Welcome

Dear BCC District Category 1&2 Humanities Workshop Participants,

The first 3 hours of our workshop are designed to be interactive online sessions. We have created some activities that will help introduce you to the history, mission,  main concepts and framework of  the Middle Years Programme. Completing these pre-workshop activities will allow us to delve deeper into the materials when we meet in August. Please read the blog posts below and respond to the reflection questions as blog comments. Please feel free to post any questions or doubts that you may have as you read the documents and we will be more than happy to clarify for you. Thank you for investing your time and effort in this module. Hopefully, it will allow you to get even more out of the upcoming IBMYP Category 1&2 Humanities workshop. We look forward to assisting you in your IBMYP journey. 

Best, 

Aurora Terry

Jason Rubel

Humanities Workshop Leaders

The History and Philosophy Behind IB

The History and Philosophy Behind IB

There is a rich and impressive history behind the development of the IB as it exists today, one that goes a long way toward explaining why the programme is so respected around the world. Created with a goal of providing a top‐tier education to young men and women who will, in turn, make positive changes in their own communities as well as on a global scale, the IB Diploma Programme started in 1968 and grows stronger in both its mission and its results with every passing year. A brief overview of the history of the IB can be found here, with a timeline of significant events here. The "fast facts" page located here gives an excellent snapshot of the IB as a whole. The Middle Years Programme was started in 1994 to give younger students access to an IB education. Please read the history of the Middle Years Programme here.

 Questions for Reflection:

1.             Where does your own school fit into the IB timeline? Was it an "early adopter" or has it joined the IB only recently?

2.             Have you or any of your co‐workers been affiliated with the IB for a significant amount of time? How are the perceptions of the IB different when comparing the perspective of a "veteran" with that of a "novice"?

3.             In what ways are the IB students at your school being prepared to be the leaders and innovators of their own generations?

4.             List 3 things that surprised you while reading the history of the MYP. List 2 things that excited you when reading the history of the MYP. List 1 thing you would like to know more about after reading the history of the MYP. 

The IB Mission Statement

The IB Mission Statement

Like all organizations designed to impact the lives of individuals around the globe through education, the International Baccalaureate has a mission statement that encapsulates its goals and hopes for the future. The IB mission statement, found here, reads as follows:

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

One of the many things to notice about this statement is that it not only highlights the importance of the academic component of the programme (something which you are probably very familiar—or will be after completing your workshop), but it also emphasizes the goals of intercultural understanding, compassion, and lifelong curiosity. All IB MYP courses—not just those dealing with languages or the humanities—are expected to integrate these concerns into the normal day‐to‐day conduct of the courses; there is no separation between the intellectual goals of the class and the broader humanistic goals of the class.

Questions for Reflection:

1.                   How prominently does the IB mission statement figure in your school's IB MYP? Do your students know about the IB mission statement? Do their parents know about it? Do your fellow teachers know about it?

2.                   In what ways does your school's mission statement or underlying philosophy overlap with that of the IB?

3.                   Are there ways in which an understanding of the IB mission statement could enhance your own classroom practices or those of your colleagues? How could it enhance the performance of your students?

4.                   What are some ways in which you currently integrate (or could integrate) the multiple goals of the IB as outlined in the mission statement? 

The Learner Profile

The Learner Profile

One of the most useful documents for IB teachers and students is the IB learner profile. Simply put, this is the IB mission statement translated into learning outcomes that can clarify the goals of the programme for students and teachers alike. The learner profile provides a set of common terms for students and teachers as they discuss the desired outcomes of any IB Middle Years Programme course, and they can be related to not only academic goals but also personal goals. Read about the IB Learner Profile here.  The ten characteristics that all IB students should strive to embody are as follows:

.Inquirers

.Knowledgeable

.Thinkers

.Communicators

.Principled

.Open Minded

.Caring

.Risk Takers

.Balanced

.Reflective

Few would argue that these are qualities worth possessing at any stage of personal and intellectual growth; the IB curriculum is designed to explicitly foster and strengthen them. The learner profile also provides a framework for the students to know and discuss their own experiences as learners in the IB classroom. The full list, with elaboration on each descriptor, can be found on page 5 of the Learner Profile Guide available from the Online Curriculum Centre. There is also a short video illustrating the learner profile here.

Questions for Reflection:

1.       How can the IB learner profile enhance your own understanding of your place in the IB classroom? How can it inform your teaching?

2.       In what ways do the assignments in your classroom encourage students to develop one or more of the characteristics named on the learner profile?

3.       How can your students benefit from studying the IB learner profile?

4.       In what ways can an understanding of the IB learner profile help clarify the goals of the IB Middle Years Programme to someone who is not familiar with IB?

The MYP Programme Model and Fundamental Concepts

The MYP Programme Model  and Fundamental Concepts

The IB Middle Years Programme Model is a very useful way to understand how the curriculum works. The MYP is a framework that is designed to help students find a sense of belonging in an ever changing and increasingly interrelated world.

A further explanation of the parts which make up the MYP can be found here . Notice that the center of the programme is the learner—something to keep in mind each and every day in the IB classroom! The fundamental concepts form the basis of the whole Middle Years Programme. They should infuse:

•           teaching and learning

•           the ethos of a school

•           the activities of a school

•           the relationships of a school with the wider community.

The three fundamental concepts form the basis for the MYP’s curriculum framework, which is shared by different types of schools in all parts of the world. They should be the guiding principles in designing the curriculum and school activities. These three fundamental concepts overlap. None of them should be considered as “alternative areas of interaction”.

Questions for Reflection:

1.       Write your own definitions of each fundamental concept.

2.       What does each fundamental concept imply for education in general?

3.       What you do in your humanities classroom to facilitate each concept?

The International Dimension

The International Dimension

Because of the rigorous nature of the academic components of the IB Middle Years Program, it is often easy to forget about the "international" component of the International Baccalaureate. However, the idea of international understanding and global thinking should inform every course in the IB MYP. After all, the mission statement calls for the creation of "a better and more peaceful world." The IB enjoys a reputation as a leader and innovator in the field of international education. To that end, the most recent IB strategic plan (which you can read more about here) calls for continued efforts to improve and strengthen the IB's leadership in global education. This emphasis on international education does not stop on the global level, however. It is also a crucial element of the IB classroom. Students should always be encouraged to view texts, ideas, and discussions from a perspective which extends beyond local and national borders. The ways in which all nationalities and cultures influence and benefit from other global communities should be a part of the continuing conversation in each and every IB classroom.

Questions for Reflection:

1.                   What are the ways in which the texts, topics, or ideas in your classroom have benefited from contributions from other communities, cultures, and nationalities?

2.                   How does your particular course address the issue of the international dimension of an education within the IB MYP? Is it explicitly addressed or more subtly "woven" into the content?

3.                   How can you help your students understand the importance of international understanding as it relates to your course? 

OCC

Online Curriculum Center

The Online Curriculum Center (OCC) is a password-protected IB website designed to support teachers of the three IB programmes. In the OCC you can find:

• IB publications for the MYP (curriculum guides, coordinator notes, and teacher support materials)
• news items and important information
• discussion forums for IB teachers to communicate freely with other IB teachers
• teacher-generated resources—share your own resources with other IB teachers
• support areas for special educational needs, librarians, academic honesty and calculators
• online subject specialists (online faculty members) to answer curriculum and assessment queries
• a real-time chat facility (in the discussion forums).

Please log in to the OCC here and download or print the following documents:

1.                   Humanities Subject Guide (September 2012)

2.                   MYP: From principles into practice

3.                   Programme standards and practices

 If you do not have your OCC log in information, please  contact your campus IB Coordinator.