IB Foundations Workshop: The “Korea Project” at SFS

By the Academics Office

OnMarch 21-23, 2024 the International Baccalaureate Global Conference (#IBGC2024) was hosted in Daegu, Republic of Korea and attended by more than 1,300 educators from 38 countries. Also in attendance was the Director General of the IB, Olli-Pekka Heinonen, and the Governors of Education of Seoul, Incheon, Jeonbuk, and Chungcheongnam Do. During the opening session, the IB announced their formalized partnership with these Offices of Education with a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) to bring more IB programmes to public and private schools in South Korea (IBO 2024). These four Offices of Education join Daegu and Jeju who partnered with the IB in 2019, and Gyeonggi Do and Jeollanam Do who partnered with the IB in 2023 (IBO 2019).

IB Foundations Workshops

True to the Seoul Foreign School mission of inspiring a passion for learning and dedication to the service of others, Seoul Foreign School began working with the International Baccalaureate during the 2022-2023 school year to host the 'IB Foundations Workshop’ for 76 educators from multiple public schools across Gyeonggi Do and Busan. The pilot was designed to immerse participants in the principles and practices of the International Baccalaureate, with a focus on Conceptual Understanding (May 2023), Authentic Assessment (Nov 2023), and Inquiry (Jan 2024).

During each of these 7 day IB Foundations Workshops, educators from Gyeonggi Do and Jeollanam Do engaged in 4 days of professional development led by IB Workshop Leaders, including our staff. Days 1-4 of each week explored the core tenets of an IB education, followed by 3 days of classroom observations and mentoring with Seoul Foreign School faculty, gaining a practical perspective on how IB principles can be integrated into teaching practices. These conversations with experienced SFS IB educators and SFS PYP, MYP, DP coordinators fostered a supportive learning environment where participants could exchange ideas and gain insights.

Many of the educators from Gyeonggi do and Busan left the workshops with a deeper understanding of IB education, inspiration, and tools necessary to implement these practices in their own classrooms.

"My experience at Seoul Foreign School (SFS) during the training program was a precious opportunity for me to step into that system as a student... I deeply appreciate SFS for respecting and diligently assisting us as learners." Elisa - Wirye Middle School

"All I did was cautiously apply one or two things learned at Seoul Foreign School. I was amazed to see the change in my students' eyes." Jiwon - Ansan Sangrok Elementary School

"The most valuable lesson I learned was from the attitude of the teachers... The teachers were always deeply caring about the students' growth." Bokyoung - Siheung Seohae Middle School

"Thanks to my experience at SFS, I witnessed the potential of Korean public school students to experience a high-quality IB curriculum." Jiyeong - Namhan High School

Looking Forward

As we reflect on the success of the IB Foundations workshop and the new partnerships between the IB and the Offices of Education in Seoul, Incheon, Jeonbuk, and Chungcheongnam Do, we are deeply grateful for all of the faculty and staff at Seoul Foreign School who participated in the pilot of the three IB Foundations Workshops. We look forward to a shared commitment between the IB, the Offices of Education, and Seoul Foreign School towards collaboration and professional development to the ongoing development of concept based, inquiry driven, global-minded education in South Korea.

SFS Faculty and Staff Participants

Special thanks to the Principals for sharing, facilities, resources, and especially for sharing the time and talents of your faculty and staff: Lindsay Bender, Hannah Rader, Lychelle Bruski, Jungmeen Lee, Hyesoon Shin, Nathan Smith, Myung Sung, Nico Visahan, Claire Francis, Danielle Jarvis Lucchesi,

Sophia Johnson, Penny Lamb, Julie Ly, Mark Edwards, John Scuirba, Chris Horan, Michael Lucchesi, Piotr Kocyk, Michelle Albano, Jason Arnot, Heena Chung, Lauren Elliott, Neil Henderson, Minsung Kim, Meenal Mishra, Jacqui Coogan, Crystal Kim, Leila Webb, Jami Yeo, Celine Jin, Hannah Kim, Geoff Ward, Dave Han.

Works Referenced:

• IBO. "IB Signs Memoranda of Cooperation in South Korea to Introduce IB Programmes in Jeju and Daegu Public Schools." International Baccalaureate, Aug. 2019, www.ibo.org/news/news-about-the-ib/ ib-signs-memoranda-of-cooperation-in-south-korea-to-introduce-ibprogrammes-in-jeju-and-daegu-public-schools/.

• IBO. "First South Korean Public Schools Join the IB." International Baccalaureate, Mar. 2022, www.ibo.org/news/news-about-ibschools/first-south-korean-public-schools-join-the-ib/.

• IB APAC. “IB Foundations Workshop.” LinkedIn, Jun. 2023, kr.linkedin. com/pulse/ib-foundations-workshop-ib-apac.

• IBO. “The IB strengthens partnership with Republic of Korea at Global Conference in Daegu.” International Baccalaureate, Marl. 2024, https://www.ibo.org/news/news-about-the-ib/the-ib-strengthenspartnership-with-republic-of-korea-at-global-conference-in-daegu/

• ChatGPT. "IB Project Korea hosted at Seoul Foreign" ChatGPT, version 4.0, OpenAI, Mar. 2024, chat.openai.com/