The AIS Development Award Almuñécar International School Enhancing the life skills of our young students 1 CONTENTS -3- Development Areas: Citizenship and Skills -4- Development Areas: Physical/Adventure; Research Project and Essay; Emerald, Ruby, Diamond awards -5- Who will be involved? -6- KS5: The Cambridge IPQ qualification -7- Stage of Development: Emerald – Years 7 and 8 -8- Stage of Development: Ruby – Year 9 -9- Stage of Development: Diamond – Years 10 and 11 -10- Our Learning Powers -11- to -18- Student Log Book -19- Self-Evaluation -20- Extended Ideas List -21- Extended Ideas List Continued 2 The Almuñécar International School Development Award A progressive Award The AIS Development Award: developing our commitment to education for the 21st Century so that children and young people enhance their life skills, knowledge and understanding to make a valuable contribution to their future global marketplace What are the four development areas? Each area has a list of some ideas but for even more look at the Extended Ideas List at the back of this handbook Citizenship Citizenship: students will complete various types of volunteer work. You can volunteer in school in your chosen subject areas or around school. You can also volunteer in the local community or the town where you are living. Evidence can be in the form of signatures from your supervisors. Ideas: helping with displays in classrooms or corridors. Helping departments with specific needs. Helping with our school garden. Outside of school could be helping with the upkeep of your local beach. Any ideas to help others and our communities are welcome. Charity work: working alongside local charities, helping with their current projects. Helping people: you can read with younger pupils. Working with the environment: beach cleaning, river cleanup, general litter picking always helps. Skills Skills: students will select a particular skill they currently have and wish to develop further or a new skill they wish to possess to help them achieve their goals in the future. Choose a skill and write an explanation of what you did to enhance this. Evidence can be in the form of signatures for those who mentor you. Ideas: many students already regularly take part in creative arts such as music, dance, theatre and art. These should be recorded alongside how you are developing this skill even further. For example, taking different level grades when learning the piano. Also, creating websites, online magazines and other computer projects are skills which can be developed further. Performing arts: music, theatre, singing. Science/Technology: App designs, chemistry, astronomy, marine biology. Animals: dog training. Natural world: Gardening, plant growing. Media: amateur radio, blogging, film making. Life skills: cookery, first aid, event planning. 3 Physical/Adventure Physical/Adventure: Sport: students will complete various typed of sporting activities in order to develop skills and health awareness. Many will already be involved in sports so these should be listed including a description of weekly achievements. For example, if part of a football team students can describe their role and how they played each week. In swimming, students can describe different events they regularly take part in. As students progress they can add any new activities they have attempted and completed each week. Ideas: Martial arts, extreme sports, gymnastics, fitness, water sports, individual sports, team sports. Overnight camping. Adventure: there will be opportunities for orienteering, hiking, skiing; all will be recorded. Similarly, the sea opens up opportunities for adventure. Students often surf, scuba dive and kayak. Opportunities are endless so students can add many other adventurous ideas. Extended Research Project and Essay Extended Research Project and Essay: This will be an ongoing project where students will research and investigate an area of interest they can write a project on. This will have a global importance. Based on their area of interest, their research will link to a question on this issue that they think has global importance and write an essay about this. Timescale: Term 1 – research and planning. Terms 2 and 3 – writing. The deadline will be set at the beginning of June. This is an opportunity for students to investigate a topic of special interest to students through the research process for the extended essay. They will develop skills in: formulating an appropriate research question engaging in a personal exploration of the topic communicating ideas developing an argument Participation in this process develops the capacity to analyse, synthesize and evaluate knowledge. In this extended essay students carry out an in-depth interdisciplinary study of an issue of contemporary global significance. For ideas begin by researching the United Nations website below. https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/global-issues-overview/ 4 Who Will be Involved? KS3 and KS4 – Over the course of the academic year, these year groups will continually add to their log books and look for the Development Areas they need to add to. The research and essay project is spread over the course of the academic year. The level of development will increase in stages: Students will be divided into stages of development and will receive certificates upon completion of their stages showing their progress: EMERALD Stage: Years 7 and 8 RUBY Stage: Year 9 DIAMOND Stage: Years 10 and 11 Mentoring and optional Cambridge IPQ qualification: Years 12 and 13 KS5 – Prefects and volunteers will act as mentors for the above students. KS5 students also have the opportunity to complete the Cambridge International Project (IPQ) qualification. A prestigious qualification to go alongside A-Levels (see Page 6). This is optional and worth consideration. KS3 and KS4: Years 7 to 10 There will be some opportunities in PSHE Tutor time to draw links with the skills students learn in this lesson and apply them to the Development Award. Out of school trips/visits are excellent opportunities to include in the Development Award. They can also include trips/visits they do with their family and friends. Subject areas: students will consider how they can include ways to use skills learnt in lessons each day to enhance the Award even further. The four Development skills will develop students further as a global citizen thinking about their involvement in communities and global challenges we face. Similarly, students will explore their personal wellbeing and how they can develop their identities through citizenship, developing skills, involvement in physical/adventure and researching global issues. All will be recorded on a weekly basis in their Log books. 5 KS5 Subject Prefects can act as mentors for those taking part in the Award in specific subject areas. Also, KS5 students can volunteer to be mentors and use this to enhance UCAS applications. There is also an opportunity to achieve a formal Cambridge IPQ qualification. See below. Cambridge International Project (IPQ) qualification Cambridge International Project Qualification (Cambridge IPQ) is an exciting new project- based qualification. Students have the opportunity to develop skills by carrying out research into a topic of their choice. Taking Cambridge IPQ allows learners to demonstrate engagement with their chosen topic beyond preparation for an exam, helping them to stand out from the crowd with university and job applications. Who is Cambridge IPQ for? Cambridge IPQ is typically for learners aged 16 to 19 years. It is ideal for students who want to extend learning beyond their Cambridge International AS & A Levels and are looking for an opportunity to stand out from the crowd when applying to universities and employers. Studying for the Cambridge IPQ allows learners to demonstrate engagement with their chosen topic beyond preparation for an exam. Academic evidence suggests that this sort of deeper engagement will help develop their ability to be life-long learners. What will students learn? This is a skills-based qualification. Learners develop higher-order thinking skills that universities and employers look for, including analysis, evaluation and synthesis. It also builds their research, reflection and communication skills. What will students do? Learners complete a 5000 word research project on a topic of their own choice. They can choose a subject to complement one of their Cambridge International AS or A Levels, or a topic that they are passionate about. They devise and develop a research question, conduct research to answer this question, record their progress in a research log and write a research report. In consultation with their teacher who will support them, students will: identify a suitable research topic devise, justify and develop an appropriate research question plan and carry out the research, including undertaking a literature review identify, justify and use appropriate research methods write a 5000 word report use appropriate academic conventions for presentation of the report keep track of their progress using a research log. 6 STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT EMERALD AWARD: Years 7 and 8 Citizenship There will be evidence of a range of volunteer work both in and outside school. Some volunteer projects will have been continuous throughout the year and there will have been at least three in-school volunteer projects. MINIMUM PROJECTS OR TIMES COMPLETED: 5 Skills The skills you have ongoing such as music will be fully logged. You will have also begun to introduce new skills. This may be a new instrument and other skill-based areas such as creating magazines. Explore the list of ideas. MINIMUM PROJECTS OR TIMES COMPLETED: 5 Physical/Adventure Sporting areas you have ongoing will be fully logged. You will have also begun to introduce new physical skills. This may be a new sport. You will have logged other adventure activities you do in your own time and will have organised a new adventure to take part in. See the different wide range of physical activities and sports you can do from the ideas list.