Cambridge International Day inspires teachers in Turkey

Over 230 school leaders and teachers attended the annual Cambridge International Day, which this year was hosted in Kabataş High School in collaboration with Cambridge University


More than 200 school leaders and teachers attended a recent Cambridge International Day at Kabatas High School, Istanbul, Turkey, with support from Tarabya British Schools.

Janet Williams-Ipek, Vice President of Cambridge Associate Schools, welcomed delegates, while Cambridge International Regional Manager Burcu Benderli shared information about the organisation’s work in Turkey, and Marketing Manager Zoë Neville-Smith presented new developments that will benefit schools.

Special guests from local ministerial posts gave warm opening addresses – Ahmet Hamdi Usta, Istanbul Deputy Governor, Dr Muammer Yıldız, Director General of Private Education Institutions, and Levent Yazici, İstanbul Provincial Director of National Education.

They spoke of the importance of the internationalisation of education and how it is delivered by adopting different elements of international curricula in schools. They also said teachers are vital to learning and to the success of international education.

The theme of the day was ‘Inspiring Teaching, Inspiring Learning’ and Dr Tristian Stobie, from Cambridge International, gave one of the keynote speeches on the central theme. Dr Mark Winterbottom from the University of Cambridge, gave a dynamic presentation on ‘Thinking about Learning in the Classroom’, and demonstrated how the concepts of Dr Stobie’s speech could apply to teaching and learning in practical ways.

A senior leaders’ panel discussed motivations for introducing international curricula, the use of technology in the classroom, how to foster better learning in classrooms, and how the leaders had each delivered successful outcomes in their school.

The final sessions of the day were subject-specific break-outs run by experienced teachers and consultants. The topics covered all areas of the Cambridge curriculum including sessions of Active Learning, Cambridge Global Perspectives, and a variety of Cambridge Primary and Cambridge IGCSE subjects.

Burcu Benderli said: 'Turkey is an exciting country with many different local and global factors influencing its growth. The curricula that our schools are building are designed to equip the young people of Turkey with the knowledge but more importantly, the skills, to succeed in this fast-changing world.

'Enormous credit must go to the teachers whose investment in their learners continues to deliver outstanding results, and develop young people who are truly ready for the world.'

Photos


Cambridge International Day / April 2019