Recently, it was brought to my attention by a mentor, that I need to start thinking about these changes from the perspective of the people who will be affected most by the changes, and not just the people who are driving the process. Fair enough, and thanks, George. This blog post will focus on the impact of IB on those it affects the most immediately- the students.
There is no question that the IB Middle Years Program comes attached with both challenges and opportunities. Perhaps a good way to consider the broader implications, and to avoid the tendency to focus on teacher talk, is to look through the lens of: What's in it for me?
So, if I am a student about to face the introduction of a program that will impact my experience in the formative adolescent years (grades 7 and 8) and the first two years of high school (grades 9 and 10), what does this new program mean to me? Well, for a start, the IB is an internationally recognised program that prepares students well for academic success at college and university. Given that a primary motivation for attending our school often involves a future of post-secondary education, this is a pretty good place to start. Drilling deeper, given that there is a great emphasis on collaborative planning amongst teachers in IB, it is re-assuring to note that as a student I will be taught a common curriculum, with a common approach, and that I will be taught the same material as that of my friends.
It avoids the potential for taking sections of the same courses that are widely disparate. You know the familiar refrain: "My friend took the same course in the same year with Teacher A, who covered x, y, and z, while we only ever watched videos and studied from the text with Teacher B." Students- and they aren't the only ones- are very keen to notice differences in education, and the perceived fairness or unfairness that accompanies those differences.
Similarly, with an emphasis on clearly identified standards of assessment that is criterion-based, IB benefits students who want to know that they have been evaluated in the same manner as their friends. Although they may not reference it in the same way, they will benefit tremendously from grades that are accurate, consistent, meaningful, and supportive of learning (Ken O'Connor and Rick Wormeli, "Reporting Student Learning", ASCD, Educational Leadership, November 2011).
See, it didn't take long for me to slip back into teacher-talk, but I think that you see the point; students will be reassured in knowing that they are being assessed in the same way, by the same standards, by teachers who are, for the most part, teaching the same material in a consistent and pre-planned fashion. Students will also appreciate receiving grades that reflect what they have learnt, and moreover, that they are being assessed fairly relative to their peers.
What's in it for me? Plenty. These benefits may appear to be self-evident, but by stressing the underlying principles of fairness and consistency, students will be keen to grasp a program that addresses these two fundamentals of learning.
