Why did you decide to embark on a career in teaching?
"After I graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, I started my first job as a Training Manager for an Australian multi-national company. For two years I travelled around the east coast of China, meeting with local factory owners. However, a conversation with the Principal of my previous school successfully persuaded me to change my career to teaching. At that time (about 10 years ago), it was difficult to recruit High School Economics and Business teachers here in Shanghai. I stayed there for eight years and have enjoyed the teaching and learning experience in my life. Now I’m about to start a new journey in a new school.
Teaching economics can be stressful, but its been a surprising journey. Economics can feel like a new world for Chinese High School students, compared with maths and science which they are more familiar with.
At the beginning, students may feel it's too abstract to understand and it takes time to get them involved with learning it, so we usually teach it with real life stories. For example, we recently studied "Economic Growth and living standards", exploring the website of 17 Sustainable Goals together, discussing each goal and talking about renewable energy, recycling and fashion. At the end of summer campus, students made presentations on what they'd learnt. They did well and told me it had inspired them to learn more about Economics.
What do you find interesting about teaching and assessment?
"Four years ago I attended a Cambridge Professional Development Qualification workshop. These workshops were beneficial to my teaching practices; I learnt to really connect with students. They also helped me to focus more on the students learning rather than my teaching, and it also gave me an opportunity to explore formative assessment. From then on, I began to read some articles on educational theories, discussing and sharing ideas with my colleagues. Some studied methodology, some did comparative education, while I wanted to learn more about assessment.
At that time I applied for an overseas Masters in assessment, but unfortunately due to the pandemic and my family reasons, I wasn’t able to attend. With a complex feeling of sadness and newfound enthusiasm for assessment, I searched for relevant courses and found the Cambridge A101-A104 assessment series.
Engaging with the learning through modules and forum discussion with the help of the moderators, gradually I realized that I felt really supported with my work. I felt a development in my professional identity, and I felt more confident in talking about teaching and learning, especially in formal occasions.
I’m now studying on the Advanced Assessment Practitioner Award, focusing on predicted grades. I’m very impressed by the idea of spending 10 months on doing the project, it feels a bit like pregnancy and giving birth to a newborn! I strongly believe my time and efforts working towards it are worthwhile to meet its standard."
More information on the Assessment Practitioner Awards
This discussion first appeared in Perspectives on Assessment, the Cambridge Assessment Network member newsletter, which features key voices from the assessment community along with other member-exclusive content. Would you like to feature in a future Member Spotlight? We'd love to hear from you - get in touch.