Block 1: Friday 11:15 to 12:30

When the IB began in 1968, even the most optimistic of its founders might have scoffed at the notion that 2500 schools would be offering IB programs by our fortieth anniversary. But that is only the start - in the next dozen years, the IB is expected to quadruple in size.

Teacher expectations, the hidden curriculum, and self-fulfilling prophesies can impact student achievement. Learn how an urban high school went from not meeting its AYP to being nominated for the US Department of Education Blue Ribbon Award through an inquiry of the school's practices and an exploration of research-based ideas and staff development.

Teachers attending this session will learn how to incorporate Socratic seminars into units as a means of self-discovery and expansion of holistic learning. Socratic seminars and cross-curricular teaming are fundamental components of MYP classes which effectively incorporate the IB assessment criterion.

How can a school communicate the Areas of Interaction and the IB Learner Profile characteristics to every staff member and every student? That's the proverbial challenge that faced Fridley Middle School.

In this session, the panel will discuss curriculum mapping as it relates to the IB Primary Years Programme Units of Inquiry and state/local curriculum. The intended outcome will be to provide ideas and strategies for grade level teams to collaboratively marry a rigorous program of study to local expectations. Each participant will leave with effective models of this integration.

Personality type theory helps students understand how they learn best and how they communicate. By understanding how they process information and make decisions, students can better advocate for themselves and for what they need in order to learn.

Educators often place professional learning communities and collaborative teams at the heart of school improvement, IB teachers and students benefit greatly from providing time for such collaboration. During this time they establish SMART goals, create common assessments, analyze results, and use results to address shortcomings and capitalize on strengths.

A new Diploma publication is being written that provides guidance to schools on the effective implementation of the curriculum as a whole in schools. An outline of the key points, principles and practices will be presented with implications considered. The presentation will be followed by discussion, questions and answers.

The Westwood School in Dallas, Texas is proof that small schools can fully participate in an International Baccalaureate programme. Small, private schools face different challenges in implementing an IB progrmme than larger public and private schools. This session aims to inspire small schools interested in IB to find the confidence to begin the application and authorization process.

Exhibition is the final step students take to move from learning about action to independently taking action. Scaffolding provided by mentors during this experience can dramatically increase the scope and effectiveness of students' efforts.