Program+Model

=IB Program Model: = Click PLAY media type="custom" key="11432484" align="right"

Is a very rigorous program; from course work, projects, and community service. It requires very motivated students and teachers, but is open to all; it is not a gifted program model. It consists of three programs; Primary Years Program (PYP) from kindergarten to fifth grades, Middle Years Program (MYP) from sixth to tenth grades, and the Diploma Program or Certificate for eleventh and twelfth grades. Each program is a pre-requisite to the next, they continue to build on students’ critical thinking processes. Learning is looked at as growth over time. Goals: By teachers focusing on deeper understanding, higher levels of thinking, and broad points of view students develop; as inquirers, working effectively as a part of a team, international mindedness, as risk takers, love of learning, as good communicators, and being reflective individuals.

Organizational Frame: The IB program fits as a frame around a school district’s own standards and curriculum. For example, Gwinnett County uses AKS (academic knowledge and skills); for the content that must be covered. IB organizes how this content will be taught. Instruction on a unit starts with big picture ideas that come from asking ten year questions; what should students still use and know, what will still be important, ect. From those questions comes the critical questions (sometimes called essential questions in other programs) for the unit. Lessons are taught by teachers exploring the information with students and showing them the process of reasoning and critical thinking, “empowering students to take responsibility of their own learning”. Students learner profile: Map the lifelong journey of learning. More info :[|www.ib.org/programmes/profile/]

Instruction: Takes learning to the next level. Teachers use a 5 lens approach to learning. Students gain a deeper understanding of an idea and learn to explore other perspectives. The 5 lenses are; Approaches to learning, Environments, Social and Health/Welfare, Human Ingenuity/ Homo Faber, and Community and Service. When studying a lesson like the Industrial Revolution students do not simply memorize dates and facts, they look at the event through lenses. I.e. the Industrial Revolution’s effect on environment, pollution and smog. The social consequences of child labor and eventual child labor laws. The amazing ingenuity that catapulted industry forward. Every teacher, in all subject areas, use these lenses to teach lessons. Not every lesson will be a full blown IB lesson but most are. By looking through these lenses instruction is cohesive throughout the school. It also allows for interdisciplinary instruction. Teachers are required to attend IB Conferences on thier specific subject area, science teachers attend conferences with other sciences teachers. Teachers also have access to Online Curriculum Centre (OCC) to discuss lessons with real-time chat with other teachers. []

Explanation of the 5 lenses Instruction!! media type="custom" key="11432858" align="right" width="70" height="70"

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Explanation of the FRAME!

IB Focus on Language: Students will be fluent in two languages and conversational in a third. Foreign language is taken in the MYP and DP, giving them 7 years of foreign language. Projects given in other academic areas will have a foreign language component, a science project will have a section to be completed in french, or another language, and the foreign language teacher will grade that section. This focus helps student to have an international outlook as well as an appreciation for all cultures. Students are also very involved in community service as all stages of learning.

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Assessments and Projects: Student work is graded on an international rubric. Assignments are sent to other countries and are graded by IB teacher all over the world. Students choose to do a project on any topic they choose, and it can be a service project. They work independently, researching and doing experiments. The project is assessed by teachers in the subject area, but not graded. Also, in the DP they write a big essay, it is similar to a doctoral thesis but made appropriate for their learning level.

media type="custom" key="11432758" align="right" width="80" height="80" Common Instruction Reflection: An important component to the model is to take time and reflect. Students and teachers are to reflect on their learning as well as their performance. “Give thoughtful consideration to their own larning and experience”. Reflection helps self-awareness to understand strengths and limitations, focusing mostly on strengths.

Specific rules for each program can be found: []