IB Matters

Send us Fan Mail in this episode we talk to Cody Alderson from the University of New Brunswick in Canada. Cody is the director of the IB Educator Certificate Program at UNB. Cody and I talk about the many aspects of this great partnership between global universities and the IB. If you are looking to get a head start on becoming an IB teacher, or to expand your already awesome IB teaching skills, t...

Send us Fan Mail When a school makes the effort to become an IB World School through a years-long period of reflection and self evaluation, the entire school agrees to embark on a continuous journey of self improvement.  In this episode, we talk to Jaya Sharma , an experienced IB school leader about the school improvement plan required of all IB schools. Jaya shares highlights from her school’s pl...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we return to talk with Bhavna Mathew from India about the role of action in the IB. As Bhavna says, Action is BIG! It is through action that we come closest to realizing the vision of the IB founders when they imagined a better and more peaceful world. If you would like to inspire students to take action as a result of your teaching, listen to what Bhavna shares in...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of IB Matters we return to talk to Vikas Pahwa from India. Vikas is an experienced DP History teacher and great person to talk about how he implements the ATL skills in the high school. While we often think of ATLs in the earlier grades, Vikas makes a great case for their natural inclusion in higher level courses. We even talk a bit about how teachers should be rea...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Afroza Kazi from Dhaka, Bangladesh about her role as a Diploma Programme teacher. While she specifically teaches Language B - English, we get a better understanding of what makes the IB work for so many students. That is, how we put the international in International Baccalaureate. Afroza makes several great suggestions for how to prepare students of all...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of IB Matters we talk to Rezuan Chowdhury from Daka, Bangladesh. Rezuan, who is a returning guest, has recently moved to a new school as an assistant PYP coordinator. We follow-up our popular ATL series from this summer with some specific ideas from Rezuan. His examples bring the ATL's into focus for those of you working with younger children. Links shared by...

Send us Fan Mail The IB student experience is much more than the Diploma Programme student completing exams and heading to university with a strong resume of academic accomplishments. The entire IB framework begins preparing students in pre-school and continues to use age appropriate practices to encourage life-long learning, inquiry, conceptual understanding, and global awareness. Our 14 year-old...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is the eighth and final episode in a series of podcasts we are doing on the IB Approaches to Learning Skills (known as the ATL’s) which are at the core of all four International Baccalaureate Programmes.  This episode is a sort of panel discussion looking at the big idea of using approaches to learning as a framework within IB to deliver the promise of an IB education...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is the seventh in a series of 8 podcasts we are doing on the IB Approaches to Learning Skills known as the ATL’s that are at the core of all four International Baccalaureate Programmes. It is our goal to give you a coherent, sustainable, values aligned strategy to implement ATL Skills in your school. This episode features teaching Self-management Skills . In the podca...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is the sixth in a series of 8 podcasts we are doing on the IB Approaches to Learning Skills known as the ATL’s that are at the core of all four International Baccalaureate Programmes. This episode features teaching Social Skills . My guest is John Harvey , an experienced IB coordinator who has led this work in multiple schools. It is our goal to give you a coherent, s...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is the fifth in a series of 8 podcasts we are doing on the IB Approaches to Learning Skills known as the ATL’s that are at the core of all four International Baccalaureate Programmes. This episode features teaching Communication Skills . My guest is John Harvey , an experienced IB coordinator who has led this work in multiple schools. It is our goal to give you a cohe...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is the fourth in a series of 8 podcasts we are doing on the IB Approaches to Learning Skills known as the ATL’s that are at the core of all four International Baccalaureate Programmes. This episode features teaching Research Skills . My guest is John Harvey , an experienced IB coordinator who has led this work in multiple schools. It is our goal to give you a coherent...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is the third in a series of 8 podcasts we are doing on the IB Approaches to Learning Skills known as the ATL’s that are at the core of all four International Baccalaureate Programmes.  My guest is John Harvey , an experienced IB coordinator who has led this work in multiple schools. It is our goal to give you a coherent, sustainable, values aligned strategy to impleme...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is the second in a series of 8 podcasts we are doing on the IB Approaches to Learning Skills known as the ATL’s that are at the core of all four International Baccalaureate Programmes.  My guest is John Harvey , an experienced IB coordinator who has led this work in multiple schools. It is our goal to give you a coherent, sustainable, values aligned strategy to implem...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is part of a series we are doing on the IB Approaches to Learning Skills known as the ATL’s that are at the core of all four International Baccalaureate Programmes.  John Harvey and I will, in these eight episodes, try to give you a coherent, sustainable, values aligned strategy to implement ATL Skills in your school. We want to help you build your team of coordinator...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of IB Matters we talk to Dr. David Webb about his time as a leader in IB schools in Minnesota and about his book called ‘ Homerun Leadership: Your Guide to Better, Faster Team Decisions ’.  If you have a leadership role in an IB school - whether it be an IB coordinator, department head, or school adminstrator this podcast is for you. Dave has put together a strateg...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to four DP students from Shiv Nadar School Gurgaon . All four are in their second year of the Diploma Programme and have done a great deal of reflecting upon what they have learned so far. They have determined that mental and emotional health are tied together and can be best maintained through communication among students, teachers and school leaders. Whil...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we talk to author, Jason Ablin. His book, The Gender Equation in Schools: How to Create Equity and Fairness for all Students will be published in June 2022 and features many tools for teachers to use in beginning to create classrooms where all students feel empowered to be their best selves. Jason shares some of these tools and we hear stories of how he has worked...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we return talk to Vikas Pahwa . This time the conversation centers on leadership in IB and International schools. Vikas has recently contributed an article for an upcoming book on this subject and we found this to be a good opportunity to share our thoughts and experiences regarding great school leadership.  By the way, if you are in Minnesota, our MNIB Leadership...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of IB Matters we talk to Dr. Aarti Baksh i of Pathways School in Noida, India. As you will hear, she is a very enthusistic counselor who has used every resource available - and few she conjured up - to create a positive school culture which brings the full nature of an IB education to fruition. Dr. Bakshi describes how she, along with teachers and school leaders, h...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode,  we talk to Era Dogra about her role as a coordinator of the social emotional learning programs in her school. Listeners will hear how she and her team have implemented necessary supports for students experiencing a lack of personal connections while they are learning in isolation from home. They have found that, by making the programs customized to their school c...

Send us Fan Mail  In this episode, we talk to Shradha Narayanan from Toddle about the upcoming Inquiry Educators Summit (TIES) . This will be third time they have offered this event but there are many changes in place for this version. In particular, this time there will be pre-conference meet-ups and then ongoing follow-up sessions for several months after the main event. TIES is back for its thi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to 5 students from Ebenezer International School in Bangalore, India and their Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS) teacher Bhavya Prabu. These students have created a CAS Project based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (known as the UN SDG’s). They mentor younger students to learn about particular SDG’s and then help them develop TED Talk format...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of we return to talk to Vikas Pahwa about the IB approach to teaching Geography. His experience with both the MYP and DP makes him a good ambassador for the subject. Vikas has a deep respect, understanding, and appreciation for Geography and he makes a great case for including the subject as one of your options in Group 3 of the Diploma Programme.  Some of Vikas&ap...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Lucia Figar and Barry Cooper of The Global College in Madrid, Spain. They are two of the principal figures in the startup of this brand new IB School based on entrepreneurship. It will be a unique member of the IB community but it has all of the key attributes every new IB school requires: a rigorous and well-planned curriculum, a caring and dedicated st...