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"There is no better program than IB because it is constantly evolving and uses the latest research on how the brain works and learns," says Hanna Piskorska, director and founder of Monnet International School (MIS) in Warsaw.
IB is a program where students are very active. Teachers prepare lessons so that students can work independently and stay engaged. Teaching in the IB system is largely based on the project method. Most schools in the world offer the two-year IB DP diploma Programmes, ending with the matura exam, but there are also IB Programmes at lower levels (i.e., the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme - MYP). As Piskorska explains, the IB Programme works best when it’s implemented at all levels of education (PYP, MYP, and IB DP). This makes alignment with the IB educational model smoother and enables students to make the most of the IB approach.
IB Diploma Program (IB DP)
47 schools in Poland offer the IB Diploma Programme, which is a two-year educational program aimed at young people aged 16–19.
IB DP takes into account the core curriculum of most developed countries. This makes it ideal as a teaching model in any corner of the world. Moreover, it’s recognized by the best universities in the world, which gives graduates both the flexibility and the qualification to follow multiple academic and professional paths.
It’s a global program as students can transfer seamlessly from an IB school in one country to an IB school in any other country. An important advantage of the program is also the fact that all lessons in the last two years are in English.
Graduates of IB schools with an IB diploma are very attractive to universities around the world as they’re looking for students who know what they want to do in life. That is why many IB DP graduates study at the best universities in the world, such as Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, Sorbonne, the Jagiellonian University, or the Warsaw School of Economics.
IB Programme Goals
International programs are designed to achieve more than any other curriculum by developing inquisitive, knowledgeable, and caring young people who are motivated to succeed.
IB schools strive to form young people who will build a better world through intercultural understanding and respect.
These are the assumptions made by the International Baccalaureate organization.
The specificity of the IB Programme
As the authors of the IB Programme themselves declare, this program differs from others in the following respects: it
- encourages students of all ages to think critically and to challenge established assumptions
- is developed independently of governmental and national systems, based on the highest quality practices resulting from research and the global school community.
- encourages students of all ages to see the world in both local and global contexts and
- develops student multilingualism.
Advantages of the IB Programme
When choosing a school that offers the IB, you should be aware that it is a difficult program but has many very important advantages:
- Pursuing Interests: IB allows students to quickly discover what their real interests are, whether it’s business, economics, IT, psychology, and visual arts.
- Highly qualified teachers: as required by the accreditation body, schools must periodically undergo inspections to check that they comply with IB requirements, and teachers must constantly upgrade their qualifications to be able to teach in this system.
- Possibility to change countries: the same program is implemented across the entire IB school network around the world, so the student feels at home everywhere in the event of a move.
- Broad and comprehensive education: the IB Programme is not easy, but it ensures the development of knowledge and skills, not only academic, but the so-called soft skills, cares about the development of character and interpersonal relations, and pays attention to social work.
- Individualization and shaping responsibility: the student decides what and at what level to learn.
- Learning to Learn: students in IB Programmes are taught strategies for effective learning as well as the fact that learning is a lifelong process.
- The result of the matura exam is the result of two years of systematic work—the matura grades are not only the result of the exam itself, but also solid work for the entire two years, e.g., grades for written assignments and other projects.
- Excellent command of a foreign language: all subjects for the two years of the IB DP are taught in English, which ensures knowledge of the language at a highly advanced level.
- Preparation for studies: the main goal of the IB Programme is to properly prepare students to study at universities.
- Globally-recognized diploma: as we wrote above, the IB diploma is recognized by universities around the world, including the best world universities.
The expert's voice
During the Second Our Kids Expo for Private Schools, three seminars on educational topics took place (you can see all three here).
The topic of the first seminar was “Types of educational programs and the differences between them”. One of the panelists was Angelika Maj—a Polish language teacher at Monnet International School, a school that has been implementing the IB Programme at all three levels for years. Here is her statement about the IB Programme:
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