IB Matters

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Bhavya Prabu about the IB approach to teaching and learning science from MYP to DP.  Bhavya has experience teaching in both the Diploma Programme and the Middle Years Programme so she has an excellent perspective for this discussion. We talk about the structure and requirements of a couple of DP science courses, specifically Biology and ESS. But we also...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Lisa Maren Thompson from Sejong Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota. Sejong Academy is an MYP candidate school nearing the end of the candidacy phase to become an official IB World School.  Like the other podcasts we have done in the “Becoming an IB School” series, the keys to a succesful IB school candidacy are the people in the school community. They need t...

Send us Fan Mail In an effort to promote equity, excellence and inclusion in IB programs, Tim Kane and Asheesh Misra from IBSchoolImprovement.com help schools develop strategies to maximize success in the Diploma exams. These strategies lead to more students enrolling in the classes, taking the exams, and benefitting from the exposure to challenging curriculum. These benefits have been shown to fo...

Send us Fan Mail This is be one of the more personal episodes in this podcast series, as I speak to Jake Rosch . Jake’s parents have been close friends for decades and I’ve known Jake since he was in pre-school.  Jake is now Director of Educational Technology at College du Leman , an IB school in Switzerland. We speak about international teaching, blended learning, being an Apple Distinguished Edu...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we speak with Joelle Amuah who is a 17 year old student beginning her second year of the Diploma Programme at Aves International Academy in Ghana. She wrote a blog (" My awesome IB experience so far ") recently sharing her experience in year one of the DP.  She described all the ways she grew as a person and as a student in just one year of the Diploma Pr...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of we take a close look at the DP History course, one of the key aspects of any Diploma student’s experience in the IB.  Our guest is Vikas Pahwa who is an experienced DP History teacher in the city of Gurgaon , India . What I loved about this conversation was the universality of the DP History approach he describes. I felt like I was talking to one of the teachers...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Wendy Heydorn and Susan Jesudason who have recently revised their TOK texts pubished by Cambridge University Press .  They give us a great tour of the newly revised TOK curriculum which could serve as a primer for anyone returning to the classroom this fall to teach the new TOK course with first exams in the Spring of 2022.  They also share a tour of the...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Guru Charan Kumar of India about his work teaching the IB Diploma ESS Course but mostly we talk about taking his students on exciting trips to support the classroom teaching with real life field experiences. Guru makes a great case for getting out there but he also has tips for those of you wanting to plan for such a trip. He even tells a couple harrowin...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we return to talk to Asnaha Farheen from Abdul Kadir Molla International School in Bangladesh. This time we focus on the PYP Exhibition - the culminating activity of any student’s PYP experience offered in either 5th or 6th grade. Asnaha talks about how they prepare for the Exhibition and how it has been different under the COVID restrictions. Links: First Blog abo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we return to talk to Novadene Miller who teaches at the Ecole Privee Bilingue International in southern France.  Novadene was a recent guest talking about the MYP Individuals and Societies course. The feedback was so great we just had to have her back. This time we focus on the MYP Design course and how it fits beautifully into the development of young people in th...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Era Dogra about the Microsoft Innovative Educators Excellence (MIEE) P rogram . Even before the pandemic, the use of electronic tools in education had been incresing tremendously. The need for online platforms and communication caused by the COVID restrictions has only caused this trend to balloon exponentially. It is important for teachers to be adept a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Nupur Sinha Agrawal of Genesis Global School in India. She tells us about the Early Years of the PYP which is defined as ages 3 to 6 years old with a focus on the Pre-K from ages 3 to 4.  Many who think of IB, think of the Diploma Program and don’t realize that IB is actually a continuum reaching such young people. Of course, at that early age, it is not...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Novadene Miller who teaches at Institut International Lancy in Geneva, Switzerland - teaching IB DP Geography and IGCSE Geography. Our discussion centers on how the MYP framework specifically addresses the Individuals and Societies subject area. While it has examples from one subject, it serves as an example of how the MYP approach makes any subject more...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to a panel of past guests of the podcast, all of whom teach in India or Bangladesh. They discussed how they and their communities are coming together in this very challenging time as the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting much of South Asia. You’ll hear that, even in these difficult times, hope for the future is strong and they are finding wa...

Send us Fan Mail In this brief episode we talked to Deepanshu Arora of Toddle about the  TIES 2021 Conference . TIES stands for “ The Inquiry Educators Summit ” and was held May 14th through May 16th with sessions in different time zones and in both English and Spanish.  Use our podcast links below to register (so you have access to recordings of the event) and to donate to their designated fund t...

Send us Fan Mail We talk to Asheesh Misra and Tim Kane from IB School improvement.com about this year’s exams and the important role of the predicted grades in this and future exam cycles. We also talk about how Internal assessments should be a big focus for DP/CP teachers as they judge their capacity to help students and their IB programs to succeed. Tim walks us through how each  DP cohort has a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode  we talk to my good friend Paul Koenig . I’ve known Paul for nearly 40 years and he is one of the most reflective teachers I have worked with. I thought we could all benefit from talking with him about his work supervising new teachers and what he considers key to improving our profession through thoughful reflection and support. IB Matters Website Email IB Matters...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Asnaha Farheen about her work as the Bangladesh PYP network lead and about IB Pedagogical leadership in a crisis like the one we are experiencing now during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also get a preview of a global PYP networking event ( JAS Live ) Asnaha is hosting in mid-April 2021. Please check out the links below where you will find numerous links to...

Send us Fan Mail We talk to Charles Hopkins at the American School of Kinshasa (TASOK) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo about the MYP Personal Project.  It is Project season across the IB Continuum. From the PYP Exhibition to the DP CAS and TOK projects, IB students across the world are demonstrating their learning in many ways. We will hear three MYP students describe their Personal Projec...

Send us Fan Mail A common thread running through all IB Programmes is the commitment to service learning. From the beginning of an IB student’s education, they are exposed to, and participate in, hands-on efforts to help others through the IB Mission which is, in part, to create a better and more peaceful world.  Years ago Stu Keroff began a service club at a local IB School in Minnesota that coll...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of IB Matters we talk to Manisha Rana of Genesis School in Noida India. She shares her vision for education coming out of the pandemic and she also presents some the things she learned at the recent IB Virtual Conference.    IB Matters Website Resources www. Edutopia.org www.ibresources.com Email IB Matters: IBMatters@mnibschools.org Instagram (IB_Matters) Twitter...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of IB Matters we talk to Alexis Fuller from Cambridge University Press about the Extended Essay. Alexis has vast experience as a Extended Essay supervisor - she has read and evaluated hundreds of Extended Essays and specializes in the World Studies Extended Essay in her work. I really enjoyed our conversation and I think any Diploma teacher or Supervisor will find...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of IB Matters we talk to Monika Kala from the Genesis Global School in Noida, India.  Our conversation focuses on professional development in an IB school. Monika shares some of the strategies they use in her school to keep teachers engaged and challenging themselves to keep learning. There are even some practices which have been made easier with the restrictions o...

Send us Fan Mail Our guest, Bhavna Mathew , from Pathways World School in Aravali, India  is another example of one who makes the time to not only support and teach her own students but to then share her ideas on multiple platforms and in many different venues. She is a certified Montessori teacher, a Flipgrid Educator, a Wakelet Ambassador, a SeeSaw Ambassador and a teach UN Sustainable Developme...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of IB Matters we talk to Sonia Singh, a PYP Coordinator at Prometheus School in Dehli India. After talking a bit about her upcoming virtual authorization, we hear from Sonia about some truly innovative and effective ways they build students' socio emotional connections.  I was truly impressed with all the ways they are helping students connect with each other...