Introduction
Introduction
Learning should not only take us somewhere; it should allow us later to go further more easily.
(Bruner 1960: 17)
The IB Diploma Programme (DP) aims to prepare students for success in higher education and beyond; it encourages students to become “active, compassionate and lifelong learners” (IB mission statement). DP teachers therefore play a crucial role as teachers of learners, not simply teachers of content.
The DP was established in 1968, and the values and educational philosophies of its founding figures are still key influences on the IB today. A strong influence on Alec Peterson, the first Director General of the IB, was the British philosopher AN Whitehead. In The Aims of Education (1916), Whitehead was highly critical of education that focused too much on the passive reception of disconnected ideas and inert knowledge. Instead, he urged that students be encouraged to make ideas their own and to understand the application of these ideas within their own curriculum and their own lives. From its beginnings, the DP has adopted a broadly constructivist and student-centred approach, has emphasized the importance of connectedness and concurrency of learning, and has recognized the importance of students linking their learning to their local and global contexts. These ideas are still at the heart of an IB education today.
This document offers guidance to teachers and coordinators on approaches to teaching and learning in the DP. Approaches to teaching and learning are deliberate strategies, skills and attitudes that permeate the teaching and learning environment. These approaches and tools, intrinsically linked with the IB learner profile attributes, enhance student learning and assist student preparation for DP assessment and beyond.
These approaches to teaching and learning are also inextricably linked to the development of internationally minded students, a central aim of all IB programmes. Education for international-mindedness “relies on the development of learning environments that value the world as the broadest context for learning” (What is an IB Education? 2013). Effective approaches to teaching and learning in the DP should therefore be developed within global contexts, with particular attention being given to promoting the three key elements—global engagement, multilingualism and intercultural understanding.
The emphasis on international-mindedness found in all DP courses is a reflection of the IB’s mission, and of the belief that this “will give students the capacity to build those defences of peace that will make the world a better place” (Walker 2010: 7). The development of international-mindedness involves students developing a deeper undertanding of their own perspectives, beliefs and assumptions. It also increases students’ awareness of the existence of multiple perspectives. In this way, international-mindedness is concerned with going beyond, rather than replacing, the student’s own sense of cultural and national identity.
This document is intended to clarify and make more explicit the approaches to teaching and learning that underpin the DP. It consists of three sections.
The first section focuses on approaches to learning (ATL).
The second section focuses on approaches to teaching, and on the pedagogical principles that underlie the DP.
The third section focuses on pedagogical leadership. It is aimed primarily at DP coordinators, and includes guidance on developing and implementing teaching and learning initiatives in schools.
This document is also intended to help schools identify strategies that support their efforts to meet the IB programme standards and practices. During the process of authorization, and again every five years at programme evaluation, schools are asked to provide evidence of their progress towards meeting the standards and practices. The development of approaches to teaching and learning addresses practices within all the standards, but schools will find the guidance here particularly useful as they consider standard C3: Teaching and learning reflects IB philosophy and standard C4: Assessment reflects IB assessment philosophy. For more detailed guidance on these standards and practices, please see the following IB publications: Programme standards and practices (2014), Guide to school authorization (2010), and Programme evaluation guide and self-study questionnaire: Diploma Programme (2010).
Throughout this document you will find suggestions for teaching activities relating to the area being discussed, specific examples from DP subjects, and links to other useful IB resources and publications. This document is also accompanied by a range of specific resources for the DP, including:
example DP unit planners (templates and examples of completed unit plans)
short case studies of initiatives from some of the DP schools who helped to pilot the ATL materials
interviews with academics who are experts in the field of teaching and learning
a “self-reflection” tool for teachers, designed to help teachers reflect on their current practice
a suite of 26 short videos.
The videos are designed to illustrate how the ideas presented in this document translate into real DP classrooms around the world. 20 of the videos show a DP lesson in action, exemplifying a particular approach to teaching or learning, and including interviews with teachers and students. The other 6 videos focus more on pedagogical leadership in DP schools, including interviews with the pedagogical leadership teams talking about how they approach ATL in their particular context.
These ATL resources for the DP have been designed to provide teachers and coordinators with examples of how the ideas in this document can translate into practice. The resources are intended to provide ideas and inspiration that schools can then apply and adapt to their own particular context.