khaleej times | ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT | SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 2015
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More than just a curriculum International Baccalaureate curriculum cultivates strength in students to transform a potential obstacle into an opportunity, says Dr Chiara Tabet, IB DP Coordinator and Head of Senior School, Al Bateen Secondary School » By Suneeti Ahuja-Kohli
A system that’s as dynamic as life A rigorous and off-the-shelf curriculum, International Baccalaureate is available in 36 schools in the UAE. Read on to find if IB is the right one for your child » By Suneeti Ahuja-Kohli
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ducation is the best gift you can give your child. But how do you go about choosing a curriculum considering a bewildering landscape of choices available in the UAE. Do you opt for a system that belongs to your country of origin, or settle for credentials from a foreign land? It is not that some curricula are frozen in time compared with the rest. But considering the fast pace of life, many students and parents prefer a dynamic curriculum that prepares them well for the future. International Baccalaureate (IB), as a lot of experts argue, prepares students well by promoting creative and critical way of thinking. A survey conducted by a group of schools in the UK claims that IB is the top passport to international education.
IB is broadly divided into three categories for children between the ages of 3 and 19 — the primary years programme, middle years programme, and diploma programme. IB students are largely responsible for their own learning, which makes it a rigorous and off-the-shelf curriculum. There is a lot of emphasis on research and writing, and students are encouraged to learn from their peers. Students actively critique one another’s work, which develops their critical thinking and prepares them for college-level work and beyond. In the UAE, 36 schools implement different elements of the IB curriculum (see table on page III for more details). Of this list, only seven schools are 100 per cent IB. For the rest, some schools offer IB curriculum at the elementary level, a few offer middle years programme, while others only the diploma programme. —suneeti@khaleejtimes.com
Al Bateen Secondary School’s International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP) Coordinator and Head of Senior School, Dr Chiara Tabet, has a wealth of experience in the education sector. She has lived and worked in more than five countries and understands students and teaching methodologies like no one else. In an interview with Khaleej Times, she talks about the various aspects of the course and why she thinks it is one of the best ways to prepare your child for the future. Excerpts: Share your views on the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. How does it compare with other curricula, especially A-levels and other national curricula? The IB DP is a unique curriculum for two main reasons. The first is its structure: The fact that students study six subjects doesn’t just mean that they will benefit from a holistic approach to education. It also means that they need to challenge themselves in some areas. They need to both cultivate their strengths and work on their areas for development. This is yet another respect in which the IB DP allows students to become critical, courageous, reflective (and self-reflective) thinkers: An IB student knows how to transform a potential obstacle into an actual opportunity. The second remarkable quality of the IB DP curriculum is, of course, its ethos. The IB DP, in this respect, is both a set of curriculum contents (for example, in Mathematics, Physics, English, Art, etc.) and a philosophy of education. IB students are independent learners, young
adults who understand that ultimately they are responsible for the choices they make, intellectually and ethically. They will need to make a contribution to the community around them through the CAS (Creativity, Action and Service) component of the programme, and will need to challenge themselves to do well in their Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge course. They are young human beings who will not be afraid to recognise their mistakes and celebrate their achievements and other people’s achievements. I often find that IB DP students develop a kind of wisdom, an understanding of their place in the world and of the ways in which they want this world to be better, which is perhaps not as explicitly promoted by other curricula. There is a sense of personal ownership and of shared citizenship in IB students that never fails to impress me. The emphasis on acknowledging different perspectives in each subject, and in particular the Theory of Knowledge, leads to a deeper understanding of the importance of diversity for personal and social growth. The emphasis on the learner profile attributes (e.g. being courageous, reflective, caring, etc.) allows these students to develop as responsible citizens of a better world.
Dr Chiara Tabet
You are truly a global citizen having studied and worked in Norway, England, Scotland, Canada, France, and now the UAE. Give us a perspective on how IB teaching is imparted in the UAE and how does it compare with the rest of the world? Are we up to the mark or are there any grey areas that need to be filled?
journalist, once wrote that the true traveller understands that ‘you can never really own a home, a space in the infinite universe, but only pause there for one night or for your entire life, with respect and gratitude’. This respect and gratitude is what I find in IB students here in the UAE. They have the privilege of living in one of the most international and fastest growing societies in the world. Whether they are international students or citizens of this impressive nation, their sense of respect and gratitude comes from acknowledgment of the transient status of what is ‘given’, and the wealth of opportunities that the future carries with it. These students are true travellers in Magris’ sense. They understand and embrace traditions while celebrating change. They are proud of their own identity while acknowledging the different lives of others. In the UAE, perhaps more than anywhere else I have lived, the IB gives students an incredible opportunity to be
Claudio Magris, an Italian writer and
» Continued on page III