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Contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 4
Getting started ................................................................................................................................................... 5
1: Planning the course ....................................................................................................................................... 6
2: Planning lessons ............................................................................................................................................ 9
3: Classroom practice ...................................................................................................................................... 14
4: Preparing learners for final assessment ...................................................................................................... 20
5: Resources and support................................................................................................................................ 25
Appendix: Sample lesson plan template ......................................................................................................... 26
Teacher Guide

Introduction

The purpose of the teacher guide

This teacher guide is designed to help you to organise and plan your teaching for Cambridge IGCSE
Pakistan Studies. It also offers advice and guidance on teaching strategies and how to prepare your learners
for the final assessment.

As an international awarding body, many of our candidates are either multi-lingual or possess English as a
second language which presents them with great opportunities but also with potential barriers. Learners
cannot develop academic knowledge and skills without access to the language in which they are discussed,
constructed and evaluated.

In this guide we have also included some prompts and tips on how to incorporate the
development of language skills within the general teaching of this subject. This information is
indicated in the text with the icon shown here.

Where language levels are already highly developed amongst learners, this advice will not be applicable.
However, it is often the case that those learners with lower ability skills in general and those with lower ability
language skills tend to share similar misunderstandings.

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 Teacher Guide

Getting started

School Support Hub

You should make sure at an early stage that you have access to the School Support Hub,
www.cambridgeinternational.org/support. You can obtain a login from your Examinations Officer.

The School Support Hub provides a wide range of resources to help you, including:
 syllabuses
 past examination papers and specimen papers
 mark schemes
 examiner reports (after first sitting)
 example candidate response booklets (after first sitting)
 schemes of work
 a resources list
 community resources and discussion forum

All of these forms of teacher support are invaluable in helping you and your learners understand exactly what
Cambridge expects of candidates in examinations, and will help you to prepare your learners appropriately.

Syllabus
When planning your course, your starting point should be the syllabus. This contains information not only on
the curriculum content but also the overall aims and assessment objectives. It gives details of the papers, the
grade descriptions and additional information (such as the minimum marks needed for particular grades). It is
most important that you become thoroughly familiar with all parts of the syllabus document.

Scheme of work
You will then need to devise a scheme of work. To do this, you need to think how you will organise the time
that you have available to help learners to understand and learn all of the facts and concepts required by the
syllabus, and to develop the necessary skills. Cambridge provides a scheme of work that you could use as a
starting point but you will undoubtedly want to produce your own at some point. Your scheme of work will
help you to determine what resources you will require to deliver the course and this will help you to build up
teaching, learning and reference resources such as text books and worksheets.

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Teacher Guide

1: Planning the course

This section looks at how you can plan your course to ensure that you can cover the whole syllabus within
the time that you have available. It includes long-term planning (developing a scheme of work) and planning
for individual lessons. It also includes ideas and support for incorporating language into the lesson to help
learners become more fluent and accurate users of English.

Language is an important part of communication and the aim of considering this within a lesson is to expose
learners to situations where they need to use English to complete the tasks given. The language focus is not
an additional element to be added to the course but should be seen only as the medium through which the
topic (content) is taught.

The promotion of critical thinking skills and collaborative work is considered to be very important in acquiring
language and improving fluency whatever the topic. Personalisation of the topic is also known to increase
motivation and self-confidence as well as interest in the topic.

Section 4 provides some ideas and activities for incorporating language into the lesson without increasing
the teacher’s work load.

1.1 Key factors to consider when planning your course

These factors will need to be considered before starting the planning of your course.
 the amount of teaching time available each week for the duration of the course
 the availability of resources such as text books, computers, atlases etc.
 the previous learning of your learners
 the level of English language of the learners
 whether your group is mono- or multi-lingual
 whether your teaching groups will be mixed ability or will be streamed by ability
 the number of lessons you will need to cover the syllabus (the recommended time for an IGCSE
course is 130 hours of teaching time)
 the school calendar; holidays, examinations, etc.

1.2 Long-term planning

A long-term plan will provide the overall structure of your course. It will include the order in which topics will
be taught, the approximate length of time to be spent on each and the factors listed in Section 1.1 above.
It will need to take into account the number and nature of the groups following the course and whether they
should all follow the same path through the course. There may, for example, be issues with the use of
computers or text books if two groups are studying a topic at the same time. In this case it would be better if
the plan was organised so that groups could study such a topic at different times.

Topics should also, ideally, be arranged so that they fit into the school’s sessions, so that a topic is not split
because of a school holiday or an examination session.

In a two year course the second year will probably have fewer weeks because of the timing of the
Cambridge examinations.

It is important to note that you do not need to teach the syllabus content in the order in which it is printed in
the syllabus. It is likely that you will want to order your teaching to suit your particular needs and preferences.
This may be done in a number of ways.
 Start your course with Section 1 (Location of Pakistan) and Section 6 (Trade), perhaps because you
can see ways of linking the learning objectives in these two areas together. It links to investigating
transport, to the study of Pakistan’s trading partners or to a visit to a dry port or port.
 Start with a course in practical techniques such as map work and Pakistan’s place in the world to
generate enthusiasm.

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 Teacher Guide

 Start with topics which are conceptually easier, saving the more difficult topics for the second year of
the course.
 Use the suggested pattern in the ‘Schemes of Work’ provided on the School Support Hub.
 Follow your own and learners’ interests and enthusiasms to begin with.

Long-term planning will also consider what you would like the learners to able to communicate either in
spoken or written form at the end of the course. This will help with identifying what language could be
included in medium- and short-term plans.

A long-term plan should also consider how cartographic and graphical skills will be developed and which
topics will contribute largely to the development of these skills.

A long-term plan is not ‘set in stone’; it is a working document. As the course progresses you can adapt it as
required. When you have worked through it once or twice you will have a much better idea of the best way
for you to work through the syllabus.

1.3 Medium-term planning

Medium-term planning is the most important of the three types. It defines, in some detail, what will be taught
and when. It also describes how language skills, practical work and other activities are to be incorporated
into the course. Medium-term plans are often called ‘Schemes of Work’ and can be shared at the whole
school level to inform other Pakistan Studies teachers of your plans.

Some examples of schemes of work can be found on the School Support Hub
(www.cambridgeinternational.org/support). A password is needed to access the site and your Examination
Officer will be able to provide you with one.

The Cambridge scheme of work is useful as:

 an example of one way of moving through the course
 a good source of possible activities mapped to each part of the syllabus
 a good source of exercises and resources.

Generally, we recommend that you only use this as a reference to help you create your own scheme of work
because, it:
 represents only one possible approach and so is not necessarily the best for your learners
 does not take into account the ethos, approach and/or facilities of your centre
 is arranged in a way that might not fit in with your long-term plan
 has no statement of the amount of time required for each element.

When adapting an existing scheme of work:

 add timings for each section
 you could include a note about the sort of output you would like your learners to produce in terms of
language, e.g. oral, written, group/pair work, discussions, etc.
 always check the URLs before using them with your learners; web addresses can change, and you
also need to know that what you are accessing is appropriate for your learners.

A medium-term plan is best developed with contributions from all of the teachers who will be using it. If they
have had an input they will feel an ‘ownership’ of the plan and will be more likely to adhere to it.

A medium-term plan should be flexible and updated when necessary. It should be amended if it is found not
to be working as planned. It should be reviewed at the end of each school year to assess how well it has
worked and to decide if any improvements could be incorporated.

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Teacher Guide

1.4 Short-term planning

Short-term planning involves planning for a single lesson or perhaps a small group of lessons.

It should include the:

 content and the language of the lesson
 activities that will take place
 progress that is expected of the learners during the lesson.

Short-term planning is something that is done by an individual teacher, taking into account their own
strengths and the needs of the learners they will be teaching. Teachers new to the subject may need
guidance but the plan should still be their own.

This process is covered in more detail in the next section, 2 Planning lessons.

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 Teacher Guide

2: Planning lessons

2.1 Lesson plans and templates

A lesson plan is written by the teacher and should include details of how the lesson is intended to proceed. It
should take account of:
 what is to be taught (learning objectives)
 what is to be achieved by the learners (lesson objectives, content and language)
 what the learners already know (previous learning and relevant knowledge)
 how learners’ understanding will be monitored (assessment of learning)
 how learners at different levels of ability are going to access the lesson (differentiation).

It should detail the learning activities which will take place and have approximate timings showing how long
each part of the lesson will last. It should also note the language focus for the lesson in brief.

A lesson should ideally have three main parts:

beginning this should be an activity that engages and motivates the learners, as well as
stimulating the background knowledge that the learners can bring to the topic

middle this should include the main learning and language activities of the lesson

end this should be an activity/activities in which learners can assess their understanding of
what has gone before and feedback on it.

2.2 Constructing a lesson plan

It can be helpful to have a printed template to use in lesson planning. You can design your own, or there are
many available on the internet or in books. On the following pages you will find an example of a completed
lesson plan which includes helpful guidance.

A blank template of the example below is available in the Appendix for you to copy.

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Teacher Guide

Lesson: School:

Date: Teacher name:

Class: Number present: Number absent:

Learning objectives to This will be based on something written in your medium-term

which this lesson is plan. It will state which part of the syllabus the lesson is going to
contributing address.

Lesson objectives These may be the same as the learning objectives but more
often will be only a part of them. This is what you intend the
learners to fully grasp by the end of the lesson. It should be a
realistic target and many learning objectives will take more than
one lesson to be fully understood. It should also include a
reference to the language the learner is likely to need to be able
to reach the targets you set.

Vocabulary, terminology
and phrases

Previous learning

Plan

Planned Planned activities Resources

timings

Beginning This should be a relatively brief part of the Your plan should also include a
lesson and should ‘switch the learners on’ to list of the resources (books,
Pakistan Studies, rather than what they internet, practical equipment,
were doing previously. It may be a short etc.) which will be needed in
question and answer session, or a simple each session of the lesson.
written task to assess what they know about
the topic to be covered This starter session
should also stimulate the interest of the
learner by providing materials such as
visuals for the particular vocabulary needed
or some activity which is personalised to
encourage the learners to bring their own
background knowledge and interest to the
topic. This should be learner focused with as
little teacher talk time as possible. Give an
estimated time, usually about five minutes.

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 Teacher Guide

Middle This may build on and extend previous

understanding, explore and solve practical
problems, develop knowledge and skills,
practise previously learned techniques or
any of many other alternatives. It is
important not to include too many activities,
but equally important not to spend so much
time on one activity that learners become
demotivated. Good lessons will involve the
learners in the activities as much as
possible. Activities should encourage the
learners to have confidence in
communication through speaking or writing
and there should be some feedback from
the teacher regarding possible language
errors. Delayed feedback is recommended
to avoid demotivating the learners and
hindering communication. Timings should
be included for each separate activity.

End This part of the lesson brings it to an

organised conclusion. Learners (in groups
or pairs) can assess how well they
understand the material covered during the
lesson. This may involve a short written
exercise or a question and answer session.
This may also include feedback from the
teacher on some language errors noticed
during the lesson, for example,
pronunciation of certain words, use of
tenses. It may also be used to link to
whatever is going to happen in the next
session. This should again take around five
minutes at most.

Additional information

Differentiation: How do you Assessment: How are you Health and safety check: ICT
plan to give more support? planning to check learners’ links
How do you plan to learning?
challenge the more able
learners?

How will you try to ensure that It is good practice to check: If your lesson includes any
the lesson is accessible to all fieldwork or outdoor activity, an
of the learners so that all will  what your learners assessment of the risks
benefit from the experience? knew/understood before the involved should be included
This is especially important lesson (content) with the lesson plan.
with mixed ability groups.
 how this has changed after
There is more on
the lesson, including
differentiation in the next language and
section. communication
improvements (language).

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Teacher Guide

Reflection and evaluation

Reflection Use the space below to reflect on your lesson. Answer the
Were the lesson objectives most relevant questions from the box on the left about your
realistic? lesson.
What did the learners learn
today? As soon as possible after the lesson you need to think about how
What was the learning well (or badly) it went. There are two reasons for this; if you share
atmosphere like? your plan with other teachers in your Centre it will enable them to
Did my planned differentiation learn from your experiences. It is a good idea to discuss with
work well? colleagues how well lessons went. This applies whether they
Did I stick to timings? went well or whether there were problems.
What changes did I make
from my plan and why? It will also help next time you teach the same topic. If the timing
was wrong or the activities did not fully occupy the learners, you
may want to change some aspects of the lesson next time.

There is no need to re-plan a successful lesson every year, but it

is always good to learn from experience and to incorporate
improvements next time.

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 Teacher Guide

Summary evaluation

What two things went really well? (Consider both teaching and learning.)

1.

2.

What two things would have improved the lesson? (Consider both teaching and learning.)

1.

2.

What have I learned from this lesson about the class or individuals that will inform my next
lesson?

Cambridge IGCSE Pakistan Studies 0448 13

Teacher Guide

3: Classroom practice

The aim of any teacher is to get their learners to gain knowledge and understanding, to develop the skills to
be able to apply this knowledge, and to learn to communicate what they know as effectively and accurately
as possible in the time available to them on the course.

3.1 Active learning

Not every topic in Pakistan Studies can be taught by means of outdoor learning. A description/explanation by
the teacher is easily forgotten by the learner, even if it was understood in the first place.

Videos of some environmental processes and computer animations can help, but they are still ‘passive’. The
learner is not involved in ‘discovering’ the information.

Research has shown that the more a learner is involved in the process of learning, the more they retain. This
is also true of language acquisition.

The learning pyramid below shows the percentage of information retained as a result of different forms of
delivery stimulating different learning processes.

From this it will be seen that although audiovisual (videos and computer animations) may be better than a
lecture (being told by a teacher), there are methods which are better still. Clearly not everything can be
absorbed by discussion and practice, but activities where the learners actually participate work better.

At least some such activities (active learning) should be used alongside field work, outdoor learning and
discussions etc. in order to maximise learning. There will not be time for everything to be covered in this way
but some topics certainly should be. If you give learners guiding questions to answer while listening this will
activate knowledge and language and will allow the learners to feedback the answers or contribute to the
group discussion more effectively. This is an example of what is called ‘scaffolding’.

There are, of course, many other methods of getting learners involved and plenty of ideas in books and on
the web.

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 Teacher Guide

3.2 Differentiating the activities

Differentiation is a way of trying to ensure that members of your group with differing abilities can all access
the material you are delivering. There are a number of ways of approaching this problem and, again, they
can be found in books and on the web. They fall into three main categories.

 Differentiation by outcome - In this method an open-ended task is set which can be accessed by
all, e.g. ‘Find out how low temperatures affect the lives of people in the mountainous regions ’.
Learners will produce different results according to their ability, but all of their ‘outputs’ will be valid.
 Differentiation by task - Learners are set slightly different tasks based on the same objective. This
may involve worksheets which pose questions on the same topic where differing amounts of
understanding are required.
 Differentiation by support - All learners undertake the same task but those who are weaker are
given additional support. Writing frames, where a template is provided for them to record their work,
are one way of doing this.

3.3 Integrating content and language in the course

In previous sections we have stressed that the objective of the language element of a lesson is to help the
learners gain greater confidence in communicating their knowledge of the subject. Whether you are teaching
a class including learners who have English as their second language, who are multi-lingual or who only
speak English, the same difficulties of written expression occur within the subject to both lower level ability
and second language learners.

Subject teachers are not expected to teach English, however, the language and terminology of a subject
should be learned at the same time as the subject content, as a fluent part of the content, so that it has
greater meaning and offers contextual understanding; subject-specific language should not be left to a
specified language lesson. The confidence to communicate in accurate and precise language will also be of
benefit to learners taking an external examination in English at the end of the course. A number of
examination questions require explanations and learners can gain higher marks if the language is used
accurately. For example, comments by some examiners on previous candidate scripts have noted the
incorrect use and understanding of vocabulary, the lack of ability to write a logical explanation and answers
that contain contradictions. It will also benefit learners in the long term, should they continue their studies in
the subject at a higher level with a view to their careers.

The teacher’s role should, therefore, also be to support the language element of the lesson that underpins
the content. This element should enhance learners’ communicative skills and their accurate use of the
language. A key part of this should be for teachers and learners to notice the language used in different
stages of the lesson.

Here are some strategies that you can try in your next lesson:
 record language prompts on the whiteboard
 encourage learners to underline key terms
 use images
 provide writing frames
 enable learners to write collaboratively
 introduce learners to new language before setting a task
 provide sentence stems and model language
 activate prior knowledge of the subject
 create a bank of useful expressions
 repeat explanations and progressively increase the difficulty of explanations
 provide feedback on language and content
 highlight examples of good language use from learners.

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Teacher Guide

To help learners with their use of language it may also be helpful to consider the following questions when
writing a lesson plan for a subject area:
 What is the topic and what does it cover? (content)
 Is there something in the topic you can make personal to the learners? For example, is there
something you can relate to their particular culture to stimulate interest and prior knowledge.
(context, personalisation)
 What language will your learners need to produce during the lesson and later in the exam? (English)
 What is the language focused on? For example, it may be to explain a result, justify a decision,
describe a result, or interpret given information. You can also think about the relevant vocabulary
and terms they could practise to help with precision.

3.3.1 Some ways to integrate content and language

Language is the medium through which the content is delivered and the main aim is not to teach the
language but provide language support and use it in interesting ways. The following suggestions are
provided to help you think about what might support learners with the language during the lesson:
 Use of visuals and charts for building vocabulary and understanding meaning – this has been shown
to stimulate interest and the learners’ prior knowledge.
 Use gap fill and word definition to discover meaning – this helps with retaining the language to a
greater extent than when learners are simply given the answers.
 Use checking questions to ensure understanding – asking learners if they could tell the group or their
partner what they have to do is an important part of communication and retention.
 Pair and group work is important – learners learn from each other and it has been shown that
teenagers prefer to work in groups rather than on their own. Learners need a safe place to practise
the language before expressing it individually.
 Personalise the topic – this increases motivation and assimilation of the language.
 Oral interaction between learners in English about the content is beneficial, as is cooperative work.
The more the learners speak, the greater the development of accuracy and confidence in using the
language.
 Repeat vocabulary, grammar and useful phrases commonly used in the topic. For example, practise
using words to compare and contrast words to make a point or develop an argument.
 If learners are encouraged to notice the language they are more likely to use it at a later date.
 The use of context is important for learners to understand meaning.
 Language needs to be used in conversation before it can be assimilated as part of the output.

3.3.2 Possible activities

(1) Starter – activate prior knowledge, use simple visual clues to vocabulary, match pictures to words.
(2) Bring in everyday recognisable items which are related to the topic (realia).
(3) Personalisation – start the lesson by making the topic relate to the learners’ lives e.g. favourite food
eaten every day.
(4) Vary the font and sizes for reading exercises and use pictures or cartoons to explain concepts.
Underlining key words or phrases helps the learner to notice the language.
(5) Learners acquire and retain language through discovering the meaning themselves from within the
text or through ordering a set of sentences to describe a process.
(6) Repeat the key language during the lesson in different exercises, e.g. use of the passive tense in
writing up the impacts of an event and when to use the definite and indefinite article (Exercise 1).
(7) To help with developing thinking skills and using the language, start by asking simple questions
using what, when, where and which followed by more challenging ones using how and why. This
works well in group and pair work.
(8) Have a glossary and word bank available. Give the learners specific words and phrases to build the
precise and more complex sentences they will need to use in their reports.
(9) Provide scaffolding – i.e. using activities where learners need to add correct answers from a choice
to make the sentences correct. Follow this by freer practice of the same language used in the
sentences.
(10) Try and ensure pronunciation and word stress is correct. You can use delayed feedback, i.e. make
notes during the group discussion time of difficult language areas and highlight this to the whole
group at the end of the lesson.

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 Teacher Guide

3.3.3 Some examples of exercises to integrate language learning within lessons

Exercise 1: The use of the passive voice

One of the most common uses of the passive voice is in writing about impacts. Learners are
likely to write about impacts in several topics during the two years of the course for example the
impacts of extreme temperatures, flooding or drought and quite often they can draw from
examples that have previously happened and so should be written in the past tense.
Often teachers write the aim of a lesson on the board and provide an overview of whether
students should refer to people, the environment or both. This helps with spelling and
structuring the response. The impacts may then be discussed and are then left for the learners
to write themselves.

If the learner is following a pre-determined plan or framework (scaffolding), this can make the
task somewhat simpler.

When the learner comes to write up the impacts of something like a drought s/he should do it
using the past passive voice as follows:

The impacts of drought on agriculture and industry in Balochistan has meant that most of the
livestock died due to there being no rainfall for the last three years. Crops failed which left
many people starving and 9 children died in southern Sindh. Industry was affected too as there
was a shortage of raw materials, such as cotton, which meant that exports were reduced and
imports had to be increased.

With guidance, most learners should be able to complete such an exercise recognising the
difference between what has happened in the past compared to what might happen in the future
thereby allowing them to apply the passive voice to other tasks correctly.

Exercise 2: Vocabulary and writing in sequence

Here is an example of how you might convert an existing past question into a cloze language
learning exercise within your subject teaching. You could make the task even more challenging
by adding alternative words to the list that are not needed to complete the passage but that
students will need to think about more deeply.

Complete the following sentences about hydel power using words from the list below.

highland electricity shadow Gilgrit turbines rainfall climate

Hydel power is _______________ generated by using the fast flow of water to move ____________
which drive generators. The _________ sometimes causes problems in developing hydel power in
Pakistan. This is because some areas like _________ and Chitral have less rainfall and electricity cannot
be generated if there is not enough water. Similarly, some areas lack rainfall because they are in a rain
___________ area. Therefore dams tend to be located in ____________ areas where there is more
precipitation. Overall, _____________ is not evenly spread throughout Pakistan which means that some
places are not able to develop hydel power.

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Teacher Guide

Exercise 3: Matching exercises

In this example using a diagram to match labels with visuals can help contextualise a word or
process and help define it against associated terms.

The diagram shows three of the processes involved in the spinning of cotton.

Match the processes to the corresponding letters on the diagram above:

 Rollers used to flatten cotton fibres/smooth out folds/straighten fibres

 Teasing wires produce loose bundles of fibre (slivers)/the fibres are divided into threads

 Fast and slow rollers divide slivers more/slivers stretched/pulled out further

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Exercise 4: Structured support

Here’s an example where learners have to think about the terms, the position they occupy on a
diagram and the changes they represent over time whilst being able to interpret the different
dimensions of the graph at the same time.

The graph shows population change over time.

(i) Circle the correct term for the graph.

Total Population Model

The Demographic Transition Model

The Natural Increase Model

(ii) Complete the label on the graph below labelled ‘Z’ choose the correct words from the list.

natural increase natural decrease total population

(iii) At which stage is the population growing fastest? Circle the correct answer.

Stage 1 stage 2 stage 3 stage 4

(iv) State two reasons for the declining birth rate as shown in stage 3.

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Teacher Guide

4 Preparing learners for final assessment

You will find past papers and mark schemes on the School Support Hub
(www.cambridgeinternational.org/support). These can be used by learners for exam practise and/or for
formative assessment throughout the course or at the end of a topic. You will also find the Principal
Examiner Reports for Teachers (PERT), which is produced after each examination series. The PERT
indicates the strengths and weaknesses of candidate performance across the whole cohort and can be used
to help you identify common areas of misconception, misunderstanding and weakness in order to improve
your teaching.

4.1 Study habits

By the start of the IGCSE course, the learner will probably have explored preferred methods for studying and
revising. However, not all of these methods are necessarily effective for all learners.

Much research has been published on this subject, suggesting that some of the following methods are not
effective:
 generous use of highlighters
 reading and re-reading notes
 working exhaustively and alone
 re-writing existing notes to create a more attractive set of notes.

Dedicated learners will often revise intensely for long periods and convince themselves that they have
prepared thoroughly. Sadly, they may well have been largely wasting their time, especially if they are aiming
to develop a deep and lasting understanding of the topic. In addition to just passing the examination.

Here are some methods that are proven to work for most learners:
 Distributive practice: that is, spreading out study over time. This method is believed to aid true
understanding of the topics.
 Studying in short bursts, followed by testing themselves regularly over several weeks.
 At the end of a revision session, writing down what they can remember.
 Creating a revision timetable for the mock and final exams. This will ensure that they study different
subjects little, but often.
 Answering many practice questions/past papers.
 Connecting ideas together by the use of mind maps.
 Using revision guides rather than the subject textbook.

Encourage your learners to consider and develop what works best for them. There is a Learner Revision
Guide (www.cambridgeinternational.org/images/351658-learner-revision-guide-.pdf) available on our public
website that provides some general guidance.

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4.2 Deep subject understanding

When learners start to make connections between topics, the study of the subject becomes more enjoyable
and they gain a deeper understanding of what they are doing.

Concept maps (mind maps) can be drawn and connections made between sub-topics in a unit, between
units in a syllabus, and indeed between related subjects.

4.3 Technology in and out of the classroom

There are a great range of technological tools available for use inside and outside of the classroom. It is
important for learners to experience their learning in a variety of different ways, not least to maintain interest
and motivation. Below are just some of the possibilities.

4.3.1 Virtual field work

This is especially useful for illustrating locations in Pakistan to learners, for example when teaching about the
Northern areas to learners in Sindh or vice versa. Those different environments may be worlds apart from
the experience of the local learners and visiting all the locations studied is not possible. Learners can see the
locations for themselves and interrogate the surroundings and compare it to their own experiences. Since
these tools are interactive, they are much better than just reading and memorising the topic. Using Google
Earth and Google images, students and teachers can create their own virtual field trips that will bring the
learning to life. All that is required is internet access and it is free to download Google Earth.

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4.3.2 Mobile apps

Mobile apps for education have to be carefully selected to make sure they provide appropriate and
meaningful learning outcomes. But if chosen well, they can provide another mode of learning or revision for
the learner. There are numerous options, from games and quizzes to videos and animations.

‘Socrative’ is an excellent app for formative assessment and learners usually enjoy using it. You can create
online multiple-choice style quizzes that give instant feedback to you, the teacher, so that you can quickly
identify problem areas. Correction and explanation can then be dealt with immediately.

4.3.3 Podcasts
These audio teaching aids are a handy alternative tool, which are especially useful while learners are
travelling to and from school or do not want to disturb others. Listening to the same podcasts over and over
again can be especially useful for the second language learner. You can create your own podcasts online for
free at ‘Podbean’, for example. Creating your own podcasts allows you to choose the emphasis you want
and use the language you have been specifically using with your learners.

4.3.4 Video
Nowadays, video is not just something that learners sit down and watch in order to add variation to a lesson.
Videos can be stopped periodically and questions asked in the traditional way or more recently they can
easily be edited and teacher questions inserted/embedded within the video itself. This makes the process
much more active which increases learning potential. You could make your own or have a look at the many
examples on YouTube.

4.4 Providing feedback on learner work

It is necessary to provide meaningful feedback to your learners in order for them to improve the quality of
their written answers and understanding of a subject. The learner may find the subject itself challenging
and/or may not have the skills in English to deal fully with the question. Either way, meaningful feedback and
reflection time are the answer. Providing feedback can be done in several ways, such as:
 Provide feedback orally in class so that learners write down the extra information they would need to
get full marks.
 Allow learners individually to find the other pieces of information to get full marks.
 Provide a situation where the learners are actively engaged in reviewing the questions in pairs or
groups with your guidance. In this way they can collectively understand what information and
language would have gained full marks. You can point out command words used in the question and
encourage the learners to develop an understanding of what each word means.

The last suggestion however, takes time and it could be set as a group exercise to be started in learners’
own study time.

Technology is available to allow you to easily record units of your own teaching in short, manageable
portions. These can be made available to learners who can watch them as a homework assignment. This
saves time and allows you to concentrate on other aspects of learning and allows more time for formal
assessment. The fact that these videos can be watched again and again is especially useful to the second
language learner.

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4.5 The mock examination

The mock examination in Year 11 is an important benchmark for teachers and learners, and it serves several
purposes:
 It is an opportunity for the learners to be tested on the complete course material* under proper exam
conditions.
 It encourages learners to start revising for the exams earlier (otherwise they might put off revision
until only a month or less before for the real exam).
 It allows learners to become more familiar with the process of being examined, so that on the day of
the actual examination they might feel less stressed and more confident – this is especially important
for learners who are apprehensive or nervous about taking exams.
 It provides an opportunity to spread the revision load of the subject over several months.

* even if learners have not completed the course by the time of the mock exams, an exam should be created
which allows the learner to get the mock exam experience on the majority of the syllabus content.

After reviewing the results of the mock exam, learners may gain an insight into the following:
 how successful their revision techniques had been
 which topics and sub-topics need more revision
 if they had enough time to complete the exam and check through their answers
 if they were able to perform properly under pressure
 whether there are questions in which they would have gained the mark(s) had their English been
clearer
 if they lost marks because of not being clear and/or using the correct terminology.

If learners treat the mock exams as if they were the finals, evidence indicates that they may well perform
even better in their final assessment. Some may take considerable persuasion to take the mock exams
seriously enough to revise properly. They need to be encouraged to appreciate that the process is a positive
and supportive one, and one in which very useful feedback will be provided.

4.6 Use of past papers

It is commonly known by learners everywhere, that working through large quantities of past papers is a major
factor in their success in the final assessment. It cannot be argued that they are a very useful tool, in that,
they allow learners to practice the type of question that may come up in their final exams.

It should be borne in mind that mark schemes contain several alternative acceptable answers. However,
when teachers review past paper questions used in unit tests and the mock examination, they should
encourage learners to suggest which is the best possible answer, and, in discussion, talk broadly around the
topic area on which the question is based from the syllabus.

Learners should be aware of any data provided in the syllabus and importantly any changes to this data that
might affect how they understand any practice questions you may have drawn from past papers.

The Principal Examiners Reports for Teachers (PERTs) are very helpful to use in conjunction with mark
schemes. They indicate specific areas of the syllabus where learners performed well or need to improve.
Some of these areas of weakness are mentioned year after year which might help you decide on the length
of time you should spend on certain areas or how you arrange the order of your teaching.

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Learners need to be reminded that:

 In multiple-mark questions, they would be well advised to:
o underline key words and what exactly the question requires them to do. Answers often
appear as if the learner has not noticed that there are 5 marks available for example
o take note of the number of marks available as this will indicate the extent of the answer
required
o sometimes, in questions involving calculations, credit is given for showing working. At all
times it is good practice to show every step of a calculation, even if doing so appears
unnecessary to able learners in particular who arrive at the final answer easily. Learners
often don’t realise that ‘method marks’ may be awarded even if though their final answer is
incorrect.
 Some questions may span several pages. A good idea would be for the learner to collect and jot
down essential information near the questions themselves, which can then be neatly crossed out at
the end of the exam. Doing this can prevent loss of marks through errors that are easily avoidable.
 Questions involving comparing two or more pieces of data: so often it is unclear which piece of data
the learner is discussing and the comparative language is not used properly.
 Learners should not leave questions blank but if they are running out of time they should move on
and then return to any questions that they have omitted at the end if there is time.

4.7 Command words

It is important that learners understand the vocabulary of the assessment objectives and the ‘command
words’ of exam questions which indicate the approach they should take to an answer, for example,
comparing, evaluating or describing.

Many of these ‘command words’ are listed in the ‘Glossary of terms used in Pakistan Studies for Paper 2’
which you will find in the syllabus. While these definitions are very helpful, remember that the context of the
whole question will affect the explicit meaning of the command words.

Think about the skills level required to carry out each of the commands listed in the Glossary. For example,
listing and defining are less complex tasks than describing and explaining; and assessing, suggesting and
justifying require learners to make connections across all aspects of their learning and to provide a balanced
argument with some evaluation and justification rather than merely relying on simple recall.

You can use the Example Candidate Response booklet which contains candidate responses at different
grades to help explain the meaning of the command words to learners. Showing learners good sample
responses to questions using different command words can help them see how increasing levels of skill
relate to the marks available. Asking questions in ascending order of skill whilst teaching a topic will
encourage learners to ask themselves similar questions when they are learning alone. If they become
practiced at this, they will begin to see patterns emerging where the same processes and concepts can be
applied to similar scenarios even if they have not been covered in class.

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5: Resources and support

5.1 Finding and evaluating resources

There is no shortage of resources to aid the teaching of Pakistan Studies. They can be found in text books
and on the internet. There are even books that consist entirely of a range of different resources. The problem
is finding one that is effective and that suits your situation. The quality of resources varies widely from ‘home
made’ ones which are uploaded to the internet, to professionally produced ones. The latter are not always
the best.

The problem is not so much finding resources, but evaluating whether they will suit your situation and are
effective.

Perhaps the easiest way to find reliable resources is to get them from a colleague who has already used
them and can tell you how good they are. Sadly, this is often not possible.

There are also resources to be found on Cambridge online, more details of which are given later in this
section.

Resources from the internet and from books need to be scrutinised to see if they are of use.

5.2 School Support Hub

This is an excellent source of information. You need a username and password to access it and these can
be obtained from your Examinations Officer if you are in a Cambridge Centre.

On the School Support Hub (www.cambridgeinternational.org/support), you will be able to access the
syllabus and copies of past papers together with their mark schemes, examiner reports and grade
thresholds, and a sample ‘scheme of work’ which can be downloaded and used to gain further information on
the delivery of this syllabus. There is also a list of resources and a link to the ‘Discussion Forum’ where
teachers can post comments and questions. It is worth looking at this from time to time and following
interesting threads even if you do not post any comments of your own.

5.3 Training
The Cambridge Events calendar (www.cambridgeinternational.org/events) on our public website has a list of
upcoming training events. You can also register for these courses on the site. These include:
 online self-study and tutor-led courses; the tutor-led courses are highly recommended to help you
improve your teaching skills
 face-to-face courses; held at venues all over the world at different times throughout the year; these
enable you to meet up with other teachers, and also to interact directly with a trainer from
Cambridge.

In addition, Cambridge runs professional development courses for teachers who want to develop their
thinking and practice. These include a range of Cambridge International Certificate and Diploma level
programmes in:
 Teaching and Learning
 Educational Leadership
 Teaching Bilingual Learners
 Teaching with Digital Technologies

You can find information about these at www.cambridgeinternational.org/qualifications/teacher.

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Appendix: Sample lesson plan template

Lesson: School:

Date: Teacher name:

Class: Number present: Number absent:

Learning objectives to
which this lesson is
contributing

Lesson objectives

Vocabulary, terminology
and phrases

Previous learning

Plan

Planned Planned activities Resources

timings

Beginning

Middle

End

Additional information

Differentiation: How do you Assessment: How are you Health and safety check: ICT links
plan to give more support? planning to check learners’
How do you plan to learning?
challenge the more able
learners?

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Reflection and evaluation

Reflection Use the space below to reflect on your lesson. Answer the
Were the lesson objectives most relevant questions from the box on the left about your
realistic? lesson.
What did the learners learn
today?
What was the learning
atmosphere like?
Did my planned differentiation
work well?
Did I stick to timings?
What changes did I make from
my plan and why?

Summary evaluation

What two things went really well? (Consider both teaching and learning.)

1.

2.

What two things would have improved the lesson? (Consider both teaching and learning.)

1.

2.

What have I learned from this lesson about the class or individuals that will inform my next
lesson?

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