International Baccalaureate programme helps a child to develop skills which are essential for his/her holistic development in life. Right through the development stages of a child, IB nurtures child development through its PYP programme in early years, MYP in middle years and through DP in the final stages of Adolescence by inculcating Knowledge, developing concepts, learning skills, building attitudes and demonstrating action of varying degrees at all levels. Thus, IB ensures the development of a learner in all five areas of Development viz. Cerebral, Emotional, Physical, Social and Spiritual.
A Mind-set is a set of assumptions, methods, or notations held by one or more people or groups of people. A mind-set can also be seen as incident of a person’s world view or philosophy of life. So essentially, the IB mind-set is its philosophy which aligns with the growth mind-set. According to an author Carol Dweck, students with a growth mind-set believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through hard work and that’s what IB does with its students & helps them nurture the above abilities & hone them as one grows.
At GDGWS, the IB DP program strives to be unique due to the vast variety, and essential skills it caters to. All of the skills are interconnected, and form a web that aids to qualitatively succeed in every task a student takes up. Central to cultivating the IB mind-set is developing international mindedness in students. This is the thread through which the entire program is woven. The local and global contexts are addressed and taken care of in different elements of the program, be it Creativity Activity and Service (CAS), collaborative Science (group 4) project, case studies or the languages that students are exposed to. Fundamentally, IB promotes research skills in such a way that it enhances International Mindedness. The International Baccalaureate, as the name suggests, finds its fundamentals with the features of a global mind-set that is the point of promoting internationalism.
IB education goes beyond the content and it is the connection with the real World and its relevance that makes it distinct. A variety of skills are inculcated in students like collaboration, conflict resolution, decision making, communication and thinking which add to the core competencies for life and not just for the next level of education. All of the skills are interconnected, and form a web that aids to qualitatively succeed in every task a student takes up. It is quite evident that the motive and the consciousness of the curriculum is to develop an understanding to visualise a peaceful world. Through a plethora of approaches, like the teaching pedagogy, the IB assessment criteria, and the concurrency of learning styles while focussing on the big idea in mind, IB promotes & develops a strong will to learn which is also due to its adoption of the best practices of learning from around the globe.
IB provides one, with an opportunity to not only learn but also to express oneself. IB’s mind-set on teaching the students is completely practical based. Recently, when the entire World was grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, our students during the CAS month in June 2020, got engaged in three different projects, with each requiring different planning and application of knowledge in the real context. One was collection and distribution of the food items to the needy ones, while another project involved developing an E library when the physical resources were unavailable. Another very practical & contemporary project was, conducting a series of webinars for the students regarding how to cope up with paranoia & stress during this lockdown. It is this real time learning which remains engraved in the minds of the students for life. They learn, how to apply the theory, and knowledge that they actually gathered while sitting in a classroom. IB looks for “How did one work?” rather than “How much did one work or What was the outcome?” Choosing IB over other curricula can seem interesting, but it is challenging too. For instance, if one is learning Mechanics in Physics, IB doesn’t ask for the exact word to word definition for the terms written in the book, rather, an explanation in one’s own words which is considered true learning and appreciable. This is the basic premise on which learning is based on in the school.
Lastly, IB aims to guide a student to understand the knowledge gained but with varying perspectives, which leads to diverse interpretations. The ability to develop diverse perspectives in students is through a unique course in IB DP which is called the Theory of Knowledge. An IB student always has a nagging need to seek, and consider the point of views others have, as it is the one way to succeed in the process of collaboration. Further it is understood by all that parents are the most valuable stakeholders in the school environment. Engagements with them for a constructive mutual relationship not only boosts students’ achievement but also helps build trust in the engagement. The world where we exist in now is a place where we must learn to adapt and syndicate to prosper.
Dr Manisha Mehta
Head of programme- IBDP
