The International Baccalaureate Organisation

The IB aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organisation works with schools, governments and international organisations to develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

The aim of all IB programs is to develop internationally-minded people who recognise their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet. Central to this aim is internationalmindedness.

The IB fosters international-mindedness by:

• Capturing a way of thinking, being and acting that is characterised by an openness to the world and a recognition of one’s deep interconnectedness to others.

• Providing students with opportunities for sustained inquiry into a range of local and global issues and ideas.

• Helping students reflect on their own perspective, culture and identities, and then on those of others.

• Learning to appreciate different beliefs, values and experiences, and to think and collaborate across cultures and disciplines.

• Gaining an understanding necessary to make progress toward a more peaceful and sustainable world.

• Requiring students to study, or study in, more than one language to develop intercultural understanding and respect. This helps students appreciate that his or her own language, culture and worldview is just one of many.

• Challenging students to critically consider power and privilege, and to recognise that he or she holds this planet and its resources in trust for future generations.

• Moving beyond awareness and understanding to engagement, action and bringing about meaningful change.

The IB Diploma is a two-year program to be completed in the final years of secondary schooling, and aims to prepare students for university study and global citizenship better than any other certificate.

The curriculum consists of six subject groups and the three elements of the IB Diploma Program core.

IB Diploma Program subject groups:

• Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature

• Group 2: Language Acquisition

• Group 3: Individuals and Society

• Group 4: Sciences

• Group 5: Mathematics

• Group 6: The Arts

IB Diploma Program core:

• Theory of Knowledge

• Extended Essay

• Creativity, Activity, Service

The IB Diploma Program is a broad and balanced, yet academically demanding, program of study that promotes the development of:

• Critical-thinking and reflective skills

• Research skills

• Independent learning skills

• Intercultural understanding

Students who are awarded the IB Diploma have demonstrated a strong commitment to learning, both in terms of the mastery of the subject content and in the development of the skills and discipline necessary for success in a competitive world.

Should you undertake the IB Diploma at Ivanhoe Grammar School?

If you wish to study at a university and you are interested in:

• Being prepared in the best possible way for success in your university course

• A comprehensive curriculum

• A curriculum recognised locally, nationally and throughout the world for both breadth and depth in academic studies

• Reading and writing and can do both to a high standard

• Activities that encourage a sense of adventure, selfdiscipline and social responsibility

…then the answer to the question is YES, the IB Diploma at Ivanhoe Grammar School is for you!

To be eligible for the award of the IB Diploma, students have to:

• Choose one subject from each of the five groups (1 to 5) to ensure breadth of knowledge and understanding in Studies in Language & Literature (Group 1), Language Acquisition, (Group 2), Individuals & Societies (Group 3), Sciences (Group 4) and Mathematics (Group 5). Students may choose either a subject from The Arts (Group 6) or a second subject; IGS students usually choose another subject from Group 3 or Group 4.

• Complete at least three of these at Higher Level, and the remainder at Standard Level

• Satisfactorily complete the following Core requirements:

O Theory of Knowledge

O Extended Essay

O Creativity, Activity, Service

The IB Diploma model is a visual representation of the IB’s approach to education. At the centre of the model is the IB learner profile; this logo denotes IB learners as: inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risktakers, balanced and reflective.

This logo is surrounded by the IB’s commitment to quality learning and teaching; followed by the next layer which emphasizes the importance of the IB Diploma’s core components: Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay and Creativity, Activity, Service. The six subject areas are then presented; these are encircled by the headings ‘IB Diploma Program’ and ‘International-Mindedness’ as a reminder of the IB Diploma's key principle. The model is set against a watermark of the world as a reminder of the IB’s objective to 'develop internationally-minded people who recognise their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet.'

Source: International Baccalaureate Organisation www.ibo.org

TOK is a course about critical thinking and inquiring into the process of knowing, rather than about learning a specific body of knowledge. It is a core element which all IB Diploma students undertake and to which all schools are required to devote at least 100 hours of class time. TOK and the IB Diploma subjects should support each other in the sense that they reference each other and share some common goals. The TOK course examines how we know what we claim to know. It does this by encouraging students to analyse knowledge claims and explore knowledge questions.

There are two assessment tasks in the TOK course: an essay and an exhibition.

• The essay is externally assessed by the IB, and must be on any one of the six prescribed titles issued by the IB for each examination session. The maximum word limit for the essay is 1,600 words.

• The exhibition requires students to participate in an exploration of TOK. A cross between an oral presentation and an expo, students are required to respond to a prompt, provided by the IB, using three artefacts which demonstrate TOK in the real world.

The extended essay is an in-depth study of a focused topic normally chosen from one of the student’s six chosen subjects, or a subject that a student has a background in.

It is intended to promote academic research and writing skills, providing students with an opportunity to engage in personal research in a topic of their own choice, under the guidance of a supervisor. This leads to a major piece of formally presented, structured writing, in which ideas and findings are communicated in a reasoned and coherent manner, appropriate to the subject chosen. It is mandatory that all students undertake three reflection sessions with their supervisor, which includes a short, concluding interview, or viva voce, with their supervisor following the completion of the extended essay.

The Extended Essay is externally assessed by the IB and can be up to 4000 words.

CAS is at the heart of the Diploma Program. With its holistic approach, CAS is designed to strengthen and extend students’ personal and interpersonal learning.

CAS is organised around the three strands of creativity, activity and service defined as follows:

• Creativity – exploring and extending ideas leading to an original or interpretive product or performance.

• Activity – physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle.

• Service – collaborative and reciprocal engagement with the community in response to an authentic need.

Successful completion:

• The CAS program formally begins at the start of the IB Diploma and continues regularly for at least 18 months with a reasonable balance between creativity, activity, and service.

• All CAS students are expected to maintain and complete a CAS portfolio as evidence of their engagement with CAS.

• Achievement of the seven CAS learning outcomes (this should be evident in their CAS portfolio).

• Engage in CAS experiences involving one or more of the three CAS strands. A CAS experience can be a single event or may be an extended series of events.

• Students undertake a CAS project of at least one month’s duration that challenges students to show initiative, demonstrate perseverance, and develop skills such as collaboration, problem-solving, and decision-making. The CAS project can address any single strand of CAS, or combine two or all three strands.

• There are three formal documented interviews students must have with the CAS coordinator.