̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Lisa Jardine-Wright

Hundreds of A-level students see grades rise and secure places at top universities following Cambridge's STEM SMART initiative

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UCAS evaluation shows the most engaged sixth formers saw their results jump by a grade on average, were up to four times as successful in achieving an A*, and around twice as successful in securing an Oxbridge place.

Queen's Birthday Honours 2022

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Leaders in fields from chemistry to cancer research and computing are among the Cambridge academics recognised today.

More than 900 A-Level students will join STEM SMART widening participation programme

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Every eligible student who applied by the 31 October deadline has been offered a place on the course which will support them through the final year and a half of their A-Levels. They will receive enhanced learning and encouragement from Cambridge academics and current students - around 300 of whom have come forward to mentor the sixth formers and answer their questions about university life.

As well as complementing the sixth formers’ classroom studies, the programme aims to build confidence in students who in addition to disruption caused by COVID-19 have experienced wider educational disadvantage, and encourage them to apply to study engineering or physical sciences (such as physics, chemistry, Earth sciences and materials science) at top universities, including Cambridge.

When STEM SMART was announced in September, the ̽��ֱ�� aimed to enrol around 750 A-level students for the start of the pilot, much of which will be delivered through the Isaac Physics online platform. However following an enthusiastic response, more than 900 have been signed up nationwide, including in Belfast, Glasgow, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Liverpool, Plymouth, Cardiff and Bristol. It is expected that many joining the programme will be at schools with little or no experience of sending students to Cambridge, so those who actively take part will be invited to attend a 4-day residential in Cambridge, when they will stay at a College, experience life as a Cambridge student, and consider whether to apply.

Physics lecturer Dr Lisa Jardine-Wright, who is co-directing the STEM SMART programme, said: “ ̽��ֱ��response to the launch of STEM SMART has been amazing, and we are delighted to confirm places for more than 900 students, around 150 more than originally anticipated. Every eligible student who applied has been offered a place on the 17-month course of enhanced learning and we look forward to welcoming them at our launch at the beginning of January.”

Dr Michael Sutherland, co-director of STEM SMART, and Director of Studies in Natural Sciences at Corpus Christi College, said: “STEM SMART draws on the expertise of the ̽��ֱ��’s staff, the support of its Colleges, and the experience of its students – who came forward in their hundreds to act as mentors to these sixth formers. This innovative programme will complement the vital work of teachers in schools, and builds on the ̽��ֱ��’s work to help talented students access top universities regardless of background.”

STEM SMART (Subject Mastery and Attainment Raising Tuition) will provide A-Level (or equivalent) students with extra resources including weekly online tutorials by Cambridge academics who will mark work and give students individual feedback, small group supervisions, and live online motivational lectures. It will be free to all students taking part, following generous support and funding from the ̽��ֱ��, Colleges and the Department for Education England.

̽��ֱ��programme continues widening participation progress made by the ̽��ֱ�� in recent years, including the launch of a Foundation Year for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, which from 2022 will offer talented students from backgrounds of educational and social disadvantage a new route to undergraduate study, and the use of UCAS Adjustment to reconsider candidates who exceed expectations in examinations.

More information is available here.

More than 900 talented sixth formers studying maths and science at state schools across the UK will next month join the ̽��ֱ��’s new STEM SMART widening participation pilot, launched to help bridge attainment gaps, mitigate COVID-19 disruption, and strengthen university applications.

Every eligible student who applied has been offered a place on the 17-month course of enhanced learning and we look forward to welcoming them at our launch at the beginning of January.

Dr Lisa Jardine-Wright, co-director of the STEM SMART programme

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Teaching celebrated across the ̽��ֱ��

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̽��ֱ��winners include a veterinary anaesthetist praised for developing an acclaimed Clinical Skills Centre, a pioneer of interdisciplinary Gender Studies programmes, and a Classicist as passionate about outreach as Ovid.

While the prizes reveal the diversity of teaching at Cambridge, certain themes emerge, in particular a focus on the individual student, the value of research-led teaching, the continuing importance of one-to-one teaching, innovation in teaching practice, interdisciplinary approaches, and above all, dedication to students.

̽��ֱ��Pilkington Prizes were initiated by Sir Alastair Pilkington – graduate of Trinity College, engineer, businessman and the first Chairman of the Cambridge Foundation – who passionately believed that teaching excellence was crucial to Cambridge’s future success.

̽��ֱ��Pilkington Prizes are organised by ̽��ֱ��Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning, which supports staff by providing training, developing networks, hosting events and encouraging and funding innovation. ̽��ֱ��Centre also provides a focus for strategic priorities within Cambridge and for engaging with national and international developments in higher education.

New films about teaching at Cambridge

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� has produced a series of films about five of this year’s Pilkington Prize winners. These films go behind the scenes to show Cambridge teaching in action as well as inviting winners to explain their passion for teaching and reveal some of their trade secrets. ̽��ֱ��films feature Lecturer in German Thought, Martin Ruehl; Physics Lecturer Lisa Jardine-Wright; Sociologist Mónica Moreno Figueroa; Zoologist Andrew Balmford; and Design Engineer James Moultrie. Watch the films.

Dr Martin Ruehl said:

"I was an undergraduate here myself so I want to give back some of what I received. I had a number of very charismatic teachers who inspired me back then. I think the trick is always to find something that’s growing out of your own research."

Dr Lisa Jardine-Wright said:

"It is only when you start teaching a subject that you really start to understand it and all of its nuances. ̽��ֱ��most important thing for me is that my students are willing to make mistakes, and learn from them."

This year’s winners in full are:

Dr Anthony Ashton (Department of Mathematics)
Dr Jackie Brearley (Department of Veterinary Medicine)
Dr Jude Browne (Department of Politics and International Studies)
Dr Menna Clatworthy (School of Clinical Medicine)
Dr Richard Davies (School of Clinical Medicine)
Dr Ingo Gildenhard (Faculty of Classics)
Dr Nigel Kettley (Institute of Continuing Education)
Professor Jochen Runde (Judge Business School)
Dr Martin Ruehl (Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages)
Dr Lisa Jardine-Wright (Department of Physics)
Dr Mónica Moreno Figueroa (Department of Sociology)
Professor Andrew Balmford (Department of Zoology)
Dr James Moultrie (Department of Engineering)

Read more about the 2017 Pilkington Prize winners here.

Thirteen Cambridge academics have been recognised for their outstanding teaching in the ̽��ֱ��'s Pilkington Prizes.

"I was an undergraduate here myself so I want to give back some of what I received. I think the trick is always to find something that’s growing out of your own research."

Dr Martin Ruehl, Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages

Teaching celebrated across the ̽��ֱ��

Dr Martin Ruehl, Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

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Website helps maths and physics school students work it out

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School physics students and their teachers can now tackle an interactive library of problems designed to develop their physics and maths problem-solving skills, thanks to isaacphysics.org, the latest strand of the Rutherford School Physics Partnership.

An open online course, isaacphysics.org challenges participants to solve a series of physics and maths problems, each tailored to the individual’s skills and experience. Questions are supported by hints and tips from Cambridge physics staff and undergraduates. Isaac is a bespoke tool for teachers and their students as they transition from GCSE (Y11) through to Sixth Form (Y12 & 13) and on to university.

Registered students will be able to record their performance, save their question gameboards, and develop a personal portfolio of completed boards tailored to their progress.

Registered participants will be able to watch lectures from the ̽��ֱ��’s Cavendish Laboratory, to participate in group problem-solving sessions in a Google+ hangout and, as the site develops, collaborate in teams to solve problems together.

̽��ֱ��overall goal of the Rutherford School Physics Partnership is to show students what STEM at top universities is about and to make it more accessible to all, by supporting students as individual learners. Isaac introduces students to the different style of study they will need at university, engaging them in the intellectual challenge of university physics, maths and engineering.

“We want Isaac Physics to be particularly useful for students in schools that struggle to deliver specialist maths and physics teaching,” explains Professor Mark Warner, Co-Director of the Rutherford School Physics Partnership.

“Isaac Physics can be used as a stand-alone learning resource by students who want to improve their physics and maths skills, or by teachers looking to improve fluency and depth of understanding in their students.

“As the site develops, teachers will be able to set questions from the website for a whole class, and Isaac will mark the work and provide feedback to teachers and students.”

“Working in groups and analysing problems posed in words alone, through diagram sketching and the application of fundamental concepts, are skills that students need to develop in order to do well at university-level physics. In addition, students also need to learn how to cope when they don’t get the answer right first, or even second, time.”

said Dr Lisa Jardine-Wright, Co-Director of the Rutherford School Physics Project.

“These questions will require thought, but are achievable, and students will gain in confidence and the questions will become easier with practice. Students shouldn’t be put off if they need to use the hints to reach the answer.

“Even as professional physics researchers, we can find ourselves struggling to solve a problem, and getting it wrong at first. ̽��ֱ��challenge, and the satisfaction, comes from persevering, working the problem out, and getting it right in the end.”

New online resource will help schools and pupils build specialist maths and physics skills.

We want Isaac Physics to be particularly useful for students in schools that struggle to deliver specialist maths and physics teaching.

Professor Mark Warner, Co-Director of the Rutherford School Physics Partnership

More information:

̽��ֱ��site can be found at: https://isaacphysics.org/
Around 80,000 students take AS and A2 physics. Around 100,000 achieve A*-B in GCSE physics and have the potential to go on to AS physics.
isaacphysics.org, and the Rutherford Schools Physics Partnership, aims to smooth the transition between these stages and to encourage students to continue studying physics, maths and engineeringat more advanced levels, by developing student skills and confidence.
For students: Questions have associated concept sheets, graded hints and hint videos. There are challenge questions, and themed sets of questions. If students register, then their progress will be followed, levels and problems will be suggested to them, they will be contacted about events open to them and about new materials being made available.
For teachers: in the next phase of the project, registered teachers will be able to follow the progress of students in their school, suggest selected problem sets to them and have them marked by Isaac, with results returned automatically.

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