Introduction

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (DP) is a demanding pre-university course of study leading to examinations, designed for highly motivated and academically gifted secondary school students aged 16-19. Not based on the pattern of any single country, the IB DP has a comprehensive curriculum that allows its graduates to fulfil requirements of various national systems of education.

According to the International Baccalaureate Organisation’s mission statement, the aim is to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. Consequently, the Diploma programme students across the world are encouraged to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

All IB Diploma candidates are required to engage in the study of Languages, Sciences, Mathematics, and Humanities in the final two years of their secondary schooling. Of the six subjects, three or four subjects are studied at Higher Level and the rest at Standard Level. The intent is that students should learn how to learn, how to analyse, how to reach considered conclusions about people, their languages and literature, their ways in society, and the scientific forces of the environment.

Three further core requirements contribute to the IB Diploma: participation in Creativity, Activity and Service activities (CAS); the Extended Essay (EE) of some 4000 words, which demands independent research work under appropriate guidance; a course on the Theory of Knowledge (TOK), which explores the relationship between the various disciplines and ensures that students engage in critical reflection on the knowledge experience acquired both inside and outside the classroom.

IB Approaches to teaching and learning (ATL) are deliberate strategies, skills and attitudes that permeate the IB teaching and learning environment. ATL supports the IB belief that a student’s education is not only what you learn but also how you learn.

Approaches to learning consist of skill categories with close links to the IB Learner profile. The aim is for the students to take responsibility for their learning by identifying their best learning processes and developing their learning strategies with regard to

• Thinking skills

• Communication skills

• Social skills

   • Self-management skills

   • Research skills

During IB Diploma studies the students not only acquire knowledge but also focus on working on these skills in every subject they study.