Topic 1

(slide 1) Hello and welcome. The aim of this presentation is to highlight the changes to the Cambridge International AS Level Environmental Management (8291) qualification for first assessment in 2022.

(slide 2) Why do we make changes to our syllabuses? We revise our qualifications regularly to make sure that they:

• clear and accessible for students, for example, in use of Plain English
• incorporate teacher feedback
• bring the content up to date
• continue to be valid and reliable assessments
• support best educational practice
• improve progression across the Cambridge Pathway from Primary to Lower Secondary, through IGCSE or O Level and into AS Level studies.

We would like to highlight the importance of teacher feedback in the development process. During consultation many teachers said that the previous syllabus needed to be clearer in some areas. We listened to this feedback and reorganised the syllabus, changing the topic structure and adding more ‘additional guidance’ to specify the exact content of each learning objective.

This means that our qualifications continue to meet the needs of learners, schools and higher education institutions around the world and reflect current thinking in education.

(slide 3) This slide shows how we use feedback in the syllabus development process. It is important to us that everyone’s views are considered. Teacher feedback helps us understand the important considerations for a qualification, what are the strengths of a course and what can be difficult to manage in a school. Teachers can give us unique insights into how a qualification works for them and their students.

(slide 4) Environmental management is a rapidly developing area of science and an important part of this review was to modernise the entire syllabus. We have added sections to make the syllabus requirements clear, so teachers understand what needs to be taught and what students need to be able to do and think about. The course has been reviewed to be a coherent programme of study for this subject. We will discuss some of these changes later in the presentation.

(slide 5) The assessment objectives are still organised into three categories, AO1, AO2 and AO3, but they have been restructured to align them with the AOs in other Cambridge International Science qualifications and Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management. This alignment allows learners who progress from Cambridge IGCSE, or other science qualifications, to have a clear understanding of each assessment objective and how it will be assessed in their exams.

The assessment objectives assess a balanced set of skills within the qualification: AO1 requires learners to show knowledge and understanding of key content and topics in Environmental Management.

For AO2, learners should develop skills in interpreting and handling data and information in different contexts and then analysing it; this means learners have to apply their knowledge and understanding and interpret and draw inferences in different situations or contexts.

Environmental Management places an emphasis on using data to make decisions. This skill is incorporated into AO3, Investigation skills and making judgements.

As part of our investigations into developing this qualification, teachers told us that “Environmental research and data should be incorporated into every aspect of the course”. We have taken the opportunity as part of the review to incorporate further research and data, to bring it alive for students and make it relevant to real life, and the AOs help to explain what that means in terms of the different skills students need in the course.

(slide 6) Key concepts are essential ideas that help students develop a deep understanding of their subject and make links between different areas of study. The key concepts for Cambridge International AS Level Environmental Management are sustainability, interactions, pressure on the environment, global dimensions and research methodology.

Good teaching and learning will incorporate and reinforce a subject’s key concepts to help students gain:

• a greater depth and breadth of subject knowledge
• confidence, especially in applying knowledge and skills in new situations
• the vocabulary to discuss their subject conceptually and show how different aspects link together
• a level of mastery of their subject to help them enter higher education.

These are the key themes that students will keep encountering through their course and these ideas are some of those which underpin the subject at this level. By making these explicit, students can make their own links between areas of the syllabus as they apply their learning in different contexts and situations.

(slide 7) As you can see, the revised syllabus includes a new assessment model. The most important change is that we have removed Paper 3, Coursework. Many schools found managing the coursework challenging and time consuming. Therefore, we have responded to this feedback and removed the coursework. It’s important to note that the skills tested in the coursework are now incorporated into Papers 1 and 2. We consider that this new model reflects the best practice in assessment for this syllabus. Every student takes two papers:

• Paper 1 is a written paper titled Principles of Environmental Management.
• Paper 2 is a written paper titled Management in Context.

Both papers are worth 80 marks, have a duration of 1 hour 45 minutes and are weighted at 50% of the final mark. This simple model is clear and straightforward for both teachers and learners. All the key elements that were assessed in the coursework are represented in the tasks in Paper 1 and Paper 2. By externally assessing these elements, it helps students to have a fairer and more reliable result overall.

(slide 8) It’s great that Papers 1 and 2 are now based on the same model but how are the papers different from each other?

Firstly, Paper 1 has two sections, A and B. In Section A, students answer structured questions. There will be usually between 4 and 6 questions in this section.
In Section B, students write an essay, they choose one question from a choice of two.

Structured questions help to assess students’ understanding of the content of the course, ensuring everyone can access and progress through the assessment. The essay question allows the student to demonstrate the important skills of analysis and extended writing, where they can choose the most appropriate option for them. This approach provides a robust assessment but allows flexibility.

Paper 2 is not divided into sections and includes 4–6 structured questions. Paper 2 does not contain an essay.

The second difference between the papers is the weighting of the assessment objectives. Paper 1 has a greater emphasis on AO1 Knowledge and understanding, whereas paper 2 has a greater emphasis on AO3 Investigation skills and making judgements.

(slide 9) What do the questions in Paper 1 Section A actually look like? The example shown is a typical structured question as it contains a stimulus, in this case a data table, followed by part questions related to the stimulus. If you look at 1(a)(i), you will see that the question is very clear, uses simple language and tells candidates exactly what is required, for example, give the answer to one decimal place. The questions in Section A assess AO1 and AO2.

(slide 10) This second example again contains a stimulus, in this case a diagram of a rainforest. The questions are longer structured questions worth 6 and 3 marks. Generally, candidates should make a separate point for each available mark.

In both papers, questions use text, diagrams, photographs and maps as stimulus to ensure students engage with material in different representations, appropriate for the nature of this subject. Being able to interpret information presented in different forms is an important skill.

(slide 11) What do the questions in Paper 1 Section B actually look like? The examples shown are typical of the essay questions in Section B. Candidates must answer one question from a choice of two. In their answers, candidates are expected to refer to relevant examples and/or case studies, using any relevant quantitative or qualitative information to support their answers. They will be expected to present reasoned explanations, make reasoned judgements and reach conclusions. The questions in Section B assess AO1, AO2 and AO3.

(slide 12) What do the questions in Paper 2 actually look like? Paper 2 contains structured questions that assess AO1, AO2 and AO3. The questions will have an emphasis on AO3 and this is seen in the example shown. An investigation is introduced and candidates are required to analyse the method, identify limitations and suggest explanations for steps in the method.

(slide 13) This second example shows a map with annotations. Candidates must apply their knowledge of climate change to the example given and make judgements backed up with evidence from the diagram.

(slide 14) Now let’s have a more detailed look at changes to the syllabus content. When reviewing the subject content, we looked at the progression from Cambridge Lower Secondary through to this Cambridge International AS Level qualification. We introduced a new topic, An Introduction to Environmental Management, to ensure that all students have a solid foundation that can be built upon through their course.

We carefully considered the overall amount of subject content so that the content can be taught within the 180 guided learning hours and there is enough time to embed practical work, fieldwork and case studies as part of the teaching and learning. We strongly believe that learners should be regularly exposed to these activities to reinforce their understanding of scientific theory. This is a course about the living world around us, so it’s important that students have an opportunity to link the theory to real examples on a local and global level.

We would like to stress that the demand of the assessment remains the same.

(slide 15) Topic 2, Environmental research and data collection, is a good example of how we have modernised and reorganised the subject content. The topic is divided into 5 sub-topics.
Sub-topic 2.1 introduces the principles of the scientific method and concepts such as bias and reliability are developed in the context of climate change in sub-topic 2.2.
Sub-topic 2.3 introduces sampling strategies and this is developed in 2.4 as the use of sampling techniques is studied.

Finally, sub-topic 2.5 looks at the use of modern technology and how it can be used to collect and analyse data. We think you’ll agree, this topic is essential to the understanding of modern environmental management and the arrangement of the topic into these 5 sub-topics helps learners to understand how these techniques interact with each other.

(slide 16) This slide shows how the syllabus content is arranged. Here we can see learning objective 2.4.1, the first learning objective in sub-topic 2.4. Learning Outcomes describe exactly what a learner should know, or be able to do. The further guidance gives specific details as to the scope of the learning objective. In this example, learners are only required to describe the techniques specified. However, in your teaching you will undoubtedly introduce other techniques to enrich the learning experience but students will only be directly assessed on the specified techniques.

(slide 17) A case study has been added for each topic (except topic 1 Introduction). The case studies are designed to complement the learning objectives but allow students to apply their skills to local, national and international contexts. During exams, students will be expected to use evidence from their case studies to provide real-world examples and evidence for their conclusions and justifications.

(slide 18) We have responded to feedback from teachers and expanded the guidance given in Section 5 of the syllabus. This section specifies the mathematical requirements for any student studying Cambridge International AS Level Environmental Management and explains how to gather and present data. Teachers can use this section to help learners use mathematics confidently in their scientific studies. Mathematical skills learnt in this subject are directly comparable and transferable to other related disciplines. By making them explicit here, it means that students can reinforce their skills throughout the course and therefore be confident applying them in different situations across their learning.

(slide 19) The last change to the syllabus that we want to tell you about is the addition of command words and their meanings, a few examples are shown on the slide. This list clarifies how assessments use command words, such as suggest, explain, sketch etc. These command words are used consistently across all Cambridge International qualifications, so students are clear what is expected of them when they read a question.

(slide 20) It’s obvious that learners need support if they are to succeed in their studies. It’s also vital that this support is in place before teaching begins so let’s have a look at the support for teachers and learners that is available for this syllabus.

(slide 21) All of these resources are available now on the School Support Hub, with the exception of Specimen Paper Answers, which will be published in 2022, and Example Candidate Responses which will be published in 2023.

The scheme of work provides a medium-term teaching plan from which detailed lesson plans can be produced. The lesson plans cover all learning objectives in the syllabus with suggested activities and links to additional resources, such as videos or other materials.

Specimen Papers provide examples of the question styles in each paper. Each paper is accompanied by a detailed specimen mark scheme that shows exactly how every mark is to be awarded.

In 2022, a set of Specimen Paper Answers will also be published. These provide example answers for the Specimen Paper questions, along with examiner commentaries on the answers and marks.

We have an active community forum for Environmental Management where you can ask questions and join in discussions with other teachers. This is the best place to share resources and experiences, or simply ask for help from the Cambridge Moderator.

After the first exam series, we will also publish Example Candidate Responses. Example Candidate Responses contain example answers to exam questions with a commentary provided by the examiner and a marks breakdown.

(slide 22) What makes Cambridge International AS Level Environmental Management ideal for today’s learners?

(slide 23) We believe that these attributes make this syllabus ideal for your school and students. The syllabus is:

• accessible
• flexible
• clear and unambiguous
• relevant to today’s global citizens
• fully supported by resources for teachers and learners
• and most importantly, it develops the skills that are needed for further studies or employment.

(slide 24) We hope that this gives you a good understanding of how our AS Level Environmental Management qualification is changing for 2022 and how it could meet the needs of your teachers and learners.

For more information, visit our website at cambridgeinternational.org If you have any questions on this presentation, please feel free to post them on the Environmental Management Forum.

Thank you.