Welcome to International Baccalaureate: Three Reasons to Join Us on the Journey

1. Welcome to International Baccalaureate:Three Reasons to Join Us on the Journey Henrico High School Open House January 13, 2009 Priscilla Biddle, DP Coordinator

2. History of IB • Created in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland as a private school for mobile European students desiring a rigorous pre-university curriculum • Now more than half of IB schools world wide are in state or public schools • By the 1980’s the IB Diploma was recognized worldwide by colleges and universities as an indicator of university preparedness

3. More History • In 1994 the Middle Years and Primary Years Programs were launched • In 1995, IBO authorized Henrico High School and Moody Middle School to institute a Middle Years Program, grades 6-10, and a Diploma Program, grades 11-12.

4. Today’s IB • Today, an IB education is available in 2,496 schools in 132 countries for 678,000 students, ages 3-19 • Today, IB at Henrico High School is home to 320 MYP/DP students, with over 600 MYP students at Moody Middle School • In 2010, Henrico County is expanding the IB program into two more middle schools, Tuckahoe and Fairfield, and another high school site, Tucker, with the expectation of reaching even more students

5. Why IB for me? • Why should my child attend the IB school rather than another specialty center or the Governor’s Schools? • International quality control for “brand name” recognition • Programmatic holistic educational model for consistent, integrated, and sequenced instruction • Most rigorous curriculum designed for the whole child

6. Reason #1: Brand Name Quality Control • International, national and regional regulation and monitoring • Training and resources for teachers, students, and parents • Program – NOT a specialty center

7. What the IB “brand name” means • Worldwide curriculum externally moderated, regulated, and periodically updated for consistency • Teachers highly trained and moderated yearly through exam results to maintain highest performance • Exams and assessments externally graded or moderated for quality control – standards can never be lowered!

8. IB “Brand Name” Program Promise • Programs monitored, audited, and reviewed for renewal • Each school must have policies for language, assessment and academic integrity that meet IB regulations • Each school must have support not only within the school but in the district – as well as through IBO

9. Training and Resources • Each teacher trained through IBO approved academies • All curriculum coordinated through IBO with resources available online • Teacher and Coordinator networks – regional, national, global • Yearly Moderation and Subject Reports

10. Reason #2: Superlative Educational Model • Rigorous curriculum in a child-centered model • Not just a collection of subjects • Instruction centered on Mission Statement and Learner Profile • MYP with its Areas of Interaction • DP with its Theory of Knowledge • Subjects are focused to develop each child to his/her greatest potential into a well-rounded, critically discerning world citizen

11. Mission Statement • 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 programs of international education and rigorous assessment. • These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

12. The Learner Profile • IB learners strive to be: • Inquirers • Knowledgeable • Thinkers • Communicators • Principled • Open-minded • Caring • Risk-takers • Balanced • Reflective

13. Middle Years’ Areas of Interaction • Learning doesn’t take place in a vacuum • It must impact WHO the student is, WHAT he/she does in the world, and HOW he/she does it • Guiding questions offer the curriculum real life relevance • Project-centered approach encourages 21st Century Skills

14. Areas of Interaction • Approaches to Learning • Community and Service • Human Ingenuity • Environment • Health and Social Education

15. Diploma Program: Theory of Knowledge • Two year course that picks up where AOI leaves off • Guiding questions implemented across curriculum: • How do I know what I know? • Ways of Knowing: Perception, Emotion, Language, Reasoning • Justified True Belief • To what extent or degree do the waysof knowing contribute to or cause problems of knowing as well as complement each other? • How do the ways of knowing contribute in each of the areas of knowledge: mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, history, the arts, ethics and religion

16. Concurrency: Guiding Questions • Why is it that mathematics is considered to be of different value in different cultures? • Should scientists be held morally responsible for the applications of their discoveries? • Is it reasonable to attempt to explain human behavior independently of what people claim are their intentions? • If truth is difficult to prove in history, does it follow that all versions are equally acceptable? • What is the proper function of the arts in society? • How does living a moral life matter?

17. Subject as “Mystery” Model Discovery, fact-based Descriptive Knowledge amassed as commodity More linear, objective Less emphasis on application or cross-disciplinary interaction Subject as “Puzzle” Model Systems of concepts to understand Interactive and relational Emphasizes discernment among knowledge sources for quality of knowledge in changing world Multi-modal, personal Emphasis on relevance, application, personal development Different Learning Paradigm

18. Reason #3: Private School Education in a Public School: Guided Curriculum • Course Scope and Sequence: • Grade 9, Level 4 MYP • English 9 • Language – Year 2 or 3 of Spanish or French • World History and Geography II • Biology • Geometry or Algebra II • Arts (Theatre or Visual Arts) –semester • Technology – semester • Health and PE

19. Curriculum, continued • Course Scope and Sequence: • Grade 10, MYP Level 5 • English 10 • Language – Year 3 or 4, French or Spanish • American Government and Virginia History • Chemistry • Algebra II or Extended Math • Arts: Theatre Arts or Visual Arts (semester) • Health and PE • Assessments and Personal Project completed toward the MYP Certificate

20. Curriculum, Diploma Program • Course Scope and Sequence • Grade 11, Year 1 • Language A1: English HL, Year 1 of 2 • Language B1: Year 4 or 5 SL, Spanish or French • History of the Americas HL, Year 1 of 2 • Experimental Science • Biology SL • Chemistry SL or HL • Mathematics • Extended Math • Mathematics SL or Math Studies SL • Arts or Elective • Psychology SL or HL, Theatre Arts SL or HL, Visual Arts HL • Theory of Knowledge

21. Diploma Curriculum • Course Scope and Sequence • Grade 12, Year 2 • Language A1: English HL, Year 2 of 2 • Language B1: Year 5 SL or 6 HL/SL, Spanish or French • World Topics HL, Year 2 of 2 • Experimental Science • Chemistry SL or HL • Mathematics • Mathematics SL or Math Studies SL • Arts or Elective • Psychology SL or HL, Theatre Arts SL or HL, Visual Arts HL • Theory of Knowledge • Extra IB Electives: Biology, Chemistry or Psychology • AP Electives: Physics, Calculus, Statistic, World History, Art History

22. Reason #3: To Educate the Whole Child • In addition to subjects, each with internal assessments and exams, each student has opportunities to design projects that meet his/her needs and interests • Personal Project in grades 9-10 • CAS Introduction in grades 9-10 • Extended Essay in grades 11-12 • CAS in grades 11-12

23. Personal Project • A student-centered project, research-based and interactive, after which the student reflects on what he/she has learned in a paper • The personal project may take many forms, for example: • an original work of art (visual, dramatic, or performance) • a written piece of work on a special topic (literary, social, psychological, or anthropological) • a piece of literary fiction (that is, creative writing) • an original science experiment • an invention or specially designed object or system • the presentation of a developed business, management, or organizational plan (that is, for an entrepreneurial business or project), a special event, or the development of a new student or community organization.

24. Creativity, Action and Service • Graduated involvement that focuses on Learner Outcomes: • increase their awareness of their own strengths and areas for growth • undertake new challenges • plan and initiate activities • work collaboratively with others • show perseverance and commitment in their activities • engage with issues of global importance • consider the ethical implications of their actions • develop new skills

25. Extended Essay • The extended essay is: • compulsory for all Diploma Program students • externally assessed and, in combination with the grade for theory of knowledge, contributes up to three points to the total score for the IB diploma • a piece of independent research/investigation on a topic chosen by the student in cooperation with a supervisor in the school • chosen from the list of approved Diploma Program subjects, published in the Vade Mecum • presented as a formal piece of scholarship containing no more than 4,000 words • the result of approximately 40 hours of work by the student • concluded with a short interview, or viva voce, with the supervising teacher

26. Why should you join us on the journey? • Three great “official” reasons • International education here at home that encourages students to achieve at their highest level that will prepare them for college and beyond • Program of instruction that is integrated, holistic, child-centered, project-based, and 21st Century motivated – everything that is considered “best practices”! • Academics personalized to meet student interest and personal development goals

27. Personal Reasons – Development of YOU as a PERSON • Diversity with the comfort of a close-knit community • Teachers and staff organized to monitor the individual child, help him/her in every way • Flexibility in pursuing Certificate or Diploma • Come as you are, but be all you can be!

28. Next Steps: Long Term • Turn in your application by deadline indicated by Middle School • Take the center tests on February 14 • Come to our Shadowing Days – dates TBA

29. Next Step: Tonight • Listen to the students’ and parent comments • Look at your program and find the shape that is colored in • Report to the room indicated • Ask subject area teachers and students your questions

30. Join us on the Journey! Thank you for coming tonight!