Shanghai Summer Student Programme 2009 (SSSP09)

Venue: Foreign Language Middle School Affiliated to Shanghai University, 559 South Laiting Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai, China

Photo: the Cambridge SSSP08 team in Shanghai Normal University on 28 July 2008 (view original)
Deadline for application: 5pm, Thu. 12 Mar. 2009 (closed)

Read more for detailed information.


About the Programme
With the experience of organising Winter Student Exchange Programme 2007 (WSEP07) (view photos) followed by Shanghai Summer Student Programme 2008 (SSSP08) (view photos), Cambridge University Education Without Borders (CUEWB) proudly presents Shanghai Summer Student Programme 2009 (SSSP09). SSSP09 is the second collaborative project between CUEWB and Cambridge International Centre of Shanghai Normal University (CICSNU) (view photos), the first being SSSP08. As the third international student programme we run to promote education exchange between China and the UK, SSSP09 is based on the highly successful 2008 programme and will provide an even richer experience for all its participants.


Programme Details
We will be selecting 12 Cambridge students to teach in a GCSE-level summer school at Foreign Language Middle School Affiliated to Shanghai University (SDFWZ) (view photos), which is a modern, spacious, and well-equipped campus of CICSNU in Shanghai, China. The programme will run for 4 weeks from 25 July 2009 to 23 August 2009, where the first week is a non-teaching "prep week". The 4 subject areas are English, Mathematics, Business & Economics, and Arts & Drama. It will be a cultural, educational, and life enriching experience not to be missed.

The students attending the summer school will be recruited by CICSNU from Shanghai and the surrounding cities. They are 15-year-old (on average) Chinese middle school students interested in British culture and education. 69 Chinese students attended the summer school in 2008 and there will probably be more this year (but capped at 200 maximum). The Chinese students will be grouped into 4 to 8 classes of 2 or 3 levels of English language abilities. Apart from setting the limit on the number of Chinese students that can attend this summer school, CUEWB will not be involved in any operation on the Chinese side before SSSP09 kicks off at the end of July 2009.

The selected Cambridge students will be expected to teach 42 lessons (each lasting 40 minutes) following their own lesson plans over the 3 teaching weeks of the programme and to design, set, and mark the Chinese student's homework and final exams. In addition to teaching academic lessons, the Cambridge students will be expected to prepare and give talks on topics from western history and culture to university life through to internship experience, etc. and to develop, prepare, and lead/assist in various extracurricular/sports activities, such as blind drawing, quiz, origami, egg bomb, debating skills, public speaking skills, French, dancing, rounders, and basketball, to name a few from SSSP08. The Cambridge students will also have the opportunity to prepare activities and talks around their own interests.

At the end of the programme, the Chinese students will present a final performance to their parents and relatives. The highlights of SSSP08's performance were 4 drama plays, in which all 69 Chinese students performed on the stage and impressed the audience. During the teaching weeks, about one hour every weekday will be devoted to preparing the performance, where the Cambridge students are expected to devise the play scripts as well as to lead the Chinese students in groups in drama rehearsal and set/costume design. Meanwhile, talented Cambridge participants will take the roles of Music, Dancing, and MC Directors of the final performance.

During almost all lessons, talks, extracurricular/sports activities, and drama rehearsals, there will be real-time support from a total of around 10 Chinese teaching assistants, who are full-time volunteers recruited by CICSNU from the student bodies of top Shanghai universities. On the campus and throughout the programme, there will also be full support from the teaching and administrative staff of CICSNU and 3 other non-teaching Cambridge students from the CUEWB Committee. CICSNU will provide all relevant equipment free and on demand. The on-campus "prep" week is there for the Cambridge students to get around the school and the city and for all, apart from the Chinese students, to discuss and prepare the finer details of lesson plans, talks, activities, and drama proposals.

During the programme, the Cambridge students are also expected to give three 40-minute talks and participate in a few workshops to advise the CICSNU students on British university applications.

The Cambridge students on this programme will enjoy:

1. Coverage of accommodation and food for the duration of the programme,
2. Transportation allowance of ¥3,350 CNY (~£340 GBP) on arrival,
3. Living allowance of ¥3,000 CNY (~£300 GBP) towards completing the programme,
4. Two 40-minute lessons every week on Chinese language and culture, and
5. Two coffee vouchers every weekday during the programme :-)

Throughout the programme, the Cambridge students will stay in a CICSNU-owned, 8-twin-room house (view photos), within 10-15 minutes walk distance from the campus. The house features air conditioning, washing facility, Internet connectivity, television, shared living rooms and bathrooms, and a bedder! During one or two weekends, the Cambridge students may also choose to stay with select host families of the Chinese students. At the expense of CICSNU, the Cambridge students will have breakfast, lunch, and supper in the school canteen, where vegetarian meals can be provided daily given prior notice.

During the weekends and out of school hours on weekdays, the Cambridge students will be able to take full control of their time. And, there are an awful lot of things to do in Shanghai! As it did in SSSP08, the school may organise excursions and teamwork exercise for the Chinese students during the weekends of SSSP09; the Cambridge students can choose to go along for free and will be encouraged to do so. As just mentioned, there might also exist homestay opportunities for the Cambridge students during the weekends.

Joined by over 40 prospective programme participants, CUEWB successfully held a squash at 7.30pm on Monday, 2 March 2009 at Bateman Auditorium, Gonville & Caius College (view map) and went through SSSP09 in detail. Three Cambridge students who had participated in SSSP08 joined the squash and answered the students' questions. With free drinks and nibbles, it was an informative and social evening.


Additional Information
The following information might help you understand SSSP08 and SSSP09 better:

1. The Chinese students in SSSP08 knew SSSP08 as the Approaching Cambridge Summer School and so will the Chinese students in SSSP09.
2. Although there might be more than 4 classes, SSSP09 will operate on a similar timetable to the one used in SSSP08 (download PDF, 38.5 KB, requires login).
3. The actual programmes in SSSP08's final performance are summarised by the programme card (download PDF, 305.3 KB, requires login).
4. A picture is worth a thousand words; browse the SSSP08 Photo Collection and watch the SSSP08 Video Slideshow below! The slideshow is created by Cindy Wang (now at MIT), Ex-President of CUEWB and Project Leader of SSSP08.

Background Information

1. The City - Shanghai (View Photos)
   
   Considered by many as the 'new epicentre of the business world', Shanghai is not only the financial capital of China, but also home to more than 150,000 expatriates and over 300 of the Forbes 500 companies. With a highly developed infrastructure, low cost of living and low tax rates, Shanghai has rapidly grown into a modern metropolitan paradise that offers residents and tourists alike an environment that is truly world-class and unforgettable. Merging the very best of both east and the west, Shanghai has it all: arts, entertainment and nightlife, restaurants, business, and sports, whatever you want, you most likely can find it in Shanghai.
   
   
2. The Co-organiser - CICSNU (View Photos)
   
   Cambridge International Centre of Shanghai Normal University (CICSNU) is a school authorised by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) to teach A-level and IGCSE courses (centre registration number CN265). Courses at the school are carried out both in English and Chinese, directed by the CIE syllabus and using CIE approved teaching materials for all A-level and IGCSE subjects. To ensure that the students benefit from the essence of both eastern and western teaching methods and styles, the school has both highly qualified foreign English-speaking teachers and Chinese bilingual teachers working together within each subject area. Furthermore, the school works closely with Shanghai Normal University, sharing its high quality teaching facilities and human resources to provide the best possible education for the students.
   
   Note: The linked gallery photos show the Guilin Road campus of CICSNU, which is not the venue for SSSP09.
   
   
3. The Campus - SDFWZ (View Photos)
   
   Foreign Language Middle School Affiliated to Shanghai University (SDFWZ) was set up in 2002. The school is equipped with advanced facilities and covers an area of 100 mu. The exquisite school campus provides students with excellent environment. There are a 400m round track and a gymnasium. The students' dormitories have well-furnished rooms with four students living in each set. The school is combining strict management with its loving concern for all students in the cultivation of their personalities and realisation of their full potential. The goal of the school is to help every individual student develop adequately and harmoniously. Nearly half of the staff members are experienced senior teachers. Characteristic of its English teaching, SDFWZ is striving to strengthen its cooperation with schools abroad.
   
   Note: SDFWZ is the A-level campus of CICSNU and the venue for SSSP09.

Lesson Plan Details
The 12 Cambridge students are going to teach in a rotating manner and all classes will have the same lessons over the three teaching weeks of the programme. However, the classes may have 2 or 3 levels of English language abilities and the number of classes is between 4 and 8 depending on how many Chinese students eventually attend. Most of the Chinese students will enter IGCSE-level schools at the end of the summer.

As described earlier, the maximum number of 40-minute periods that each Cambridge participant will teach for the entire programme is 42. If there are 4 classes of Chinese students, each Cambridge student will see each class 10.5 times. Of the 10.5 teaching periods for each class, 1 will be used for exam revision, 0.5 at maximum will be occupied for the exam, and 1 will be used for exam review, leaving about 8 for actual lessons. If there are 8 classes, each Cambridge student will deliver about 3 lessons per class. Taking the average gives 5.5 lessons per class. Therefore, each Cambridge student needs to prepare a flexible 5-lesson-long lesson plan for the entire programme. A flexible lesson plan means that the plan should be easily stretched or shrunk to fit 8 lessons or 3 lessons respectively and be adaptive to 2 or 3 levels of English language abilities.

We aim to compose the Cambridge SSSP09 team of 5 English teachers, 3 Mathematics teachers, and 2 Business & Economics teachers, and 2 Arts & Drama teachers. Teachers of the same subject will be strongly advised to coordinate and produce an integrate lesson plan for the subject depending on each teacher’s relative individual strength. Please note that in the actual programme, it is very difficult to allocate the number of lessons evenly among all Cambridge participants. This means that Sue may need to teach 12 lessons a week while Sandy may need to teach 14.

Each Cambridge participant will be required to submit the following materials to the CUEWB Committee by 30 May 2009:

1. A complete lesson plan outline,
2. A complete set of lesson handouts for the Chinese students (in a form suitable for direct reproduction), and
3. A list of teaching equipment required.

These materials are subject to review by the CUEWB Committee and may require further inputs from the Cambridge participants by 10 Jun. 2009.


Application Procedure (Applications Closed)
To apply for this programme, please follow the following procedure:

1. Register at the CUEWB.com website (if you have not done so) and log in.
2. Fill in the sign-up form at the bottom of this page.
3. Submit your application at http://www.cuewb.com/node/958.
4. Submit your CV ("My account -> Edit -> CV").

Please note

• Online facilities for signing up, submitting the application form and your CV will be closed at 5pm, Thu. 12 Mar. 2009.
• You can submit the Application Form for SSSP09 only once and you will NOT be able to update it after submission. However, you will be able to update your submitted CV at any time before the closing date.
• All application materials will be accessible only to the selection panel (current CUEWB Steering Committee, Executive Committee and Advisors) for this programme.
• Members who have signed up for this programme but not submitted application forms or CVs will NOT be considered for the selection.

Since we operate on a rolling recruitment system, we will start conducting interviews on a first come, first served basis on 3 March 2009. Please note that completing the online application in time is necessary for securing an interview then. We recommend that you complete your online application by 3 March 2009. CUEWB will provide induction sessions for successful applicants.

Please check back often on the most up-to-date information on the programme. For all enquiries regarding this programme, please contact us.

We are looking forward to working with you in our exciting SSSP09!