International Baccalaureate (IB)
The Academy for Global Citizenship is an accredited IB World School. What exactly is the IB? The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a non-profit foundation with a mission “to create a better world through education.” The organization aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. The continuum of programmes encourage students to become “active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.” IB provides a framework for thousands of schools all over the world to develop curriculum that is based on student inquiry, agency and action.
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A Better World Through Education: 50 Years of the IB
AGC was founded with the knowledge that IB would be the backbone for our curricular framework to help our students grow as global citizens. AGC uses the transdisciplinary themes and global contexts provided by the IB and has mapped out units that meet national standards in all content areas and engage students with real world, authentic learning experiences. We have been authorized as part of the Primary Years Programme (PYP) for K-5th grade since 2012 and completed the process to add the Middle Years Programme (MYP) for 6-8th grade in 2021. Our new campus allows us to expand our reach further to include a pre-K early years program as part of the PYP as well.
While the PYP and MYP programs have different structures and components, all sections of the IB continuum utilize some of the same unifying principles.
IB Learner Profile
The IB learner profile is the IB mission statement translated into a set of learning outcomes for the 21st century. Classes of all grade levels work to engage students in activities, discussions and goal setting on how they can develop these traits throughout their time at AGC.
In order to develop international mindedness, as IB learners we strive to be:
- inquirers
- knowledgeable
- thinkers
- communicators
- principled
- open-minded
- caring
- risk-takers
- balanced
- reflective
Approaches to Learning
As part of IB’s framework and training, educators are asked to take time in their content areas to develop universal skills that will help students grow as learners. IB calls these transdisciplinary skills approaches to learning (ATLs). Teachers in all grades foster growth of these areas by providing opportunities to practice thinking, research, communication, social and self-management skills embedded in authentic learning experiences. Learning how to learn is just as fundamental to a student’s education as the content presented each year!
Action
IB students learn from a very early age that as global citizens they have the responsibility to take action to better the world around them. The IB teaches that “when students see tangible actions that they can choose to take to make a difference, they see themselves as competent, capable and active agents of change” (Oxfam 2015).
At AGC we encourage student action throughout our units of inquiry, feedback within our school community and schoolwide events and traditions. Students in 5th grade and 8th grade also complete more formalized Action Projects as part of the PYP Exhibition and MYP community project.
We teach students that action doesn’t always mean a fundraiser or a protest.
Action can be:
- a change in attitude
- a consideration or plan for action in the future
- a demonstration of responsibility, or of respect for self, others and the environment
- a commitment to leading or participating in a youth advocacy group
- an engagement in school decision-making or an expression of support in community, local and global decision-making.
AGC's Ecotones
Ecotones are areas for inquiry-based learning that will provide hands-on experiences for art, stem, and science. Students will be able to explore art with studio equipment such as acrylics, charcoal, a variety of media and paper, etc. The stem ecotone will be equipped with 3D printers, vinyl cutters, and various electronics. For science, students will be able to perform lab experiments with equipment such as microscopes, lab burners, and digital multimeters.
Our Ecotones serve as Biomimicry Labs where students explore nature’s strategies and learn how to apply design thinking as solutions to problems. AGC believes in Biomimicry design and bring it to life with laboratory experiences for our students.
Science Equipment
- Microscopes
- Beakers
- Magnets
- Measuring Tools
Art Equipment
- Paints
- Palettes
- Brushes
- Easels
STEM Equipment
- 3D Printers
- Laser Cutters
- Robotics
- Coding