news IB encourages students to ‘be creators not imitators’
did you know...
IB Academic Honesty Manager Dr Celina Garza speaks to IB World about a new competition that encourages students to think creatively about academic honesty
…the MYP positively impacts college coursework and exams
The IB is calling all MYP, DP and CP students to “be a content creator, not a content imitator” in an exciting new competition. It is challenging students to create a short film or poster that delivers the key message that academic honesty is fundamental to the education of every IB student. The closing date for entries is Sunday 31 July 2016, and the winning entries will be showcased on the IB’s website. Successful students will also be interviewed in a future issue of IB World.
Former MYP students were
34% more likely to take a DP or AP exam
Time for a policy review? The IB asks that all schools have a clear Academic Honesty Policy, which discusses how to embody academic honesty in the classroom. Is it time to review your policy? All schools should have a review cycle and invite all members of the school community to take part, according to Dr Celina Garza, Academic Honesty Manager at the IB’s Assessment Centre in Cardiff. She says: “The principle of academic honesty serves to promote personal integrity, engender respect for the work of others and ensures that all students have an equal opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they acquire during their studies.”
IB researchers Julie Wade and Natalie Wolanin have found that previous enrollment in the Middle Years Programme (MYP) increased students’ likelihood of participation in college preparatory coursework and the achievement of ‘college-ready’ scores on Advance Placement (AP) or IB Diploma Programme (DP) exams. The study used data collected from a large, socio-economically diverse school district in the US, and found: the MYP were 34 per cent more likely to take at least one AP or DP examination in high school O MYP enrollment increased the likelihood of achieving at least one college-ready score on a college preparatory exam by 39 per cent O Former MYP and non-MYP students took on average a similar number of DP courses, but former MYP students who took at least one DP exam earned more scores of 4 or higher, compared with their non-MYP counterparts. * Find the research summary at: www.ibo. org/globalassets/publications/ib-research/ myp/myp-participation-summary-eng.pdf
In brief Student registry Free for all users, the IB Student Registry allows students in the last years of the MYP, or in any year of the DP or Career-related Programme
6 IBWorld March 2016
Greatstock Photographic Library/Alamy
O Students previously enrolled in
(CP), to create an online profile, highlighting academic achievements. Students can also include course credits and learn more about their desired universities as they can create a profile which presents all their information in one place. They can select and express their interest to universities,
Academic honesty can be linked to the IB Learner Profile attribute of “principled.” Garza says: “ We expect our students to understand the purpose of being honest and acting with integrity in all their actions.” The temptation to copy and paste Why do students feel the need to plagiarize? It’s not always a deliberate act, says Garza. “Most of the time, it’s down to a lack of time-management skills. When we find a piece of work that doesn’t comply with our requirements, in terms of referencing,
“It’s not enough to just advise our students to reference and cite work, we need teachers to be examples and role models in how to do this” we contact the school to request an explanation, and the vast majority of responses are that students rushed the assignment or essay. They understand that they must reference, but forget to do it.” The vast amount of information available on the internet makes it very easy to accidentally plagiarize. “Sometimes students don’t understand that information on the internet does belong to someone,” says Garza. “The new generation is flooded with information and, if they’re facing difficulties, the temptation to copy and paste increases.” But some students do cheat intentionally. They might use the services of ghost writers to prepare work on their behalf. “But those are most definitely the exceptions,” says Garza. “Most students understand what they have to do, they just don’t manage their time correctly.”
and university admission officers can obtain student information and contact them outside of the system. My School website IB World Schools can now house school information in one place on the IB’s new ‘My School’ site. School Heads and Coordinators can update