The IB program has a wide range of teachers that are specialists in their fields. These teachers take on a methodology and approach to teaching that has no match, evident in how the students understand the class as a whole. In this article, I’ll be going over some aspects that differentiate IB teachers from regular teachers. This includes interviews with my Business and Management, Physics and Math teachers as well as classmates that have experienced IB before and those who haven’t.
How IB teachers use unique strategies to help their students comprehend topics more clearly
IB teachers make use of various strategies that help students better comprehend the topics they were taught. This, of course, takes various forms depending on the teacher such as using extra material that they feel will be helpful to their students’ understanding.
As an example, my Business and Management teacher presents clear examples that we can see in our everyday lives and brings various guest speakers that specialize in the respective topic that we are seeing at the moment. He decided to teach his classes by: “Showing them examples (mine and those by guest speakers), videos that show external points of views (all valid), group discussions and all these being leveraged with IB Content.”. Having this balance has allowed for the class dynamic to be more interactive and explicitly show students how the concepts we are working on can be applied to the everyday workplace. My classmate Alex added: “He teaches the syllabus in a way that is easier for us to understand in a subject with so much information such as Business.”
Another thing that sets this teacher apart was this statement: “Business & Management is a course that needs deep understanding from the external environment, IB Curriculum offers a view, but decision making requires this external experience.” This truly shows how an IB teacher is able to look past the curriculum and find expansive ways to bring the topics to the classroom in meaningful and interesting ways. As another classmate said: “In this case, the teacher sticks to the syllabus with his own style. This method helps [teaching] to go fast and deeply at the same time, which speeds up the learning process.”
The next example is my physics teacher, who said “As we do not depend on other curricula, I can focus entirely on the IB curriculum”. One of the things that has been recognized of her teaching style is her patience and ability to balance the curriculum clearly so students can follow the course at a high pace and still acquire the same knowledge. As a classmate said, “[She] follows her syllabus correctly and makes sure that before adding new themes or jumping into a new topic, all the group has understood the previous one.”
A characteristic IB teachers share is the ability to lead a group at a defined pace while keeping everyone on the same page. My classmate Santiago said:“I’ve noticed that she plans out classes in a structure that allows all of the topics to be covered properly with their due time”. Even though classes such as Physics demand a great amount of attention and engagement, my teacher has created a pace that avoids students from falling back. She also mentioned: “I need to spend more time on the mathematical tools and inquiry skills that the IB expects…”, which demonstrates the commitment that is given to the leveling of students so that they can go at the same rhythm. This is done using simulators, various examples and continuous evaluation of exercises of the topic at hand.
Lastly, there is my mathematics teacher, who explains that, “For IB Math, there are several ways to approach the curriculum: by area, modules, or related topics. However, I think that it is more useful for the students to build the basis first and then approach the difficult topics, rather than jumping between them.” He has specially built a class dynamic where students can approach the topics of varying difficulties while taking into account their individual aptitudes. By doing this, he has determined a clear pathway that has allowed for a lot of us to clearly understand the topics given. My classmate Santiago said: “[He] has covered all the necessary topics in a really effective way. He also focuses on giving the Higher Level students the extra tools they will need for their evaluations”.
How IB teachers make individual connections with their students
IB diploma teachers spend the entire program with the same students, so connections are bound to be made. Once this occurs, teachers can fine tune individual assessment to emphasize individual strengths and weaknesses while keeping an unmatched level of empathy.
Regarding this topic, my business teacher said, “It is important in Business & Management to generate a proper networking and a positive connection, that allows [students] to feel confident when they want to seek advice (personal and professional).” From what I’ve experienced during my time as his student, his teaching approach is more energetic and outgoing than most which allows for his students to feel closer to him. “[He] is always enthusiastic in his class. He encourages students to participate and ask questions so we have a better understanding of the topics.” Santiago mentioned. Alex stated, “The teacher has a personal proximity to each person and keeps the feedback very personal according to the needs of each student. This helps us to approach the teacher more frequently to clear any doubts or improve continuous assessments.” Evidently, the approach that he has taken has allowed for trust and support that hasn’t been as easy to come by from other teachers outside the DP to develop. “Since 2016, I’ve been in contact with my students. They can see in me more than a teacher, a person that will support them as much as I can!”
My physics teacher, on the other hand, has taken a different approach that has allowed for a more analytic viewpoint on how students are doing in her class “Having them for more than one term has helped me to identify if anyone is having a problem be it with a change in attitude or grades”. We, as her students, have definitely appreciated this watchfulness. “She is always attentive to our doubts in the classroom, so we perform better in her class.” said one of my classmates. An important thing to note is that this teacher uses a long-term plan for evaluation. and letting students understand how they can improve. It is built on highlighting points of improvements and methods by which students can learn from their mistakes. “In IA and labs, I give more feedback in the first terms, I penalized less and make more comments. Later on, I penalized what I commented in previous feedback.”
Finally, my mathematics teacher said: “For me, the most important profile of a student is to be inquirers and thinkers which translate in students that review the classes, and look for further methods/theories related, in such a way to be able to come to more creative (and in some times) faster solutions”. This comes from having dedicated an important amount of time towards improving in the subject, which is something that this teacher has been encouraging through personalized advisories and comments. One classmate said: “[He] offers his support in twice a week advisories, where he personally tackles any doubts we might have and helps with our homework”. He also takes a more personal approach when it comes to his students, so that they can get the best out of the class, something that my classmates and I have been able to appreciate.
How do IBDP teachers differ from other teachers?
To sum up what makes IBDP teachers different from others, I asked my classmates how they have felt it throughout their experience in the DP and how it would compared to their background.
- “In comparison to my previous school, the topics are taught with greater thoroughness and at a higher pace.”
- “They impulse their students to go for the extra mile.”
- In his previous school that handled the IB, “The topics were taught very slowly and kept the majority of the class late with most of the syllabus. There was not the sufficient intimacy to ask questions with confidence. Now, it is the complete opposite for better.”
- “They understand what it means to be a DP student, and push us to be even better than the previous [time] period.”
- “Before the DP, our previous mathematics teacher was a bit fast when teaching and did not explain topics as detailed as our DP teacher. He covers his extremely difficult topics in a way most can understand”
- “They develop what it means to give a class and help their students.”
Conclusions
In conclusion, IB DP teachers seek to understand their students better by taking time to address doubts while giving uplifting support. Through these processes, they are able to adapt the classes to the students’ individual pace, personal struggles and interest in the topic at hand. Having a teacher that really gives that much attention and care to their students learning is what makes IB teachers different from regular ones.
Shoutout to my amazing teachers who helped me make this article!
Business: Luis Guerrero
Physics: Ahylim Zamayoa
Mathematics: Saul Rodríguez
And also thank you to my classmates for their support!
Santiago
Alex
Aitana