Kids in China preparing for the AI race

China is plotting a homegrown strategy of local and national talent development programs. It may prove a masterstroke. Aged 15, Shanghai students were on average three full years ahead of their counterparts in the UK. Nowhere in the world has a country made more of its kids’ talent.

Shanghai’s success owed a lot to Confucian tradition, but it fitted precisely the best contemporary understanding of how expertise is developed. In his book Why Don’t Kids Like School?, Dan Willingham explains that complex mental skills like creativity and critical thinking depend on our first having mastered the simple stuff. Memorisation and repetition of the basics serve to lay down the neural architecture that creates automaticity of thought, ultimately freeing up space in our working memory to think big. The result: a proven approach for growing science and technology know-how.

Things are beginning to change. Although the pursuit of high test scores was vital to economic growth in the industrial era, today the approach is outdated. Skills that mattered for success in the high tech industries of the twentieth century now appear particularly susceptible to automation. Becoming a science and technology superpower in the twenty-first century meant evolving from a model in which the mastery of routine skills is the end of education, to one in which they’re a means to the end of creative inquiry.

Whether China can harness its deep-rooted education culture and implement its visionary policy for the development of the high-level skills while also maintaining an authoritarian social order remains to be seen. For now though, China seems better-placed than ever to draw on the greatest pool of resources required for twenty-first century dominance: well-educated teen minds. In the digital age, making the most of our brain power matters more than ever. In the AI long game, China may have the lead.

For more details, visit the website www.wired.co.uk/article/china-artificial-intelligence-education-superpower.

Overseas admission success: what schools and curricula work best?

The IB Diploma is the most “international” of curricula. Some international schools with strong or direct links with a particular country may offer the curriculum of the “mother” country – often alongside the IB – with the expectation that many of their students will return there for their higher education. But which curricula work best?

These curricula differ in terms of the subjects offered, the breadth of study demanded and in terms of methods of assessment. Many national systems and the IB Diploma expect students to continue to study a broad range of subject areas in their senior years. The GCE A-level system, however, allows greater specialization in three or four subjects. This reflects the greater specialization at undergraduate level for a three-year rather than a four-year degree.

In reviewing a student’s academic profile, universities will look at the following: the grades the student has achieved, or is predicted to achieve; the qualification or programme studied; and the rigor of the chosen programme.

Admissions officers will be more familiar with the domestic curriculum of that particular country but will claim that they look at each student in their unique context. Their ability to do the latter will vary by country, institution and even individual.

International schools are not guaranteed to give students an edge over local schools in applying to overseas universities. Some local schools actually have what is effectively an “international” stream, where some students study the IB Diploma rather than the HKDSE. Most international schools have higher education counsellors whose function is to advise and support students in their overseas university ambitions.

Your choice of school and curriculum should be the same as your choice of college or university: that is, not one based on perceived advantages in terms of advancement but on intrinsic value. Ask the question: “Is this a place where my child will thrive?” and you will have your answer.

For more details, visit the website www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/2166592/overseas-admission-success-what-schools-and-curricula-work

Cambridge Exam Updates 2020

The Cambridge levels of A2 Key, A2 Key for Schools, B1 Preliminary and B1 Preliminary for Schools have undergone a thorough review to ensure that the exams continue to remain relevant to the needs of schools and learners.

Cambridge English regularly review all their exams to make sure they're continuing to reflect the latest thinking in learning and assessment and also that they are continuing to meet the needs of their learners.

Learners taking A2 Key or B1 Preliminary from January 2020 will sit the new exams. Cambridge English say it is important to revise the exams to reflect changes that are happening to the English language and also to reflect changes that are happening in the classroom.

Some of the new tasks at Key and Preliminary are deliberately similar in format to the next level. This gives learners the chance to build on skills they have developed in one level, as they move on to the next Cambridge English qualification.

One of the biggest changes made to A2 Key is in the speaking and writing components. Cambridge are trying to give candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their speaking and writing skills more fully, so they'll find in the writing paper they have the opportunity to write more and more freely.

In the speaking component they are given the opportunity to speak more freely so they can have the opportunity to shine.

Cambridge have provided lots of support on their website which has an overview of the changes and an abundance of free materials, sample papers, updated word lists, updated handbooks for teachers and some lesson plans that teachers can use with their learners in the classroom.

For more details, visit the website https://keyandpreliminary.cambridgeenglish.org/#introDates