Teaching And Learning Approach
DP Model
Learning in DP
Approaches to teaching and learning (ATL) appears at the center of the IB model. Teaching and Learning go in synergy, aligning the requirements and the philosophy of the IB programme. Teaching and learning in IBDP is designed to -
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engage students to be injury and thinkers
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promote the understanding and practice of academic honesty
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address the diversity of students
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develop the IB learner profile attributes
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address language needs
The approaches to teaching and learning are thoughtful strategies, skills, and attitudes that nurture the learning environment. The approaches are designed to enhance student preparation for DP assessment as well as beyond life and are inextricably linked to the development of internationally minded students. IB emphasis on the fact that a large influence on student’s education is not only what students learn but also how they learn. Learning is based on providing meaningful experiences and empowering students to take responsibility for their learning and work in their “zone of proximal development”. Learning in IB focuses on developing
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Thinking skills
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Communication skills
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Social Skills
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Self-management skills
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Research skills
Teaching in IB programme revolves around six key pedagogical principles that underpin in all the programmes, which are:
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Inquiry-based
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Focused on conceptual understanding Developed in local and global contexts
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Focused on effective collaboration
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Differentiated to meet the needs of all learners
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Informed by assessment
ATL has always been part of IB teaching
“What is of paramount importance in the pre-university stage is not what is learned but learning how to learn … What matters is not the absorption and regurgitation either of fact or predigested interpretations of facts, but the development of powers of the mind or ways of thinking which can be applied to new situations and new presentations of facts as they arise.”
—Alec Peterson Peterson, A. 1972. The International Baccalaureate: An experiment in International Education. London. George Harrap.
Some of the approaches are discussed below from the IBDP teaching.
1) Inquiry-Based
“Inquirers” is one of the attributes of IB learner profile and the process of developing this attribute is seen as nurturing the curiosity with the skill of self-directed learners. Even though the DP program has a large amount of content to be covered the teachers plan in a strategic manner that students get an opportunity to learn to follow the Inquiry Learning cycle. The Inquiry-based learning and teaching take places in many forms for example - structured inquiry, guided inquiry, open inquiry or Process-oriented-Guided-Inquiry-Learning. There are also a number of methods such as Experiential Learning, Problem -based Learning, Critical thinking, Discovery learning. Whichever approach or method is adopted the focus stays on actively learning, collaborative between teacher and students and among students themselves.
Teaching based on inquiry has a shift from teacher controlled classroom to students centered learning and the role of teachers shifts from one to provide direct knowledge to a facilitator who promotes thinking and curiosity.
Experiential Learning –
The video ( Link given below) shows Experiential learning. Beginning with a central question and driven by curiosity and personal passions, science students at Casey Middle seek answers through research, experimentation, and data analysis. The students are taken to a water body in the community where they perform sets of experiments, test different samples of water and scientific thinking. The students involve themselves in discussions, research so they can answer the questions itself. The students share the data in form of infographic and compare it with other groups and think further what to do with the data and the actions that can be taken in real life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbqPaKTsDIU
1. Critical thinking
The video above shows a lesson an inquiry around valuing different perspective. This involves critical thinking, need to know how to advocate themselves but also take in others perspective. The current situations are taken up for inquiry, in the process, the students become more aware of current issues, actual facts by research about the community and the other side of any story. They also discuss how can they apply their learning to their real-life situation. Students take the path of critical thinking to understand how their point of view can be made heard keep others sentiment and perspective in mind.
A case study- Spider Web Discussion (A meaningful student-driven method of inquiry and understanding)
Spider Web Discussion is a unique student-driven method to foster curiosity, questioning, and understanding. In the process, students use their own understanding and content to guide themselves to answer their questions and at the end self-assess too. The teacher act as a guide who encourages independent thinking, collaboration and demonstrate leadership qualities.
2 ) Conceptual Understanding
Conceptual is a big idea. It acts as a vehicle for students understanding about the inquiry into issues and ideas of personal, local and global significance. An ongoing process of exploration of the concepts leads to a deeper understanding of subject group and allows them to engage with complex ideas and apply their knowledge and skills to new situations. It is considered in IB that learning is most powerful when the three aspects of Concepts, Content, and Skills take places concurrently.
The videos below is an example of an application of conceptual. In this video, a History lesson is shown at Anglo-European School, Ingatestone, Essex exploring the concept of causation. The students rank the causes of the war into the order of importance. They can also apply the concept of causes into other subjects such as English, Economic, etc. The ability to make connections and applying the knowledge to different area deepen their understanding of the concept.
https://xmltwo.ibo.org/publications/DP/Group0/d_0_dpatl_gui_1502_1/static/dpatl/practice-video-detail-19.html
At Concordian International School, Bangplee, Thailand, in an English class the students are applying the concept of poetry in TOK, History, Maths, Human Science, Art etc. The students make connections to their previous knowledge and try to identify patterns in Language and analyses those patterns. The students apply their learning skills to solve the challenging tasks put across by the teacher in their literature lesson.
At International School of Toulouse, France an interesting example of Inquiry-based and conceptually focused mathematics teaching is shared by this video. The students explore the idea of approaching the posed problems and constructing mathematical knowledge. The students collaborate to resolve the problem and justify their finding. The teacher is seen asking questions to the students to check for deeper understanding and helping students to articulate their understanding. The teacher moves up the level of complexity of the concept and content with every next lesson and getting a deeper understanding at the end.
3 ) Differentiation
Differentiation is an approach where the panning is based on the difference in the learning levels of students in a classroom. IB identifies four important principles to promote equal access to learning. The four accepts are – Scaffolding, Affirming identity and building self-esteem, Valuing prior knowledge and extending learning. Using a range of teaching resources and approaches differentiation provides equal opportunities for all learners to be engaged and progress.
The video (link provided) shows students of Dwight School, New York City, USA in a TOK lesson. The lesson is planned around encouraging students to work considering their strength and learning styles. The teacher provides time to students to reflect on the ideas and relate to a real-life situation. Further, students work collaboratively, share their ideas and design a poster. Students are given an opportunity to present their ideas to the class. This allows learners to learn and express themselves in the way that suits them the best. The one who is creative, active in designing (visual or artistic), good at speaking (expressive/ social), move around in the class (kinesthetic) etc.
References:
IBO. (2015). Diploma Programme: From principles into practice. International Baccalaureate Organisation (UK) Ltd, Cardiff, Wales.
IBO. (2015). Diploma Programme: From principles into practice. Retrieved from http://www.ibo.org/ibis/occ/