IB Buzz

What would you say is the mission of the IB and its relevance in the current education scenario?
We aim to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people, who help create a better and more peaceful world, through intercultural understanding and respect. In today’s hyper-globalised education landscape, where there is a danger of the richness of geographies and cultures being lost in bits and bytes, the IB insists that we acknowledge and understand humans first and use information to address issues that matter. The IB programmes encourage a joy of learning, which many parents, students and teachers welcome as a viable alternative to existing programmes.  

What sets the IB apart from existing systems?
Our programmes develop the agility and imagination needed to contribute to a complex world by strengthening a student’s ability to analyse, question and present their ideas to their peers and adults—to create change where needed. They enable students to connect learning to real issues and to learn (rather than master test-taking). The IB aims to create classrooms abuzz with students and teachers asking questions (big and small), doing and thinking. The learner is prepped for a lifetime of learning, independently and in collaboration with others. IB programmes develop a range of competencies and dispositions such as thinking, working with others, communicating, self-management and research. These ideas are embodied in the IB Learner Profile, a set of 10 attributes that we believe help individuals and groups become responsible members of local, national and global communities. IB students are critical thinkers who can read deeply, write well and understand local and global needs. They are prepared to handle future environments, local or global, with confidence in their ability to learn.

Do the IB programmes offered in India differ from those in other countries?
Our standards are the same across the world. The programmes are designed to be taught from multiple perspectives and we stress the need for contextual teaching, beginning with the local and moving to the global. You cannot appreciate another culture if you don’t understand your own history and culture.

What can you tell us about the IB teaching methodology?
The IB’s teaching methodology changes with the age of the students. In the early years, teachers use methodologies that develop the cognitive capabilities of the children to enable them to ask better questions and make connections through the reading and writing skills they are gaining across themes, which best make sense to a young child individually and in groups. At the middle-school level, teachers challenge students to find meaning in the content they are learning, form stronger connections with the content they need to learn and go deep into the study of topics and world issues that matter to them personally. At the diploma level, students prepare for university by gaining deep disciplinary knowledge and developing cognitive connections across disciplines. More importantly, they gain intense research and powerful writing skills, which are needed in higher-level college courses.

Can you tell us how the four programmes that the IB offers, differ from each other?
The International Baccalaureate (IB) offers a continuum of international education from early years to pre-university. The programmes encourage the meta-cognition needed for high academic achievement and challenge students to excel not only in studies, but also in their personal development. This is important as students need to maintain a strong sense of self and their culture so they can be grounded in whatever life throws their way. The IB’s assessments are designed to determine how much the student knows against the global standards we set, allowing us to create an intentional benchmark.

The Primary Years Programme (PYP) is aimed at facilitating young learners’ curiosity about their world and channelling it in age-appropriate ways. This enables them to become active, caring, lifelong learners, who demonstrate respect for themselves and others and engage deeply with the stimulations that the world generates.

The Middle Years Programme (MYP) is a framework that works in most schools around the world. We continue the development of the learners’ need at this age to make practical connections between their studies and the real world. We believe that at this age they develop a passion for certain topics and a thirst to understand why they are learning what they are being asked to learn.

Our Diploma Programme (DP) is an academically rigorous programme with the final examination being assessed by examiners worldwide. IB DP graduates are  well-known the world over. The deep thinking they do through these two years stretch them intellectually, emotionally and skill-wise.

Why you think it has taken almost 40 years for the IB to gain ground in India?
We imagine that the IB’s development in India follows its interest in the global economy. Growth of IB programmes increased with open economic policies in the mid-2000s and were concentrated in the economic centres of India—Mumbai and Bangalore. Since then, the number of programmes has grown rapidly and spread to cities such as Ahmedabad, Pune and Bhopal.