with research and studies.
● Identify key words that will help to locate relevant information.
● Skim read to locate key words.
● Read for relevance.
● Read for detail.
1.3: Setting up research (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Be able to set up their own lines of inquiry.
● Respond effectively to questions about setting up a line of inquiry in the written examination.
● Gather information
● Use ideas and information to answer questions
● Use information to inform a project outcome
● Evaluate different local, national, global and / or cultural perspectives
39
2.1 Identifying information and trends. (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Extract, understand and interpret information from written and graphic material.
● Verify factual information, cross-check to ensure that it is accurate.
● Interpret statistical information correctly and accurately.
● Discuss and debate opinions and determine if opinions are well supported by facts, statistics and
reasoning.
● Identify predictions and determine if they are supported with valid causes, consequences and what is
likely.
● Recognize and evaluate value judgements.
2.2 Understanding key issues (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Discriminating between facts and issues
● Discriminating between key issues and less important issues.
● Consider the consequences, urgency, severity and perspectives of a problem.
2.3 Identifying causes and consequences (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● The concept of cause and consequence and how it is different from a sequence of events.
● Cause and consequence (one thing causes another thing to happen)
● Sequence of events (first one thing and then another)
2.4 Identifying and evaluating possible courses of action (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Identifying courses of action & deciding which course of action is most appropriate for different people,
groups and institutions. (Level 1)
● Evaluating possible courses of action by predicting and assessing consequences in order to decide on the
best course of action to take. (Level 2 & 3)
2.5 Identifying different perspectives (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● What is a perspective?
● Recognize that other people have different perspectives.
● Recognize that these other perspectives might be as reasonable as our own.
● Identify different types of perspectives. (Personal, Local, National, Global)
3.1 Questioning knowledge claims (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Questioning knowledge claims and evaluating the reasoning used to support claims.
● What is a knowledge claim?
● Identifying the different types of claims; fact, opinion, prediction or value judgement.
● Consider the difference between speculation and prediction of reasonable, likely consequences.
● Consider whether the claim is supported by strong reasoning, so that it seems to be reasonable
knowledge.
40
3.2 Questioning the reliability of information (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Consider the reliability of information to help us determine what to believe and to what extent we should
believe it.
● Undertake a number of checks to determine the reliability of a claim.
● Undertake a number of checks to determine the reliability of the source of the information.
3.3 Evaluating causes and consequences (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Evaluate causes and consequences by considering questions like: Is this really likely? Are there
alternative possible causes? Are there alternative possible consequences?
● Recognizing specific problems with predicted causes are: Exaggeration, Oversimplification and Ignoring
other possibilities.
3.4 Questioning underlying beliefs (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Understanding that our fundamental beliefs are a way of seeing, they are a perspective and not an
absolute part of the way the world is.
● Using conscious, intellectual skills to better understand that different perspectives are complex and stem
from different interpretations of the world that are based on different beliefs and different values.
● Use subconscious, empathetic skills to aid understanding.
4. Developing a line of reasoning (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Considering the ultimate purpose of the writing. What exactly am I trying to argue for or against?
● Considering how to support the purpose of the writing. What reasons, examples and mini conclusions
will help me to support my purpose?
● Considering the overall structure. How can I organise my ideas logically?
● Considering logical and linguistic flow. How can I link my ideas together?
● Considering other perspectives and counterarguments.
● Showing that students have reflected on the issues.
5.1 Reflecting on issues and perspectives. (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Develop strategies for reflection.
● Consider issues, perspectives and the links between them.
5.2 Reflection on teamwork, outcomes and own performance. (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Think about how they and their teams are working, and whether they are achieving their aims.
41
5.3 Reflect on personal learning. (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Think about what kinds of learning they are engaging in.
● What learning strategies they are using.
● Which of these strategies are effective for them?
● How they feel about their learning.
● What is stopping them from learning more effectively?
● How can they improve their learning?
● Understanding why, what they have learned matters.
6.1 Planning a project. (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Setting an appropriate aim and identifying an outcome.
● Identifying tasks that need to be done
● Scheduling tasks
● Reviewing progress
● Amending schedules
● Carrying out tasks
● Evaluating the project
6.2 Teamwork and individual effort. (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Becoming aware of the skills that lead students to develop the skill of teamwork.
● Listening to others
● Trusting other in the team
● Communicating in a range of ways
● Negotiating and compromising
● Encouraging, motivating and inspiring others.
● Advising others tactfully
● Influencing and leading
● Knowing when not to lead.
7. Selecting evidence and present research. (Y10: Level 1 & 2)
● Selecting evidence that is relevant to the purpose.
● Will this help me answer the question?
● Is it relevant?
● Could I use it later in another piece of work, even if I can't use it here?
42
Team Project
Section B includes a chapter on each of the topic areas for the Team Project.
For student assessment, students will need to work with a team to organise an active project – a
project where you set an aim and make that aim happen. You won’t be able to simply gather
information for this project. You will need to choose one of these eight topics as the general area for
your project. You will also research different cultural perspectives on your chosen issue. Each chapter
includes suggestions for aims and outcomes to help you.
Component 3 Team Project
● Conflict and peace
● Disease and health
● Human rights
● Language and communication
● Poverty and inequality
● Sport and recreation
● Tradition, culture and identity
● Water, food and agriculture
Individual Report
Section C includes a chapter on each of the topic areas for the Individual Report.
For your assessment you will need to write an individual report relating to one of these eight topics.
You will be assessed on the skills that you use and demonstrate rather than on your subject
knowledge. Each chapter includes suggestions for research to help you.
Component 2 Individual Report
● Belief systems
● Biodiversity and ecosystem loss
● Changing communities
● Digital world
● Family
● Humans and other species
● Sustainable living
● Trade and aid
43
Written Examination Paper
Section D includes a chapter on each of the topic areas for the Written Examination Paper.
For your assessment you will have to take a written examination paper, which will assess your skills.
The written examination paper will be based around these topics. Each chapter includes examination
practice to help you.
Component 1 Written Examination
● Demographic change
● Education for all
● Employment
● Fuel and energy
● Globalisation
● Law and criminality
● Migration
● Transport systems
Choosing Topics
Students may have to negotiate with the teacher to choose topics for their Team Project and
Individual Report that they find interesting . This process will improve students’ presentation and
reasoning skills.
Students should be prepared to listen to the teacher too. Listening is also an important skill in
Global Perspectives. Furthermore, students need to choose the right moment to strike out
independently. All teachers have a valuable, informed opinion about whether students are ready for
this. And one student may be ready sooner, or later, than their classmates. It is possible to work
through some of the discussion and activities in a topic chapter without completing the whole
chapter or producing your Individual Report or Team Project.
What Students Will Learn
Students will be able to choose – or at least negotiate – quite a lot of what they learn. They will
discuss and learn about a number of important global issues. More importantly, students will
develop, practise and apply the skills they need to research, plan and take action. Students will learn
to understand different perspectives on complex global issues, and learn to see the world differently.
44
Year 10 PSHE Topics
Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing
Students learn about the characteristics of mental and emotional health; to develop empathy and
understanding about how daily actions can affect people’s mental health.
Students learn about change and its impact on mental health and wellbeing and to recognise the
need for emotional support during life changes and/or difficult experiences.
Students learn about a broad range of strategies — cognitive and practical — for promoting their
own emotional wellbeing, for avoiding negative thinking and for ways of managing mental health
concerns.
Students learn to recognise warning signs of common mental and emotional health concerns
(including stress, anxiety and depression), what might trigger them and what help or treatment is
available.
Students learn about the importance of and ways to pre-empt common triggers and respond to
warning signs of unhealthy coping strategies, such as self-harm and eating disorders in themselves
and others [NB It is important to avoid teaching methods and resources that provide instruction on
ways of self-harming, restricting food/inducing vomiting, hiding behaviour from others etc., or that
might provide inspiration for pupils who are more vulnerable (e.g. personal accounts of weight
change).]
Students learn how to recognise when they or others need help with their mental health and
wellbeing; to explore and analyse ethical issues when peers need help; strategies and skills to provide
basic support and identify and access the most appropriate sources of help.
Health-related Decisions
Students learn to make informed lifestyle choices regarding sleep, diet and exercise.
Students learn the benefits of having a balanced approach to spending time online.
Students learn to identify, evaluate and independently access reliable sources of information, advice
and support for all aspects of physical and mental health.
Students learn about the health services available to people; strategies to become a confident user
of the NHS and other health services; to overcome potential concerns or barriers to seeking help.
Students learn the purpose of blood, organ and stem cell donation for individuals and society.
Students learn how to take increased personal responsibility for maintaining and monitoring health
including cancer prevention, screening and self-examination.
45
Forming and Maintaining Respectful Relationships
Students learn how to safely and responsibly form, maintain and manage positive relationships,
including online.
Students learn about the qualities and behaviours they should expect and exhibit in a wide variety
of positive relationships (including in school and wider society, family and friendships, including
online).
Students learn how to further develop and rehearse the skills of team working.
Students learn how to further develop the skills of active listening, clear communication, negotiation
and compromise.
Students learn strategies to identify and reduce risk from people online that they do not already
know; when and how to access help.
Students learn to manage the strong feelings that relationships can cause (including sexual
attraction).
Students learn to develop conflict management skills and strategies to reconcile after disagreements.
Students learn to manage the influence of drugs and alcohol on decision-making within relationships
and social situations.
Students learn how to manage the breakdown of a relationship (including its digital legacy), loss and
change in relationships.
Students learn the effects of change, including loss, separation, divorce and bereavement; strategies
for managing these and accessing support.
Students learn the services available to support healthy relationships and manage unhealthy
relationships, and how to access them.
Students learn strategies to manage the strong emotions associated with the different stages of
relationships.
Students learn to safely and responsibly manage changes in personal relationships including the
ending of relationships.
Students learn ways to manage grief about changing relationships including the impact of separation,
divorce and bereavement; sources of support and how to access them.
Students learn the opportunities and potential risks of establishing and conducting relationships
online, and strategies to manage the risks.
Students learn the legal and ethical responsibilities people have in relation to online aspects of
relationships.
Students learn to recognise unwanted attention and ways to respond and how to seek help.
46
Consent
Students learn that consent is freely given; that being pressurised, manipulated or coerced to agree
to something is not giving consent, and how to seek help in such circumstances.
Students learn about the concept of consent in maturing relationships.
Students learn about the law relating to sexual consent.
Students learn how to seek, give, not give and withdraw consent (in all contexts, including online).
Students learn that the seeker of consent is legally and morally responsible for ensuring that consent
has been given; that if consent is not given or is withdrawn, that decision should always be respected.
Students learn the impact of sharing sexual images of others without consent.
Students learn how to manage any request or pressure to share an image of themselves or others,
and how to get help.
Students learn that intimate relationships should be pleasurable.
Students learn about the impact of attitudes towards sexual assault and to challenge victim-blaming,
including when abuse occurs online.
Students learn to recognise the impact of drugs and alcohol on choices and sexual behaviour.
Students learn the skills to assess their readiness for sex, including sexual activity online, as an
individual and within a couple.
Students learn to evaluate different motivations and contexts in which sexual images are shared, and
possible legal, emotional and social consequences.
Contraception and Parenthood
Students learn the communication and negotiation skills necessary for contraceptive use in healthy
relationships (see also ‘Health’).
Students learn the risks related to unprotected sex.
Students learn the consequences of unintended pregnancy, sources of support and the options
available.
Students learn the nature and importance of stable, long-term relationships (including marriage and
civil partnerships) for family life and bringing up children.
Students learn how to choose and access appropriate contraception (including emergency
contraception) and negotiate contraception use with a partner.
47
Students learn the physical and emotional responses people may have to unintended pregnancy; the
different options available; whom to talk to for accurate, impartial advice and support.
Students learn the importance of parenting skills and qualities for family life, the implications of
young parenthood and services that offer support for new parents and families.
Students learn the reasons why people choose to adopt/foster children.
Media Literacy and Digital Resilience
Students learn how data may be used with the aim of influencing decisions, including targeted
advertising and other forms of personalisation online; strategies to manage this.
Students learn strategies to critically assess bias, reliability and accuracy in digital content.
Students learn to assess the causes and personal consequences of extremism and intolerance in all
their forms.
Students learn to recognise the shared responsibility to challenge extreme viewpoints that incite
violence or hate and ways to respond to anything that causes anxiety or concern.
As Global Perspectives at Meridian International School is a skills-based rather than content-
based course, students will develop transferable skills leading up to an Individual Report at the end
of the first term of learning. They then develop skills which would lead to a practice Team Project at
the end of the second term in this first year of study. Once component 2 and component 3 have
been introduced, the focus shifts on developing learners’ skills to complete a practice Written
Examination at the end of the first year of study. Year 10 students continue to develop their PSHE
skills that have been introduced during key stage 3.
In the second year of study, there are differences in the scheme of work for developing students'
skills. The focus shifts to a higher level and the Team Project will be completed by the end of Term 1
in Year 2. Similarly, the Individual Report will be completed before the end of Term 2 so that
preparation for the Written Examination at the end of the course can be completed before the slate
of IGCSE exams begin in April of Year 2.
48
Meridian International School Prague [MIS]
ACADEMIC YEAR 2023/2024 – Secondary & High School
IGCSE - Global Perspectives Syllabus - Year 11
Component 1 - Written Exam
Component 2 - Individual Research Paper
Component 3 - Team Project
This is the second year of a two year course on your way to earning the IGCSE certification. Global
Perspectives is not quite like teaching other subjects in a traditional curriculum. Global Perspectives
isn’t really a “subject” with an agreed, traditional body of knowledge in which the teacher has a
degree in that subject and already knows what they are talking about. The subject matter of Global
Perspectives is our world. Global Perspectives aims to help students to make this vast topic
manageable by teaching them to:
● Find information about our world and about key issues in our world.
● Think and reflect critically and carefully about our world and the key issues in our world.
● Negotiate and understand their own place in our world.
● Act thoughtfully, realistically and purposefully to improve our world.
● Communicate information, ideas and reasoning to others in our world.
Students will be examining a variety of topics from different perspectives: personal, local,
national and global. In class, students will be discussing current events and the developments of
these events as they happen. Students will also consider the historical context of these current
events. Students will be practicing the interrelated skills of critical thinking, research, reflection,
communication and collaboration. The direction of this class will be research-based and student-
driven. Students are expected to contribute many of the topics which will be discussed. The primary
objective of Global Perspectives is not about learning content and facts, but developing the proper
skills in order to better train the mind to think. It is a matter of opening minds and encouraging
empathy for the complexity of the world and the human experience.
49
Year 11: Skill Development
Structure of the Year
● September - December: Team Project
● January - March: Individual Report
● March - April: Focused Written Examination Preparation
This is based on the Complete Global Perspectives for Cambridge IGCSE & O Level Textbook.
At the end of the module students will be able to:
1.1: Searching for Information (Y11: Level 3)
● Identify the types of information needed to answer different questions.
● Use precise and targeted search terms.
● Skim titles and first paragraphs to judge whether a result is relevant.
● Change search terms if necessary.
● Search within sites belonging to specific organizations, such as NGOs.
● Use advanced searches provided by search engines.
● Compare results from different search engines.
1.2: Reading and recording (Y11: Level 3)
● Identify key words that will help specific reading skills to help them with their research and studies.
● Identify key words that will help to locate relevant information.
● Skim read to locate key words.
● Read for relevance.
● Read for detail.
1.3: Setting up research (Y11: Level 3)
● Be able to set up their own lines of inquiry.
● Respond effectively to questions about setting up a line of inquiry in the written examination.
● Gather information
● Use ideas and information to answer questions
● Use information to inform a project outcome
● Evaluate different local, national, global and / or cultural perspectives
50
2.1 Identifying information and trends. (Y11: Level 3)
● Extract, understand and interpret information from written and graphic material.
● Verify factual information, cross-check to ensure that it is accurate.
● Interpret statistical information correctly and accurately.
● Discuss and debate opinions and determine if opinions are well supported by facts, statistics and
reasoning.
● Identify predictions and determine if they are supported with valid causes, consequences and what is
likely.
● Recognize and evaluate value judgements.
2.2 Understanding key issues (Y11: Level 3)
● Discriminating between facts and issues
● Discriminating between key issues and less important issues.
● Consider the consequences, urgency, severity and perspectives of a problem.
2.3 Identifying causes and consequences (Y11: Level 3)
● The concept of cause and consequence and how it is different from a sequence of events.
● Cause and consequence (one thing causes another thing to happen)
● Sequence of events (first one thing and then another)
2.4 Identifying and evaluating possible courses of action (Y11: Level 3)
● Identifying courses of action & deciding which course of action is most appropriate for different people,
groups and institutions. (Level 1)
● Evaluating possible courses of action by predicting and assessing consequences in order to decide on the
best course of action to take. (Level 2 & 3)
2.5 Identifying different perspectives (Y11: Level 3)
● What is a perspective?
● Recognize that other people have different perspectives.
● Recognize that these other perspectives might be as reasonable as our own.
● Identify different types of perspectives. (Personal, Local, National, Global)
51
3.1 Questioning knowledge claims (Y11: Level 3)
● Questioning knowledge claims and evaluating the reasoning used to support claims.
● What is a knowledge claim?
● Identifying the different types of claims; fact, opinion, prediction or value judgment.
● Consider the difference between speculation and prediction of reasonable, likely consequences.
● Consider whether the claim is supported by strong reasoning, so that it seems to be reasonable
knowledge.
3.2 Questioning the reliability of information (Y11: Level 3)
● Consider the reliability of information to help us determine what to believe and to what extent we should
believe it.
● Undertake a number of checks to determine the reliability of a claim.
● Undertake a number of checks to determine the reliability of the source of the information.
3.3 Evaluating causes and consequences (Y11: Level 3)
● Evaluate causes and consequences by considering questions like: Is this really likely? Are there
alternative possible causes? Are there alternative possible consequences?
● Recognizing specific problems with predicted causes are: Exaggeration, Oversimplification and Ignoring
other possibilities.
3.4 Questioning underlying beliefs (Y11: Level 3)
● Understanding that our fundamental beliefs are a way of seeing, they are a perspective and not an
absolute part of the way the world is.
● Using conscious, intellectual skills to better understand that different perspectives are complex and stem
from different interpretations of the world that are based on different beliefs and different values.
● Use subconscious, empathetic skills to aid understanding.
4. Developing a line of reasoning (Y11: Level 3)
● Considering the ultimate purpose of the writing. What exactly am I trying to argue for or against?
● Considering how to support the purpose of the writing. What reasons, examples and mini conclusions
will help me to support my purpose?
● Considering the overall structure. How can I organize my ideas logically?
● Considering logical and linguistic flow. How can I link my ideas together?
● Considering other perspectives and counterarguments.
● Showing that students have reflected on the issues.
52
5.1 Reflecting on issues and perspectives. (Y11: Level 3)
● Develop strategies for reflection.
● Consider issues, perspectives and the links between them.
5.2 Reflection on teamwork, outcomes and own performance. (Y11: Level 3)
● Think about how they and their teams are working, and whether they are achieving their aims.
5.3 Reflect on personal learning. (Y11: Level 3)
● Think about what kinds of learning they are engaging in.
● What learning strategies they are using.
● Which of these strategies are effective for them?
● How they feel about their learning.
● What is stopping them from learning more effectively?
● How can they improve their learning?
● Understanding why, what they have learned matters.
6.1 Planning a project. (Y11: Level 3)
● Setting an appropriate aim and identifying an outcome.
● Identifying tasks that need to be done
● Scheduling tasks
● Reviewing progress
● Amending schedules
● Carrying out tasks
● Evaluating the project
6.2 Teamwork and individual effort. (Y11: Level 3)
● Becoming aware of the skills that lead students to develop the skill of teamwork.
● Listening to others
● Trusting other in the team
● Communicating in a range of ways
● Negotiating and compromising
● Encouraging, motivating and inspiring others.
● Advising others tactfully
● Influencing and leading
● Knowing when not to lead.
53
7. Selecting evidence and present research. (Y11: Level 3)
● Selecting evidence that is relevant to the purpose.
● Will this help me answer the question?
● Is it relevant?
● Could I use it later in another piece of work, even if I can't use it here?
The Global Perspectives learning process
The teacher will ensure that students are following the Global Perspectives learning process:
● research information
● question information
● reflect and plan
● present and act.
There are various ways to do this:
● Regular, focused skills activities – these can be taken from skills sections, from the skills exercises in each
chapter, or from other sources.
● Regular, short routes through the learning process – perhaps a short research activity, followed by
questioning, reflecting and a short, one or two sentence talk.
● Regular reminders to use the skills during longer research and project work.
○ Reminders to the class.
○ Specific questions to individuals and groups focused on particular skills.
○ Visuals in the classroom, produced by students to remind themselves of the learning process and
the specific skills.
● Emphasize the skills from the learning process rather than the knowledge and information acquired
during the process.
54
Mentor, guide and motivate students; manage the environment:
The course is set up to allow for a gradual transition from students who are dependent on the
teacher to students who are independent in many ways, and relate to their teacher as a mentor and
guide.
This requires a different relationship with the students than a traditional classroom. Students will
gradually start to decide for themselves what they are doing, and will look to the teacher to make
sure that:
● The necessary facilities and equipment are available.
● There is a productive working atmosphere in the classroom.
○ Not too noisy.
○ Other students not messing around (consistent expectations and behavior management).
○ Students are interested and motivated.
○ Feedback is regular and constructive.
● Students’ attention is on their own projects. However, the teacher is present, interested and available
for guidance if needed.
Year 11 of Global Perspectives at Meridian International School is a big year for our young
learners. They will now take all of the skills that they have learned in KS3 and Year 10 and complete
three components of the IGCSE Cambridge exams. As this is a skills-based rather than content-based
course, students will develop skills leading up to the completion of the IGCSE GP Individual Report at
the end of the first term of learning. They then develop skills which would lead to the completion of
the IGCSE Team Project. Once component 2 and component 3 have been completed, the focus shifts
on past paper practice and mock exams in preparation for the Written Examination in April/May.
In this second year of study, the scheme of work focuses on the application of learned skills to
the IGCSE components and earning certification. Where students had worked on the Team Project
toward the end of Term 2 in Year 1 , the Team Project will be completed by the end of Term 1 in Year
2. Similarly, the Individual Report will be completed before the end of Term 2 so that preparation for
the Written Examination at the end of the course can be completed before the slate of IGCSE exams
begin in April/May of Year 2. Although students' PSHE skills will continue to be developed throughout
the school year, there is a greater focus on the three Cambridge components in Year 11 in
preparation for the IGCSE examinations.
55
Meridian International School Prague [MIS]
ACADEMIC YEAR 2022/2023 – Secondary & High School
AS Level – Global Perspectives and Research Syllabus
Year 12 – Component 1 - Written Exam,
Component 2 - Essay and Component 3 - Team Project
Cambridge International AS & A Level Global Perspectives & Research is a skills-based course.
Students will use and develop transferable skills as they progress throughout the two-year course
and complete four components for the Cambridge Examinations. Cambridge International AS & A
Level Global Perspectives & Research develops learners’ thinking skills of analysis, evaluation and
synthesis through a consideration of a range of global topics. The course is designed to be global in
scope, introducing learners to issues that affect a range of different people across the world and that
are of sharp contemporary relevance for our planet in the 21st century. The course encourages
students to explore different perspectives and to appreciate that there is usually more than one
perspective on any issue we encounter.
Students develop hard and soft skills through repeated practice throughout the entire curriculum
which are built upon and refined each year. The PSHE aspects of learning include self-awareness,
managing feelings, self-motivation, empathy and social skills, which the students have developed in
previous years, will now be thoroughly and practicably applied to their AS & A level success. The
course is intended to support the development of academic skills that they can apply to other
subjects and also use in the next stage of their education and work. The syllabus is cumulative and
integrated as each stage builds on the previous one. Success in each component depends on the
ones previously completed and the work that students have done before. The course as a whole fits
closely together.
Students will be encouraged to develop research, reasoning and communication skills
systematically, using an approach called the Critical Path. The skills that the students have developed
in the previous years of this course will now be applied to their AS & A levels, providing further
practice in deconstruction, reconstruction, reflection, communication and collaboration and
preparing students for the A Level Component 4 Research Report as well as university and careers.
Each stage of the course is designed to help students practise hard and soft PSHE life skills and
prepare our young learners to become active, informed and involved members of their local and
global community.
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The Critical Path
The Critical Path consists of three linked steps: deconstruction, reconstruction, reflection and
two closely associated skills of expression which supports them: communication and collaboration.
These steps help learners to interrogate information, explore different perspectives and
communicate personal reflections. Students are encouraged to work both independently and
collaboratively, with respect for and understanding of different cultures and perspectives. Students
will gain a strong sense of global diversity as well as an understanding of local issues. Local issues
can be the student’s own locality or local to other places or cultures in other parts of the world.
Students will be taught the difference between knowledge and skills. Being skilled is having
developed the ability to understand a subject through practice. Skills are the tools that students
need to use knowledge effectively.
By practising the Critical Path, students will improve their skills by using them repeatedly and
reflecting on how we have used them in order to handle knowledge purposefully. Students will
develop the ability to deconstruct and reconstruct arguments about global issues through personal
research and interrogation of evidence. By reflecting on the implications of their research and the
personal judgments it leads them to make, students learn to communicate their findings and ideas
through a range of appropriate formats. Practising the Critical Path will allow students to develop
skills that are interdisciplinary and highly transferable to other subjects.
The Critical Process
Students will learn how to effectively identify an issue that is part of a current and relevant
debate with local and global implications. They will engage in reflection and consider their own
opinions on the issue. Students will then explore alternative viewpoints that come from a variety of
sources as well as from their teammates. They will consider the strengths and weaknesses of the
arguments and evidence of each point of view in order to make their own judgements. Students will
then communicate the results of this process to others through writing and presentation. Students
will answer formal questions, research and write essays, work with groups of people, give oral and
visual presentations to an audience and put together an extended research report.
Transferable skills: Deconstruction
Students will conduct a detailed analysis and evaluation of a point of view. They will identify and
compare different perspectives on an issue made up of arguments, claims, views, beliefs and
evidence and consider which different perspectives are represented. They will learn to differentiate
between fact, argument, opinion, rant, speculation, prediction, explanation, hypothesis, account and
belief and identify the key components of an argument or claim. Students will identify conclusions,
reasons (premises), assumptions (stated and unstated), assertions (and counter-assertions) and
supporting evidence. They will consider the implications of the conclusions, arguments, reasoning
or claims and suggest the consequences of the conclusions, arguments, reasoning or claims.
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Students will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in the arguments, reasoning or claims,
assess the use of analogy and identify any errors in the reasoning. They will identify whether
evidence gives strong or weak support to the conclusion or claim, consider the reliability of the
evidence and suggest other evidence required to substantiate or refute claims or counterclaims.
Effective deconstruction requires students to learn advanced reading skills. The skill of decoding
is reading texts by mapping the marks on the page to specific meanings; revealing the meaning is like
breaking the code. Students will learn how to develop their skills in decoding texts as the texts
become longer with more substantial chains of meaning. Students will learn the skill of active reading
in which they are an active participant in their own reading. The texts they read are not just units of
knowledge to be passively absorbed. They need to ask questions and make judgments about the
reading. Students will learn the terminology needed to identify arguments such as an argument
indicator, claim, conclusion, assertion and reason. Students will learn how to employ the helped
technique called the therefore test when looking for arguments in text.
Once students learned how to properly analyse a document, they then will be able to practise
evaluation and measure the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments and evidence within the
document in order to make a judgement about its value. Once an argument is identified and
explained, students will be instructed in how to make an assessment about its value or acceptability.
They will practise the use of questions such as ‘to what extent’ and ‘how convincing’ in preparation
for not only the four components of the AS & A level of this course, but in other Cambridge course
components as well.
Students will become familiar with the line of argument and look at counterarguments to become
aware of any assumptions in the reasoning as well as determining the inferential gap. Students will
evaluate the structure of the argument and consider how closely reasons relate to conclusions and
how effectively different lines of argument support one another. They will assess the evidence
supporting the argument and consider the quality, type and quantity of pieces of evidence used to
back up individual reasons. Students will also check the provenance of the source and context of the
argument and consider who wrote it, where it was published and when and why it was written.
Students will evaluate the credibility of sources. They will look at primary evidence and secondary
evidence, as well as quantitative evidence which can be described numerically and qualitative
evidence which can be described subjectively. They will fully understand the difference between
fact and opinion as they seek to determine the reliability and relevance of the evidence. Students
will practise assessing the credibility of sources by holding it up to particular criteria: reputation of
the writer or publication, ability to observe or the first-hand knowledge of a source, identification of
vested interest, expertise of a source and the neutrality or bias of a source. Students should be able
to use these terms on written examinations, in their research papers and in oral presentations.
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Active reading and deconstructing text are transferable skills which students can utilise in other
courses and in their personal life and careers. They will be able to actively read and critically think
about any written text, such as academic papers, documents and news articles. These skills can also
be applied to anything that they hear, such as speeches, presentations, interviews, conversation and
debate.
Students will be able to screen text and speech to ascertain the truth and arrive at genuine
knowledge. They will be able to critically analyse many of the views that they will come across in
social media, online posts, articles, advertising or media and recognise persuasive rhetoric which
lacks reason and evidence. Students will be able to make their own independent and securely
supported judgments on how acceptable they find different points of view and the arguments
supporting them.
Transferable skills: Reconstruction
Students will carry out research, identify, group together and evaluate evidence and sources for
and against competing points of view. They will identify, synthesise and evaluate a range of sources
and learn how evidence is used to support different perspectives. Students will consider the
credibility and relevance of each source in providing arguments and evidence for each perspective.
They will consider the provenance of their sources and take into consideration: the author of the
source, biases that may have influenced the author, the intended audience, the origin of the primary
evidence and the significance of the source at the time it was created.
They will research and evaluate alternative arguments and perspectives and make reasoned and
balanced judgements based on the evidence that they gathered. Students will learn how to explain
the context in which the arguments have been made. After a careful analysis and evaluation of
sources, students will then be able to practise synthesis as they explore differences and similarities,
make connections and combine information from each perspective of the debate into a whole to
complete a final product.
The process of reconstruction involves combining and synthesising groups of sources to
determine what they have in common and what makes them different. Students will continuously
practise the skill of identifying perspectives. Building on previous years of this course, they will
practise the crucial life-skill of practising empathy and reflect on their own personal perspectives and
the perspectives of others in their local and global community. Students will compare opposing
perspectives as they pick out the differences between the context, conclusions, reasons, evidence
and assumptions of different sources.
Students will be instructed on how to conduct research to locate sources of perspectives and use
their active reading skills to identify perspectives. They will learn how to select the most appropriate
sources for their research and identify different kinds of sources, such as: sensationalist media,
popular media, serious general interest and peer-reviewed, scholarly articles. Students will be taught
how to search for articles that have reasoned conclusions and how to avoid articles that
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are merely explanations of known truths, descriptions of something without any conclusions
drawn from it, rhetoric or persuasive language and unfounded assertions.
As students examine arguments and perspectives, they will identify search terms for the area
associated with their chosen topic and themes from the Cambridge International AS & A Level Global
Perspectives & Research syllabus.
Students will continuously practise the transferable skills associated with reconstruction as they
employ different research techniques and examine multiple perspectives. Students will learn how
to sort through massive amounts of information as they research by scanning text for particular
information and skimming text to get the gist. They will practise recognizing the topic sentence of a
paragraph in a document and making sure they have clear topic sentences in their own writing. As
students research, they will practise note-taking skills to organise and compile the information from
their sources using pen and paper, electronic documents and/or specialised note-taking software.
They will learn the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. When taking notes on
individual sources, students will learn how to properly record where they got the information to
avoid plagiarism and keep a bibliography. They will learn how to appropriately paraphrase material
from their sources and when to use direct quotations from a source. Students will use labelling
techniques to identify evidence, context, lines of reasoning, assumptions and conclusion to make
sure the notes from their research are useful when it comes time to produce the final product.
Transferable skills: Reflection
Students will explore the impact of their research on personal perspectives and the impact of
their personal perspectives on their research. They will reflect on initial personal perspectives before
any research or thinking has been done and how their own viewpoint relates to the perspectives
identified in the research. Students will evaluate personal viewpoints against alternative
perspectives on issues, justify the reasons why personal perspectives may have changed as a result
of research and identify and justify possible future research directions. Students will reflect upon
the research process as they work on their essays and research report as well as reflect upon the
collaborative process of the team project. Students will be encouraged to develop and reflect upon
their soft skills related to these projects such as time management and team contributions. They
will keep a diary or log of their research design and reflection and team project goals, plans and
meetings.
Students will use a reflective framework to understand the process of reflection, such as G. Gibbs’
reflective cycle. The first step of this cycle is to describe as accurately as possible what happened.
What did they do and what did the other team members do? Secondly, students will consider their
feelings about the experience. How did they feel about the collaborative process? Students will then
evaluate the experience and consider the positive and negative aspects of individual and group tasks
and objectives. Next, during the analysis stage, students will make sense of the evaluation by taking
a step back and considering the wider context and judging the
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significance of what has occurred. Then comes the conclusion stage, in which students identify the
strengths and weaknesses of the collaborative process. Finally, the process of reflection should end
with a clear action plan. Students should make a list of steps that they will take for when they
encounter this or similar situations again in the future.
Transferable skills: Communication
Students will communicate views, information and research effectively and convincingly to
produce research-based and collaborative written work and audio and visual presentations.
They will consider how arguments can be made effectively and persuasively and communicate their
reasoning in a well-structured, clear and effective manner using appropriate written or spoken
conventions. Students will learn how to communicate research findings to a non-specialist audience
and define and use appropriate terms consistently. They will practise citing and referencing sources
in an formally approved and recognisable way. They will consider the most appropriate way to
present to an audience, select and organise material for a listening audience and choose the most
appropriate audio or visual media to support the arguments being made. Students will prepare and
use a range of effective presentational methods to reinforce arguments and ideas. Students will
introduce the argument by clarifying and contextualising the question. They will understand the
process of establishing the background and significance of the question before analysing the
arguments.
Students will learn how to sequence their ideas as they research their perspectives and consider
possible solutions. They will learn the thesis-antithesis-synthesis approach to essay writing which
will involve establishing a perspective, exploring one that opposes it, then reaching a synthesis or
combination of the two. Firstly, they will develop a thesis as an idea, argument or group of
arguments. Then, the antithesis is set out as ideas or arguments that oppose the thesis. Lastly,
students will learn how a synthesis is then proposed which combines elements of the thesis and
antithesis and attempts to resolve any differences between them.
Transferable skills: Collaboration
Students will work with others as part of a group and learn how to collaborate with others to
identify problems and devise effective solutions. They will explore different ways of working
together and maximise eachother’s potential in pursuit of a common goal. Students will consider
the roles each group member played during the collaborative process.
Kurt Albrecht proposed one set of categories that places group members into one of five roles,
depending on what they do in the group. These roles can be placed into two groups: roles that have
an impact on the tasks performed by the group or task roles and roles that have an impact on the
way the team operates and its members relate to one another or group roles. One task role is ideas
people who are people that think about what needs to be done. Another task role is action people
or people who ensure what has been decided upon gets done. One group role is an
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energiser who provides motivation to the group. Another group role is organiser who makes sure
things are done efficiently. The fifth role is that of the uncommitted team member who contributes
neither a task role nor a group role.
Students will reflect on how effective their work was together, identify the strengths and
weaknesses of their teamwork and consider what made the collaboration effective or ineffective in
relation to the team’s goal. They will then make suggestions for improving teamwork in the future
and gain transferable skills in collaboration that can be applied in university and careers.
Transferable skills: Time Management
Students will need to organise their time effectively in order to decide what they need to do, to
plan the order they need to do it in and to ensure they are building their skills on schedule in order
to become fully competent. Time management is a skill that is required not only for this course, but
also for success right across their lives, whether in school, work or personal lives. The ability to
manage time well is transferable. It can be used not just in one situation, but in a number of different
contexts that students might encounter now and in the future. Students will begin to recognize that
class time in A levels, like lectures and seminars in university, begin to take less time, but time spent
independently studying has increased. They will be instructed on how to properly manage this time.
Students will learn how to properly categorise and prioritise tasks as they balance academic
commitments with clubs, societies, sports, jobs and personal lives.
The Written Exam
Students will write an examination in which they answer questions based on an analysis and
evaluation of two documents. This component will be externally assessed and marked by Cambridge
International. Component 1 contains three questions based on two source documents provided with
the exam paper. The source documents may present different perspectives on an issue of global
significance.
In carrying out a critical and comparative analysis of the source material, candidates are assessed
on their ability to:
• Identify, analyse, and evaluate the evidence (AO1).
• Identify and compare key components of arguments (AO1).
• Analyse and compare perspectives (AO1).
• Evaluate arguments and make judgements about arguments and perspectives (AO1).
• Communicate clearly and logically (AO3).
Candidates answer all the questions. Question 1 (5 marks) is a structured question based on two
source documents. Candidates are required to read both sources and answer short questions that
require candidates to demonstrate AO1 skills. Question 2 (15 marks) requires a longer
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response based on one of the source documents. Candidates are required to focus on the
evidence in the document and demonstrate AO1 skills. Question 3 (25 marks) requires a longer,
essay response based on the two source documents. Candidates are required to focus on the
arguments and perspectives given in the documents and provide a reasoned judgement,
demonstrating AO1 and AO3 skills.
Candidates are assessed on their thinking and reasoning skills focused on analysing and
evaluating arguments, interrogating evidence and contexts and comparing perspectives centred on
global issues. Candidates are not assessed on their knowledge and understanding of the specific
issues represented in the source material.
The Essay
Students will identify a suitable research topic, consider the issue being debated, undertake
research and write an essay. The essay of 1750–2000 words will be on a global issue of their own
choice from topics studied during the course. Candidates must choose an essay title that is a single
question. The choice of essay question must provide opportunities to develop globally contrasting
perspectives. In their research, candidates should identify and explore the context and basis of
arguments that respond to the question from different global perspectives. They should identify
globally contrasting perspectives, understand the arguments, reasoning or claims upon which these
perspectives are based and offer a critical view of them. Sources selected should offer firmly
supported judgements or conclusions. Evaluation of sources and perspectives should form a
substantial element of candidates’ essays. Candidates should reach a personal, supported view on
the question. In the essay, candidates should demonstrate AO1, AO2 and AO3 skills.
They will be assessed on their ability to:
• Analyse their chosen question (AO1).
• Synthesise arguments to build contrasting perspectives (AO1).
• Select and refer to a range of sources (AO1).
• Assess and justify the appropriateness of the sources selected (AO1).
• Compare and evaluate contrasting perspectives (AO1).
• Reflect on the impact of alternative perspectives on their viewpoint (AO2).
• Suggest further relevant research (AO2).
• Write a clear, structured essay using effective referencing (AO3).
The essay must be written in continuous prose and include a list of sources used. Quotations
must be fully referenced. The essay must be 1750–2000 words and an accurate word count must be
clearly stated on each essay. The word count excludes the title, references and citations. Work
beyond the 2000 word maximum will not be marked. The essay must be submitted electronically.
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Students will develop an essay structure based on suggested patterns or essay models. Students
will learn about the key components of a proper introduction which clarifies key terms in the
question, contextualises the issues involved, presents a debate of perspectives, establishes currency
and relevancy and sets up a line of argument. Students will introduce, develop and contrast
perspectives within the main body section of the essay. Students will set out the arguments and
evidence for one of their perspectives, referring to the sources that support it and evaluating their
strengths and weaknesses. Then, they will set out the arguments for the main perspective that
opposes the perspective from the first stage, referring to the sources that support it and evaluating
their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, students will attempt to achieve synthesis supported by
arguments and evidence. This will involve a direct combination of the first and second perspectives
or a third perspective that includes elements of both. Students will learn how to examine the
different perspectives through their chosen Global Perspectives themes: technology, science,
politics, ethics, environment, economics and culture. Students will learn how to draw on their
interests, prospective college major and chosen field of study as they explore the different themes
associated with their chosen global topic, issue and perspectives.
Transferable skills: The Essay
Planning and writing essays are activities that are very common at school and university. Students
of Global Perspectives & Research practise the planning skills that come before writing, on breaking
a topic down into a specific issue, and on asking the right questions about that issue to help them to
organise different perspectives. When students come to write essays in other subjects, and in the
future, they may not have the same requirements, but any essay will require them to identify an area
to focus on and explore it to break down its various aspects for discussion. Thinking in this way about
what makes a good essay in general and the process of thinking students need to go through in order
to plan it will help them when they come to specific essay based tasks.
Students consider the process of thinking as they move from thinking about a topic to breaking
it down into issues and then breaking each issue down into the questions that they need to ask, the
tasks they need to do or the information they have to organise. These are not just specific
assignments or tasks: they are procedures for thinking, for clarifying the world around them and for
organising themselves. Next time they are confronted with an issue in their lives - a job they want to
apply for, or a conflict at work or in their personal life - students can ask themselves what are the
issues involved, consider the different perspectives available in each issue, and list the questions they
should be asking. By doing this they will be applying the skills they have learnt in Global Perspectives
& Research to those areas of their lives.
Essay writing is an important skill that is required across a wide range of school subjects and
qualifications. Developing their writing skills and practising techniques for more effective writing are
therefore useful far beyond this course. At the same time, it is important to remember that different
subjects have different requirements for essays, and some of these mean that the language that
students use and the way they structure their work will have to differ. Some of the
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implications of these differences are explored when they write the Research Report, which will
consider the differing approaches to writing and research in different subject areas.
The Team Project
Students will work together in teams of two to five members to identify a local problem that has
global relevance. Each team works together to identify the problem to research. The team must
outline their local problem in a single statement that allows the team members to address
contrasting perspectives on the problem. The scope of the research should be sufficiently broad to
enable teams to explore the problem from local and global perspectives. Teachers should support
teams in formulating an appropriate statement. Candidates allocate areas for each team member
to research. Each team member is expected to argue from their distinct perspective for an effective
and workable solution to the problem. Each candidate is required to give a presentation about their
research and preferred solution. They are also required to write a reflective paper in which they
reflect on the effectiveness of the collaboration undertaken by the team and on their individual
learning. Their learning may be about the problem itself, the research skills they have developed,
and/or presentation skills.
The Presentation
Each candidate will give a presentation about their research and preferred solution with a 10 minute
maximum and worth 30 marks.
The presentation may be either:
• a live recording of the candidate or
• a presentation with a recorded voiceover by the candidate
Candidates should demonstrate AO1 and AO3 skills.
Live Recording
It is important that the presentation is recorded in one session and in an area that is quiet with no
background noise to ensure what the candidate is saying can be heard. The presentation should be
supported by audio and/or visual materials appropriate to the live presentation and delivered to an
audience. The size of the audience can be determined by the centre but must include at least three
people, one of whom must be the class teacher.
Presentation with Recorded Voiceover
For a presentation with a recorded voiceover, candidates should create a presentation using
appropriate presentational software and attach an audio recording of themselves speaking to their
presentation. It is important that the recording is carried out in an area that is quiet with no
background noise to ensure what the candidate is saying can be heard. There does not need to be a
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live audience. Candidates should use language appropriate for the presentation and sustain the
language throughout. The presentation should contain appropriate audio and visual elements.
A presentation (10 minutes maximum) must be submitted for each candidate. Team presentations
must not be submitted for assessment.
Candidates will be assessed on how their presentation displays the following skills:
• Individual analysis of the problem identified by the team (AO1).
• Range of research undertaken (AO1).
• Evaluation of sources (AO1).
• Justification for their individual solution (AO1).
• Production of a well-argued, well-organised argument (AO3).
• Use of visual information (AO3).
• Use of language to address the audience (AO3).
The presentation should:
• be engaging to a non-specialist audience
• include audio and visual elements in an effective way
• use appropriate terms and cite references clearly and accurately.
The presentations must be submitted to Cambridge International along with the audio and/or
visual materials used and a verbatim transcript of the presentation. The running time for the
presentation must not exceed 10 minutes. Work beyond the maximum running time will not be
included in the assessment. Teachers must ensure that the quality of any recording will permit
accurate marking of the work.
Reflective Paper
Each candidate will write a reflective paper with a maximum of 800 words and worth 10 marks
focusing on how effectively the team worked together, what could be improved, and any changes to
their personal views shaped by the collaborative experience. Candidates should demonstrate AO2
skills.
Candidates will be assessed on their:
• reflection on the effectiveness of the team collaboration (AO2)
• reflection on the learning (AO2).
For each candidate, submit the following pieces of work to Cambridge International:
1. Recording of the live presentation OR presentation with recorded voiceover
2. Audio and/or visual materials to support a live presentation
3. A transcript of the presentation
4. The reflective paper
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Transferable Skills: The Team Project
Students gain experience with working with other people in this course, in other courses and in
other activities. Team building, collaboration and leadership are important skills in the students’
academic lives, personal lives and work lives. Often, employers will ask for evidence that they can
work effectively both by themselves and with others when they apply for jobs, and effective teams
are central to the work of many organisations.
Students are provided with a toolkit that they can use to identify more clearly the purpose,
leadership and membership of the groups around them, or of which they might be a member. If they
are able to assess how successfully those groups are performing, and to think about their role in
contributing to that, then they are likely to be more successful in what they do with others, and to
have a bigger impact in those interactions. As students participate in the team project, they should
consider how they can take action to build on things that are going well between them and to change
things that are not working. After the project has finished, they should consider what they could
have done differently. Then in the future, they should remember that they are always an active
participant when they are in a group and have the power to make choices that will change their
interactions with others and influence the group's intended outcome.
The ability to communicate orally in effective ways is a powerful one that has the potential to
benefit students in a variety of different contexts extending far beyond this course and their other
studies at school or college. If they go on to study at university, it is highly likely that at least some
of their assessments will be in the form of formal presentations. For some of these, especially in
science subjects, students might be specifically required to use techniques like creating posters and
not just slides. Many jobs will also require students to present their ideas or the results of their work,
either individually or as part of a team. Sometimes they will even be asked to do this when they are
being interviewed for a position. Practising these skills at this stage and building up a bank of
knowledge and techniques will give them an advantage when they find themselves in these
situations.
Cambridge International AS & A Level Global Perspectives & Research helps students practise the
skill of presenting live in front of an audience. However, this is not the only way to present ideas to
an audience, especially in the 21st century. Widespread use of the internet means that the
audiences available to them can be more distant and more widely distributed in space and time. This
means that the ability to create edited presentations will give them more reach and a bigger voice.
Use of audio and visual technologies, creating voice overs over image, narrating over video and
presenting ideas, perspectives, issues and solutions to a live audience or digitally broadcasting to a
distant audience are essential transferable skills.
Students will reflect on their personal experience on the team project, rather than their
judgements in response to an argument or debate as in the essay. Being able to think critically about
their own experiences, taking a step back to consider whether they behaved correctly or could do
anything different in future, is a highly valued skill across a range of different professions. If a student
goes on to train as a teacher, or in healthcare or social services, it is highly likely that they will be
asked to use theories such as Gibbs's reflective cycle to think about their experiences at
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work in a critical way so that they can evaluate their own performance and identify where they can
improve for the future.
Year 12 - Transferable Skills
Being open to different views of the world is not just an important skill for Cambridge
International AS & A Level Global Perspectives & Research; it is a very valuable skill in a variety of
other contexts, helping students to navigate the world. Once they understand that different
perspectives exist, they can understand that not everyone in the world shares the same opinions. On
one level, this gives students the skill of tolerance: leaving space for other people's views and
respecting their right to hold them even if they do not share them. At the same time, this does not
necessarily mean accepting all opinions that are different, whatever they might say. One of the skills
that students have been developing has been the ability to acknowledge the existence of another
perspective, weigh it up, then judge whether it is acceptable to them.
That weighing up of the different elements of another perspective reveals another transferable
skill. This is the ability to understand that a perspective is not just an unsupported set of assertions
by someone else. Perspectives are conclusions about the world supported by specific reasons,
evidence and assumptions, and informed by the lived experiences of the people holding them.
Seeing this, and looking for those different elements, enables students to understand why different
views of the world exist and what makes them different - whether they agree with them or not.
Not only do students of Cambridge Global Perspectives learn general life skills, but they also learn
general skills that can be applied to other subjects that rely on an ability to recognise and weigh up
different perspectives. Literature (either literature in English or the literature of another language),
for example, invites students to identify the different perspectives of the characters, settings and
voices we encounter in literary texts. They may not always express themselves through reasons and
evidence, but the ability to see differences and identify how those differences express themselves is
an important critical skill for literary study. In history, students need to identify the different values
and assumptions people had in other historical periods. In geography, it is valuable to be able to
weigh up the different perspectives of groups of people in different places or situations in the world
today.
Beyond the subjects students are studying at school or college, being able to identify and
evaluate different perspectives is important in many jobs. Students should consider how these
transferable skills can be applied to their future careers. Those working in the legal profession need
to weigh up evidence from different perspectives in order to argue cases and make judgements. In
banking and financial management, employees take account of conflicting evidence from different
perspectives every day to be able to decide whether different loans and investments make sense
and will produce a good return. Finally, if students plan to study or work in other countries, being
alert and sensitive to the different perspectives of their new friends and the cultures they encounter
will help them to settle in and get the most from their experience.
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Meridian International School Prague [MIS]
ACADEMIC YEAR 2022/2023 – Secondary & High School
A Level - Global Perspectives and Research Syllabus
Year 13 - Component 4 - Research Report
Cambridge International AS & A Level Global Perspectives & Research is a skills-based course.
Students will use and develop transferable skills as they progress. Cambridge International AS & A
Level Global Perspectives & Research develops learners’ thinking skills of analysis, evaluation and
synthesis through a consideration of a range of global topics. Learners will develop skills of
independent enquiry and learn about appropriate research methods and methodology. Learners will
be encouraged to develop research, reasoning and communication skills systematically, using an
approach called the Critical Path. Year 13 Global Perspectives & Research will expand upon the skills
learned in Year 12, providing further practice in deconstruction, reconstruction, reflection,
communication and collaboration.
The Critical Path
The Critical Path helps them to interrogate information, explore different perspectives and
communicate personal reflections. Learners are encouraged to work both independently and
collaboratively, with respect for and understanding of different cultures and perspectives. This is a
skills-based subject so the topics and issues which will be analysed and evaluated will be based on
current and relevant events and debates and consider student choice of topic. Learners will draw
upon knowledge and understanding gained from studying other subjects. Learners will develop skills
that are interdisciplinary and highly transferable to other subjects.
Year 13 Global Perspectives & Research will allow students to undertake research in their chosen
fields of study in preparation for university. Students will consider their favourite subjects in high
school and their intended college major/minor. Students will turn to their life after and outside this
course and consider how the Research Report is a bridge to their other A levels. Students will work
more independently and be proactive about arranging meetings with advisors. This is essentially
their first university level course. Students will understand how all of the skills they have learned in
Global Perspectives & Research so far are transferable to university and their future careers.
In undertaking the final component of the Research Report students will reflect on all past skills
that they have developed and built upon during previous years and bring them together in a final
extended written piece of work. Students will research sources, evaluate arguments and evidence,
write a question which focuses on a debate, identify contrasting perspectives, communicate
arguments and ideas using appropriate academic words and phrases, cite and reference sources and
reflect what they have done.
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Students will make links between their learning for the other components of the course and the
research report. They will develop an appropriate research question and proposal form and create
and present a proposal poster. They will be instructed in how to formulate an appropriate
interrogative research question with clearly defined and focused terms. Students will design and
manage their own research project using appropriate research methods and methodology, the type
of which depends on their chosen topic, subject and field of study. Students will reflect on their
research and maintain and use a research log in support of the research process. They will select
and analyse concepts, arguments, perspectives and evidence from a range of source material
appropriate to their chosen themes and field of study.
Students will build upon the acquired skills of the Critical Path as they analyse and use relevant
and credible evidence in support of arguments and overall perspectives, showing awareness of how
the arguments, claims and the nature of the evidence are used to support conclusions. They will
evaluate specific research methods and methodology and evaluate and synthesise evidence to draw
reasoned conclusions. The Critical Path will be thoroughly applied as they deconstruct source
material and analysis and evaluate the evidence. Students will practise reconstruction as they
synthesise the conclusions made during the research process. They will record all of their progress
in their research logs, focussing on the debate as they lay out the planned structure of their Research
Report.
Students will evaluate and synthesise alternative perspectives and interpretations in order to
make their own reasoned personal judgements. They will reflect on the scope, nature and limitations
of their own research report and reflect on how and why their own personal viewpoints of the issue/s
researched may have changed during the research process. Students will be taught how to
communicate clearly throughout the report using appropriate academic terms, referencing and
citation techniques. They will be shown how to write a bibliography and include full bibliographical
references direct information taken from sources, including evidence that they have found and for
any quotations. They will understand the difference between paraphrasing sources and verbatim
citation. Students will be taught different referencing conventions, such as Harvard style,
referencing an author/date method within the body of the report by giving the name of the author(s)
followed by the date of publication and all other details about the publication listed in the references
at the end.
Students will produce SMART targets as they work more independently, maintain a research log
and undertake to complete the research report.
● Specific: each set target should describe one particular task
● Measurable: quantifiably measuring achieved targets
● Achievable: targets are realisable using the resources at hand
● Relevant: targets are appropriately needed to produce the report
● Time-based: all targets must manageable and adhere to deadlines
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The Outline Proposal Form
Students will begin by choosing an academic topic, focusing on a debate, determining themes,
conducting preliminary research and writing an Outline Proposal Form. Students will be taught how
to structure the details of the proposal form, showing how their research question is part of a current
and relevant academic debate and there are two opposing answers to their question. Students will
indicate what they wish to achieve by the end of the research process, showing how they intend to
have a greater understanding of the different perspectives involved and describing what they plan
to accomplish in the introduction including a description of the topic and general outline of the
structure of this essay. Students will learn how to introduce the initial argument and direction of
their evaluation(s), as well as introduce counter-arguments and the impacts and solutions associated
with those arguments both negative and positive. Students will also evaluate the feasibility, cost-
effectiveness and possible benefits of the determined solutions regarding the issue they are
researching.
Students will be instructed in how to determine the various concepts are relevant to their topic
and pertain to their chosen research question. They will identify the concepts to increase focus on
the question, guide the research process and help them organise the most appropriate arguments
and perspectives. The concepts will depend on their chosen field of study and GP themes. Concepts
in economics include: supply, demand, costs, benefits and efficiency. Concepts in literature include:
genre, character, realism, symbolism, criticism and theory. Concepts in biology include: organisms,
environment and genetics. Students will be instructed in how to clearly define and explain concepts
in the Proposal Form as they apply to and are relevant to the research question.
Research Design and Methodology
Students will be guided in the development of an appropriate Research Design and Methodology.
This methodology should be introduced in the Proposal form, outlining the intended procedure and
detailing what the student hopes to accomplish at the end of the research process. Students will be
instructed in how to explain the process through which they plan and execute the research, paying
particular attention to their choice, use and evaluation of appropriate research methods and
methodology. They should select and apply research methods appropriate to the discipline/s they
are working within and the nature of the selected topic. Students will become familiar with the
specific procedures or techniques used to identify, select, process, and analyse information about a
topic. In the Research Report, the methodology section allows the reader to critically evaluate a
study’s overall validity and reliability. The methodology section answers two main questions: How
was the data collected or generated? How was it analysed? The student’s research methodology
should be commented on and addressed throughout the entire process from planning the research,
formulating a research question, conducting the research and writing the final report.
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It is expected that some, but not all, of the research methods listed below will be used in the
research report:
● Literature Review (as method)
● Interpreting meanings in written texts (primary/secondary)
● Qualitative Research Methods (e.g. ethnography, interviews, focus groups)
● Quantitative Research Methods (e.g. surveys, experiments, statistical analysis)
● Mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative research
● Scientific models (evaluation of)
● Experimental observations of phenomenon (evaluation of)
During their preliminary research, students will gather appropriate sources which they intend to
use in order to help answer their research question. The type of sources chosen will be determined
by their chosen field of study, GP themes and research design and methodology. These sources will
be included in the Proposal Form as well as description as to how the student intends to use each
source. As part of their research methodology, students will explain why they chose some sources
and not others, which kinds of evidence are acceptable and why, what tools will be used to analyse
and evaluate arguments and evidence and what constitutes an acceptable answer. Students will
explain how they will be analysing the sources that they have used to determine whether the
arguments are up to date and valid as sources will come under scrutiny if written years ago. Students
will demonstrate how they will be looking into the nature of the source to determine the reasoning
behind why it was written and consider that many sources on controversial topics can be biassed
and make many claims rather than constructing an argument with evidence to support the ideas put
forward. They will look at whether the articles corroborate or contradict one another thus
strengthening or weakening one’s argument and consider the place of publication and whether this
affects the credibility of the argument.
The student’s Research Methodology will depend on their chosen specialist subject area.
Students will not only choose certain research methods to validly answer their research question,
but also scrutinise their chosen methods and determine their relative success or failure. They will
need to show that they understand why they are using a particular methodology.
Research Methodologies in the Social Sciences
Research methodologies in the social sciences will be systematic and empirical, going through a
logical series of steps to get the most accurate picture of human behaviour in any given situation.
This will include both qualitative and quantitative approaches and will involve sampling techniques.
Students will learn how to analyse and evaluate data from interviews and statistical evidence and
come to a conclusion based on their findings. Students should be able to interpret and assess
relevant arguments and evidence in current and relevant debates in the multiple disciplines of the
social sciences.
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Research Methodologies in the Natural Sciences
Research methodologies in the natural sciences is also systematic and empirical, but committed
to positivism and seeking numerically precise, quantitative data and reliable measurements to find
truths in the natural, physical world. Students will work with experimental and theoretical findings
to explain phenomena and reach a hypothesis. Students will practise identifying experimental
observations of a specific phenomenon and evaluate the methods used to draw conclusions about
how trustworthy the data is and the extent to which it can be used to draw further conclusions.
Students will consider current and relevant debates in the natural sciences involving a comparison
of different scientific models or methods of measurement and evaluate the strengths and
weaknesses of competing methods.
Research Methodologies in the Arts and Humanities
Students choosing research methodologies in the arts and humanities will learn about
subjectivity in interpretation, taking into consideration an individual’s beliefs, attitudes and situation.
Students of the arts and humanities will explore different possible meanings and interpretations in
written texts with an understanding of nuance and ambiguity in their conclusions. Students will learn
how to locate appropriate primary and secondary sources and use them as part of their research
methodology in the arts and humanities.
Students will practise the steps of the Critical Path and undertake research, analysis and
evaluation of a variety of current global issues. This will not only give them practice in developing
their acquired skills, but will also help them to determine the topic of their research paper through
the exploration of different global issues. Students will receive guidance in exploring various
websites and search engines in search of sources depending on the field of study associated with the
topic and issues:
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/
Google Books: https://books.google.com/?hl=en
Microsoft Academic: https://academic.microsoft.com/home
Worldwide Science: https://worldwidescience.org/
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/search
Institute of Educational Sciences: https://eric.ed.gov/
RefSeek: https://www.refseek.com/
WolframAlpha: https://www.wolframalpha.com/
Deutsche Welle: https://www.dw.com/en/top-stories/s-9097
Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/
The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/world/
Biography: https://www.biography.com/
JSTOR: https://www.jstor.org/
AllSides: https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-n
The Economist: https://www.economist.com/
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Core: https://core.ac.uk/
ScienceOpen: https://www.scienceopen.com/
DOAJ: https://doaj.org/
ERIC: https://eric.ed.gov/?
SSRN: https://www.ssrn.com/index.cfm/en/
PLOS: https://www.plos.org/
Paperity: https://paperity.org/
OEDB: https://oedb.org/ilibrarian/best-online-research-sites/
JournalTOCs: http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/index.php
Smithsonian Research: https://research.si.edu/
Mendeley: https://www.mendeley.com/?interaction_required=true
The Research Log
Students will maintain a Research Log throughout the entire research process. The Research Log
should begin during the preliminary research phase as the research question is being formulated.
The purpose of the Research Log is to help plan, monitor and review progress and thinking
throughout the entire research process. The log is included as an electronic appendix and cross
referenced within the main body of the Research Report. This aspect can be useful in providing
additional complimentary information which is not included in the 5000 word count of the report
itself. The log should contain supporting evidence for how the research progressed the way it did.
There should be extensive details of research as it is carried out: Websites accessed and their URLs
and books, journals and magazines consulted. Proper referencing styles should be used to keep track
of sources for the final bibliography. The Research Log should contain brief notes on content,
including useful quotes (noting carefully where they came from) and comments about credibility,
reliability and authority of source. Log entries should not be entirely descriptive and merely report
facts. Although descriptive facts will need to be recorded to assist in the understanding of the topic
by the student and reader, they should focus on defining key terms and clarifying concepts rather
than be the main focus of the research log entry.
The analysis and evaluation section of the Research Log is the most important part. This is where
students will identify and explain key aspects of their sources and break down the texts into parts
which can be explained, examined, categorised and scrutinised. Students will locate and analyse the
perspectives within the sources and how they relate to the debate of the research question. The
analysis and evaluation section should not include a tallying of facts or merely describe an issue or
phenomenon. Students need to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments of the
author who wrote this source. The evaluation should not focus entirely on the provenance of the
source. The evaluation should look at the evidence the author uses in support of arguments.
Students should be looking for instances of weaknesses in the arguments and evidence such as: bias,
vested interest, cherry picking evidence, too small sample size, lack of credibility of a witness,
conjecture, prediction, assertion, sweeping statements, lack of representativeness, lack of
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balance, absence of context for quantitative data, vague or estimated statistics. Students should be
looking for instances of strengths in the arguments and evidence such as: evidence from first-hand
sources, use of expert sources, plausible evidence, use of statistics, motive to be accurate, wider
scope, clear conclusions, well-structured argument, counter argument, language style and rhetorical
style.
The Research Log should contain notes on preparation for meetings and a record of meetings
with the student’s teachers and advisors. Students should prepare questions for teachers and
advisors and record suggestions made by the teachers and advisors and ideas about what to do next:
the next step in the process of their research. Students should reflect on how they reacted, adapted,
revised using the feedback. Reflection is an important part of the Research Log. Students should
reflect on the importance and purpose of their actions and tasks, the effectiveness of their research
strategy and successes and failures of their research design and methodology. Students should
reflect on the research process as it develops and also on their own personal perspectives and how
they may have changed.
Students will be expected to manage independent study and this can have both benefits and
challenges:
Benefits:
● Students will have the opportunity to develop their own skills of planning and work.
● Students can move at their own pace and cover what is relevant to them.
● Students get to look at books they find interesting, not just what the teacher finds interesting.
● It is more flexible: Students can fit their own work around their free time.
● Students can undertake research in an area of study that will be meaningful to their university program
and career.
● The research undertaken to complete the report can lead to further research in their university program
and career.
Challenges:
● Students will need to make their own decisions about how fast they go and what they focus on.
● Students run the risk of procrastination during the independent study process.
● Students will need to plan how sources they discover will fit into their research.
● Students will have to assess their own strengths and weaknesses.
Writing the Research Report
Students will be taught how to structure the Research Report. The report must not exceed 5000
words, excluding only the bibliography. A word count must be declared which means it needs to be
written at the end of the report. Any work beyond 5000 words will not be marked. Students are
expected to apply research methods appropriate to their chosen subject disciplines.
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Students will be taught vocabulary acceptable for academic use as well as terms and phrases
specific to their chosen field of study. They will become familiar with the use of transition words to
contribute to the flow of the report. Students will learn how to properly connect content words with
functional words to improve overall communication through writing.
Introduction to the Research Report
Students will be taught the key components of a proper introduction beginning with a hook to
draw in the reader and provide interest and urgency to the debate. The introduction should give the
context of the issue and discuss the problem in terms of the academic field of study and the themes
in which it will be viewed. Students must present the perspectives as a clear and contrasting debate
with the introduction and reveal each side's best arguments and sources to back them up. Students
should briefly define and clarify terms and explain their research methodology and design. They
should write about what they intend to answer and accomplish with this paper. The introduction
should thoroughly communicate and clarify the full intentions of the Research Report.
Main body of the Research Report
Students will learn how to structure the main body of the Research Report and divide each
section of the main body under thematic, topic sentences. The main body of the Research Report
can be divided into the general GP themes appropriate to the student’s chosen field of study through
which both perspectives will be viewed. The themes can be titled and each section assigned a
subheading. Following the introduction, students should undertake to define and clarify the terms
that they will use throughout the Research Report.
Students should also continue to explain and assess their research methodology through the
main body of the report. As they conclude each section, they can consider to what extent the
methodology has assisted them in answering the initial research question. They should analyse and
evaluate the claims of the authors of the sources and the evidence that they used to support those
claims. All claims must be backed by evidence from the sources and cited. Authors' names, names
of publications, references to specific case studies should be included throughout the paper. The
student’s sources as well as the research log should be cross-referenced throughout the paper. After
an analysis of the sources, evaluative conclusions should be backed by evidence. Comparisons of the
claims of the authors should include the authors’ names, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of
their arguments alongside each other and then conclude with the student’s judgement on who had
the best argument and how it helps to answer the original research paper question.
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Conclusion of the Research Report
The student’s conclusion must follow from all previous arguments that were introduced,
analysed and evaluated in the main body of the essay. They should begin with a restatement of the
key points of the introduction. Students must also show how their research methodology has led
them to this conclusion. They should assess their own methodology. How successful was it? What
could be some of the weaknesses of this methodology? Each paragraph of the main body should not
lose focus and always show an ongoing debate as it seeks to answer the original research paper
question. The conclusion should then summarise the results of their analysis and evaluation
conducted of the authors and sources in the main body. They should weigh up the most significant
conclusions from each section of the main body of the essay. Students should show how the data
that they collected from their research led to the conclusions and then decisively answer the original
research question.
Reflection of the Research Report
Students will learn how to reflect on their entire experience in coming up with an appropriate topic,
devising a research methodology and design, collecting the data, analysing the data, evaluating the
data and then finally writing the report. Students should undertake to self-reflect and comment on
their own personal beliefs and bias before, during and after the research process. Students should
evaluate themselves and make statements concerning the success, failure and limitations of their
research methodology and design. They should reflect on how the research process and advice from
their advisors and peers may have changed their personal beliefs and direction of the research
methodology and design. They should reflect on their own response to feedback and their
adaptability to changes in the research design. Finally, students should consider the limitations and
scope of their Research Report and provide suggestions for further research on this debate. Final
remarks should be forward-thinking and consider possible future directions for this area of research.
The Research Report: Overview of Marking Criteria
The Research report is worth 85 marks and is externally marked by Cambridge International.
Candidates will complete a research project on a topic and question of their own choice. The project
comprises a report of up to 5000 words, supported by a research log. Both the report and log are
externally marked by Cambridge International. The Research Report is worth 75 marks and the
research log is worth 10 marks. The report must be based around a single question that lends itself
to in-depth research. The report should be written for a non-specialist audience. Throughout their
research, candidates must keep a research log and submit it with their report. The log must be a
separate document to the report. In their log, candidates should record information relating to the
research process and reflect on their research findings and decisions.
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For the Cambridge Research Report, candidates should demonstrate AO1, AO2 and AO3 skills.
Candidates will be assessed on their ability to:
• use a research log to record, plan and reflect on research (AO1, AO2)
• reflect on research findings and decisions (AO2)
• analyse their research question (AO1) • use appropriate research methods (AO1)
• select and analyse relevant concepts (AO1)
• use and assess sources to support arguments and perspectives (AO1)
• build and compare contrasting perspectives (AO1)
• reflect on how alternative perspectives have influenced their argument (AO2)
• make judgements which are supported by evidence (AO1)
• reflect on their conclusions (AO2)
• structure their report effectively, use accurate terminology and use complete and
appropriate citation and referencing (AO3).
The report must be written in continuous prose and must not exceed 5000 words. An accurate
word count must be clearly stated. The title and bibliographical references are not included in the
word count. Work beyond the 5000 word maximum will not be marked. The report must include a
bibliography and full bibliographical references must be given for any quotations. The format and
referencing conventions used should be appropriate to the subject discipline/s. Each candidate must
also complete a research proposal form, and this must be reviewed internally. The research proposal
is not externally marked by Cambridge International, but it must be submitted with the materials
sent for assessment.
Transferable Skills
Cambridge International AS & A Level Global Perspectives & Research is a skills-based course and by
learning and practising the Critical Path, students have developed transferable skills. The Partnership
for 21st Century Learning has set out a ‘framework for learning’ of the skills and knowledge needed
to succeed in work and life in the 21st century, which lines up with much of what this course is
designed to support.
The framework has the following elements:
● Content Knowledge: English, languages, arts, mathematics, economics, science, geography,
history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, environmental studies, gender studies and more.
● Learning and innovation skills: creativity, innovation, thinking critically, solving problems,
communication, collaboration and more.
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● Information, media and technology skills: information literacy, media literacy, ICT literacy,
presentation skills, audio and video skills and more.
● Life and career skills: flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social and cross-
cultural skills, productivity and accountability, leadership, decisiveness, empathetic listening,
negotiation and conflict resolution, working under pressure, teamwork, time management,
public speaking, delegation, networking and more.
The Research Report develops these skills as students follow the Critical Path to locate and read
sources and put them together in a written argument. Students rely on learning and innovation
skills, practising critical thinking, solving problems, communicating by working with peers, teachers
and advisors and getting feedback and guidance as well as communicating through extensive written
academic text.
Students will develop life skills as they need to show initiative and self-direction to manage the
process of identifying, researching and writing their own research report project over a number of
months, with much less direct intervention by their teacher. This will also test their ability to
efficiently manage a planned outcome and their accountability for what they have committed to
deliver.
The Research Report bridges the gap between the three sets of 21st-century skills and the vital
areas of content knowledge. By selecting a specific academic subject for their report, students will
learn to make the links between content they have learnt and their developing abilities to think
critically about it, solve problems that emerge and be creative and innovative in seeking out new
knowledge. To do this, students will be relying even more on their flexibility, their ability to direct
themselves and their sense of personal responsibility for their own outcomes. T
This combination of skills and knowledge will help them not just to make a success of their report,
but also give them the package of qualities that universities look for in their students and employers
look for when recruiting. In this way, Cambridge Global Perspectives & Research will not only support
our students well with their studies at this stage, but it will also prepare them effectively for the next
step in their lives.
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PSHE Skills for University, Careers and Life
Students at Meridian International School learn how to be enterprising in life and work and to
set realistic, yet ambitious career and life goals, which are matched to personal values, interests,
strengths and skills. Students learn to evaluate the ‘next step’ options available, such as higher
education, further training or apprenticeships, and gap year opportunities and consider the
implications of the global market for their future choices in education and employment. They learn
how to identify and evidence their strengths and skills when applying and interviewing for future
roles and opportunities. Students receive guidance in university applications and entrance essays.
They receive instruction in how to produce a concise and compelling curriculum vitae and prepare
effectively for interviews white considering how to properly recognise career possibilities in a global
economy.
Students learn about their rights and responsibilities as students in casual, part-time jobs,
including in the ‘gig economy’ as well as the importance of professional conduct and how it can be
demonstrated in different workplaces including following health and safety protocols.
Students are taught to understand and appreciate the importance of workplace confidentiality and
security including cyber-security and data protection. They learn about how to recognise bullying
and harassment in the workplace in all its forms and ways to seek or provide support to resolve the
situation. Students also become associated with the role of trade unions and professional
organisations and when and how to constructively challenge workplace behaviours.
Students consider future financial choices as they consider how to plan expenditure and budget
for changes in circumstances, such as when moving out or going to university. They learn to
understand and manage salary deductions including taxation, national insurance and pensions, to
evaluate savings options, to exercise consumer rights, including resolving disputes and accessing
appropriate support. Students become aware of how to manage financial contracts including,
mobile phone services and renting items and accommodation; how to identify appropriate advice.
They can begin to evaluate the potential gains and risks of different debt arrangements and
repayment implications as well as evaluate the risks in different financial ventures including illegal
schemes such as illegal money transfers.
Students will practise media literacy and digital resilience to prepare them for the world. They
will learn how to set and maintain clear boundaries around personal privacy and to manage online
safety in all its forms, including seeking help when appropriate. They will consider how to effectively
challenge online content that adversely affects their personal or professional reputation and to build
and maintain a positive professional online presence, using a range of technologies. Students will
learn how social media can expand, limit or distort perspectives and recognise how content they
create and share may contribute to, or challenge this. They will learn to be a critical consumer of
online information in all its forms, including recognising bias, propaganda and manipulation.
Students will be instructed on when and how to report or access help for themselves or others in
relation to extremism and radicalisation.
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