Cambridge Science – Inspired by teachers, building brighter futures
It is every teacher’s dream that their perspective and years of teaching experience are appreciated and this project has helped me realize that dream. It is truly a humbling experience to be included in the teacher’s resource.
Kavita Sanghvi, contributor to our teacher’s resource for Cambridge IGCSE™ Physics.
A global community of inspirational teachers
We know from speaking to teachers around the world that learning from the experience and advice of their peers is a vital part of professional development. We also know that being in a community of peers, with a diversity of experience can be incredibly rewarding, but that it’s not always easy to access that experience, especially in current times. This is why we put a lot of research and development into our new teacher’s resources to help you access that community.
The teacher’s resource from our Cambridge IGCSE science series includes teaching activities and comments direct from practising teachers, to help bring a Cambridge community to you and provide inspiration and advice from educators around the world. In this blog post, we spoke to two of the science teachers contributing to our new teacher’s resources about their experiences as teachers and what advice they have on teaching during a pandemic.
A tale of two teachers
Kavita Sanghvi
Kavita Sanghvi is a Cambridge IGCSE™ Physics teacher and Head of a school in Mumbai, India, member of the Cambridge Panel, and contributor to our teacher’s resource for Cambridge IGCSE Physics.
• Why did you become a teacher?
Teaching demands that you are a lifelong learner and giver. I love learning and sharing my knowledge and when students question you, stimulate you, collaborate with you to elevate the teaching-learning process, they bring alive the purpose of our very existence.
• What is the most rewarding aspect of being a teacher?
Recently in the Alumni Meet, one of the ex students mentioned how some of the tag lines I use normally in class helped the child around 12 to 15 years after Grade 10 graduation and I felt I had touched the child profoundly. I guess these small gestures of remembering you, wishing you well, coming to meet you at school after years is the most rewarding aspect of being a teacher.
• What activity were you asked to contribute to the teacher’s resource and why is it a good activity to do with your class?
I was asked to review the Cambridge IGCSE Physics activities in the recent activity series. I was asked to comment on modeling sizes and distances in the solar system for the new teacher’s resource. It was a good activity to do in class as learners will appreciate finding relative sizes and distances, as an abstract concept would become more concrete with this activity. Students are also applying their knowledge of scales to the experiment.
• How did it make you feel to be involved in this project and to be included in the teacher’s resource?
It is every teacher’s dream that their perspective and years of teaching experience are appreciated and this project has helped me realise that dream. It is truly a humbling experience to be included in the teacher’s resource.
• What has your experience of teaching during the pandemic been and do you have any tips for your fellow teachers?
The pandemic has proven once again that we are the front-runners and my experience has shown me that students are truly resilient and display adaptive thinking. Initially, I did struggle but I experienced true collaboration through my peers and students. We set aside judgments and lend each other a hand.
Tips:
1. Don’t be afraid to ask. We are all swimming in the same ocean of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity
2. Time to train yourself further. Lots of opportunities for massive open online courses (MOOCs), webinars, training, and workshops
3. Support one another. Time for gratitude and compassion
Janette Vandenberg
Janette Vandenberg, a Canadian, working in bilingual education in the Netherlands, secondary school biology and maths teacher, member of the Cambridge Panel and contributor to our new teacher’s resource for Cambridge IGCSE Biology.
• Why did you become a teacher?
It’s fantastic to pass knowledge onto others, and watch kids grow and develop.
• What is the most rewarding aspect of being a teacher?
When students leave high school with a smile and a vision of their future.
• What activity were you asked to contribute to the teacher’s resource and why is it a good activity to do with your class?
Experience on bilingual teaching within biology. Making a game using concepts learned in ecology. Students work together, and it’s a fun way to learn new terms
• How did it make you feel to be involved in this project and to be included in the teacher’s resource?
It is rewarding when one can pass on experiences and ideas to colleagues. We must always try to learn from each other.
• What has your experience of teaching during the pandemic been and do you have any tips for your fellow teachers?
Stay positive. Towards yourself, your colleagues, the students and their parents. Ask for advice from others, as we all went into this pandemic rather green about how to tackle online education. Even students themselves came up with great ideas how to make things work better.
Inspired by teachers
The experience and advice of teachers is essential to the development of teaching resources. All our resources are developed through daily research, including lesson observations, teacher interviews and work with teachers on the Cambridge Panel. For the Cambridge IGCSE™ science series the resources were reviewed by teachers and the teaching ideas were tested in classrooms. The teacher’s resource is designed to help you use the series in the most effective way and to help support your professional development.
Find out more about the teacher’s resources:
You can find out about our resources for Cambridge IGCSE Physics on our science hub page.
Help your students succeed in a changing world and become the critical thinkers of the future. Join a world-wide community of inspirational teachers with Brighter Thinking from Cambridge.
