General Interest, Block 2: Friday 2:15 to 3:30

Open Forum with International Baccalaureate Leadership

Room: Superior B

presented by Monique Seefried, President , IB Council of Foundation
Jeffrey R. Beard, Director General, International Baccalaureate
Delia Pompa, President, IB North America Board of Directors
Bradley Richardson, Regional Director, International Baccalaureate

If you have ever had a question that you wanted to take straight to the top, this session is for you. The senior leadership of the International Baccalaureate will field all questions, on all topics or issues. This is a wonderful opportunity to share both your concerns and your best ideas with leaders of the IB community.

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Introducing Archaeology & Anthropology: The Example of Southern African Rock Art

Room: Ontario

presented by Peter Mitchell, Professor of African Archaeology/Tutor and Fellow in Archaeology, University of Oxford St Hugh's College

This session introduces the St Hugh's College Oxford North American Summer School through the medium of my own subject, Archaeology & Anthropology. A focus on the rock paintings and rock engravings left by Southern Africa's precolonial hunter-gatherers illustrates the diversity of topics covered by the School, which are taught by College faculty members. This emphasis also shows how recent ethnographic fieldwork, the analysis of historical data and contemporary archaeological research can work together to decode the meanings behind otherwise mysterious images, thereby demonstrating something of the complexity and sophistication of Bushman religious beliefs and practices.

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The Life of an Examination Script

Room: Arkansas

presented by Jacqueline Harris, Head of Diploma Assessment, International Baccalaureate

This presentation will describe the life of an examination script—from writing the examination paper to issuing candidate grades. There will be a particular emphasis on the role of the examiners and how the IB supports and trains examiners using virtual learning environments. The development of our new online recruitment process will be reviewed, and the questions of how you become an examiner as well as what is new in Diploma Programme assessment will also be addressed.

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Tackling District Reform: The Chicago Story

Room: Michigan A&B

presented by Arne Duncan, Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Public Schools

Since 2001, Arne Duncan has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Public Schools, which serves over 437,000 students. During his tenure, CPS has often been cited as a national model for comprehensive reform of a large urban schools district. The district's ambitious agenda centers around multiple initiatives—increasing pre-school options, national board certification of teachers, opening 100 new schools with new options for students, focusing on world languages—to name a few. The IB also plays a part, and CPS now has more IB schools that any other school district in the world. In this session, Duncan will critically evaluate the progress to date, reflect on the successes, and speak to the challenge that still remains.

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