Cambridge International AS & A Level Global Perspectives & Research

Cambridge Pre-U Global Perspectives & Research Guidance

Introduction
This final section of the Teacher’s Resource offers guidance for teachers who are offering Cambridge
Pre-U Global Perspectives & Research (1340, 9777 or 9766) at their institution, rather than the
Cambridge International A Level (9239). The Cambridge Pre-U variant of Global Perspectives &
Research is mainly taught in UK schools, using the 1340 or 9777 codes. The Cambridge International
A Level (9239), on the other hand, is not approved for teaching in UK state schools.
The purpose of this section is to summarise the differences between the two specifications and to
give advice on how teachers of the Cambridge Pre-U can make use of the Coursebook and Teacher’s
Resources for the Cambridge International A Level.

How the Pre-U relates to the Cambridge International A Level

The Cambridge Pre-U qualification also consists of four components, and as with the International
A Level, the first three can be taken together as a shorter qualification. In the case of the Cambridge
Pre-U, this is a Cambridge Pre-U Short Course (1340) rather than an AS, although the weight and
challenge of the qualification are broadly equivalent. Both qualifications have an independent
research project making up the final 50% of the course, giving a full A Level or full Pre-U qualification.
Although these are similar in purpose, they do have some differences in content.
Both courses are based on the model of the Critical Path and have a similar pedagogical purpose in
developing students’ skills around deconstruction, reconstruction, reflection and communication.
The written paper and the essay are also effectively identical from the perspective of teaching
and learning, with just some relatively minor differences in the mark scheme for each and in the
overall weighting of each of these parts of the qualification. Component 3 is, however, substantially
different: the Cambridge Pre-U version is an individual presentation based on a pack of pre-released
documents and not a team project.
The two courses can therefore be summarised as follows in relation to the Coursebook:

Coursebook International A Level (9239) Pre-U (1340, 9766, 9777)

Introduction Covers Critical Path and Skills in Almost all relevant
general
Chapter 1 Covers Critical Path and skills in general Almost all relevant
Chapter 2 Covers Deconstruction skills for Covers Deconstruction skills for
Component 1 (written paper) and Component 1 (written paper) and other
other components components
Chapter 3 Relevant for Deconstruction skills Relevant for Deconstruction skills
Chapter 4 Relevant for Component 2 (essay) Relevant for Component 2 (essay)
Chapter 5 Relevant for Component 2 (essay) Relevant for Component 2 (essay)
Chapter 6 Relevant for the team project Not relevant for this specification
collaborative skills
Chapter 7 Relevant for the Component 3 (team Not relevant for this specification
project) presentation
Chapter 8 Relevant for the Component 3 (team Not relevant for this specification
project) reflective paper
Chapter 9 Relevant for Component 4 (the Some material relevant for Component
Cambridge Research Report) 4 (Independent Research Report), but
mark scheme and other components
have significant differences

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Cambridge International AS & A Level Global Perspectives & Research

As this comparison makes clear, the Coursebook can be used by Pre-U teachers, with the exception
of Chapters 6–8 and significant sections of Chapter 9. The rest of this section gives some brief
guidance on dealing with Component 3 for the Pre-U and approaches to the Independent Research
Report for Component 4.

Teaching Component 3 (Presentation) for Cambridge Pre-U

Component 3 of the Cambridge Pre-U asks students to produce a 15-minute presentation using one
or more sources from a pre-release booklet as a starting point, combined with the student’s own
research. No collaboration with others is involved, and the presentation is assessed on the quality of
its argument, its use of evidence and its engagement with other perspectives. The presentation itself
should have a spoken commentary (supported by a transcript), but unlike the 9239 presentation, it
does not have to be delivered live. This means that an audio commentary could be edited over slides
or other visual materials. Communication (i.e. presentational methods and the quality of audiovisual
materials) is not assessed. There is no reflective paper.
Because of this, it is difficult to make any relevant connections with the specific tasks required for the
team project. However, students could make good use of the material in Chapters 1–5 on analysing
and evaluating sources, constructing perspectives and building arguments, as these are all assessed
in Component 3. In addition, teachers should consult the mark scheme and exemplar presentations,
which are available with commentaries from Cambridge International.

Using the Coursebook with Component 4, the Independent Research Report

Unlike Component 3, Component 4 of the Cambridge Pre-U does have a significant number of
similarities with Component 4 of the Cambridge International A Level (the Cambridge Research
Report). Both are 5,000-word essays where students construct a question of their own choice which
is based on a debate between opposing perspectives, but not limited to the Global Perspectives
& Research topics. However, for the IRR, students do not have to complete a research log for
assessment. Instead, tutors complete an assessment on how students have performed orally in
tutorial sessions. The remainder of the mark scheme is similar in that both focus on the analysis and
evaluation of evidence in the context of a written argument. The IRR does have a specific assessment
objective focused on ‘intellectual challenge’, which focuses on how far the report extends beyond
the students’ A Level or Pre-U studies, and their approach to the methodology of their research.
Here there is a partial overlap with the CRR’s assessment of methodology. Both reports expect
sources to be fully cited and referenced using an appropriate bibliographic system. Taking this into
account, teachers of the IRR can make use of each section of Chapter 9 as follows:

Section Relevant for the IRR

9.01 – What is the research report? Yes
9.02 – Choosing and developing your topic Yes
9.03 – The research process and log No
9.04 – The research process and research Yes
methodologies
9.05 – Writing and referencing your report Yes
9.06 – What happens next? Partially – not required for writing the report, and
references to the team project are not relevant

As with Component 3, teachers should also consult the specific mark scheme available for the
IRR from Cambridge International as well as exemplar work from candidates. This is particularly
important, as both components are internally assessed and externally moderated, so teachers are
responsible for formally marking the completed work to a common standard.

© Cambridge University Press 2018