IB Asia Pacific Professional Development:
Unpacking the Standards and Practices
Regarding Professional Development
This article is intended to illustrate the ways in which schools may fulfil IB programme standards and practices regarding professional development. For the purposes of this document, IB Asia Pacific professional development activities fall into two basic categories: IB-approved PD activities and IB-related PD activities.
- IB-approved professional development activities are the official IB workshops (in-school, regional, and online) and events which are developed, organised and delivered through the IB. These activities are coordinated through the IB and are recognized for authorization and evaluation purposes.
- IB-related professional development activities are those activities that support and/or promote further understanding of the IB programmes. These activities are not coordinated by the IB. They are supplementary to the programme-specific professional development required for IB authorization and evaluation purposes. These activities are developed, organised and delivered by parties beyond the scope and supervision of the IB Asia Pacific Regional Office. They should supplement rather than replicate IB-approved activities in any way. Although they are not officially recognized, these activities are encouraged and acknowledged in the IB authorization and evaluation processes.
Important note: As a non-profit foundation, the use of IB intellectual property beyond the scope of IB-approved events must be not be for profit. The organization reserves the right to take action against any parties using IB intellectual property and copyright material for commercial gain. For more information on rules and policy for use of IB intellectual property please refer to http://www.ibo.org/copyright/intellectualproperty.cfm.
Standard_A1: There is close alignment between the educational beliefs and values of the school and those of the programme.
Practice 5: The school is committed to continuous improvement.
A school’s commitment to continuous improvement can be demonstrated in many ways. In regard to professional development, it involves schools participating in a wide range of external, internal, formal and informal PD activities. These activities should demonstrate a commitment to the school’s professional development strategic plan.
Each school should establish a professional development strategic plan that clearly outlines the school’s policies, procedures and priorities for professional development.
Standard A2: The school promotes international-mindedness on the part of the adults and the students in the school community.
Practice 12: The school takes advantage of the international network of IB schools teaching the same programme through e-mail or personal exchanges and attendance at conferences and workshops.
Candidate and authorized IB World Schools are part of an international network of IB schools. These networks can be a source of support and promote further understanding of the IB programmes. You are encouraged to establish contact with IB schools in your city, country, region, and beyond to share with and learn from practitioners beyond your immediate school community. Engaging with practitioners from different cultural and pedagogical perspectives is essential to broadening professional development.
Attendance at IB-approved conferences and workshops is a fundamental means of networking. Ongoing networking may include other activities such as:
- Professional exchanges with schools in your city, country, region, and beyond
- Establishing and maintaining communications with fellow coordinators, principals, heads and workshop participants
- Participating in local IB programme network events (for more information see “The Role of IB Networks”)
- Participating in local IB regional association events (for more information see “The Role of IB Associations”)
- Participating in On-line Curriculum Centre (OCC) forum discussions
To find out if there is a programme-specific IB Network already established in your part of the region, please contact the regional office: IBAP PYP at ibappyp@ibo.org, IBAP MYP at ibapmyp@ibo.org and IBAP DP at ibapdp@ibo.org.
Standard B1: The school demonstrates ongoing commitment to, and provides support for, the programme through appropriate administrative structures and systems, staffing and resources.
Practice 1: The governing body is explicitly supportive of the programme, and has allocated sufficient funding for the effective implementation and ongoing development of the programme.
Budgeting for professional development is an integral part of every school’s strategic planning. Obviously, the training requirements for effective implementation and ongoing development of IB programmes have a significant impact upon the annual school budget. Schools need to allocate sufficient funds and time to fulfil:
- training requirements necessary for authorization and evaluation purposes
- training requirements for ongoing programme development
- potential training requirements that could result from staff turnover (For more on this topic see Practice 14 below)
For more details about programme specific training requirements and recommended activities for induction, implementation and ongoing programme development, see Practice 15 below.
Practice 8: The head of school/the school principal and programme coordinator have a good understanding of the principles of the programme and demonstrate pedagogical leadership.
In order to lead an IB world school, heads, principals and coordinators must have a sound understanding of the principles of the IB programme(s) offered at the school. School leaders are expected to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to developing their own understandings of the programmes offered at the school, through participation in relevant professional development activities.
Practice 13: Time for collaborative planning and reflection is built into all teachers’ schedules.
Each programme requires teachers to plan and reflect together, so collaborative planning activities are required for professional development. The most effective opportunities are established through creative scheduling and teacher timetabling. However, scheduling such opportunities can be a challenge depending upon the programme and the size of the school community.
Further strategies that can be implemented to schedule time for teachers to collaborate and reflect may include:
- early release days for staff collaboration
- late start days for staff collaboration
- student free days for staff collaboration
Practice 14: The school has systems in place to ensure the continuity of the programme; this includes an induction system for new staff and ongoing staff professional development.
Each school must have a system in place to ensure the continuity of the programme, which includes:
- An induction programme for new staff to develop an understanding of the IB programme within the context of the school’s curriculum, practices, culture and environment. At the beginning of the school year during the orientation period and throughout the year as required, teachers new to the programme need to be introduced to the curriculum framework of the IB programme. The programme coordinator is responsible for ensuring that induction occurs.
- Ongoing in-school activities that explicitly link IB programme philosophy to school practices. These could include:
- in-school professional development sessions
- teacher mentoring
- sharing of practices across the school
- classroom visits and observation
- Ongoing external activities that go beyond the requisite training for school authorization and evaluation. To ensure programme continuity and development in a school, the IB requires evidence of a commitment to ongoing training after authorization and evaluation. This may take the form of:
- a commitment to continued IB-approved training
- staff participation in IB-approved events such as:
- IB Regional Conferences
- IB Teachers’ Conventions
- staff participation in IB-related professional development activities
Important note: Many schools have IB-trained workshop leaders and assistant examiners on their teaching staff who can be a valuable resource in a school’s PD strategic plan. Active IB-trained workshop leaders and assistant examiners who are up-to-date with the latest programme developments can make valuable contributions through:
- assistance in programme induction
- mentoring staff in need of programme-specific and subject-specific support
- provision of informal in-school professional development sessions
Schools that choose to use their own staff in this manner should refer to the workshop leader terms and conditions and examiner terms and conditions to ensure that they are used appropriately.
Practice 15: The school provides professional development opportunities for the head/principal, programme coordinator and teaching staff, including attendance at appropriate IB conferences, meetings and/or workshops, and access to the online curriculum centre (OCC).
Official guides for each of the IB programmes specify their respective IB training requirements. All three programmes require that programme coordinators attend an IB-approved workshop prior to assuming the role. Further requirements are indicated below:
- For PYP: “All teachers, including the PYP coordinator, must undertake IBO-approved training, and the primary school principal must receive introductory training.” (Primary Years Programme Guide to school application, PAGE 2)
- For MYP: “At least one teacher per subject group and the MYP coordinator are required to undertake IBO-approved training, and the head(s) of section(s) must receive introductory training.” (Middle Years Programme Guide to school application, PAGE 2)
- For DP: “It is expected that all teachers undertake training at IBO-approved workshops prior to beginning teaching.” (Diploma Programme Guide to school application, PAGE 19)
Schools must keep an accurate record of their staff professional development activities. As part of each programme’s authorization and evaluation process, schools are required to submit a summary of their history of IB-approved training.
For professional development strategic planning, schools should consider the full range of IB-approved and IB-related professional development opportunities available to them:
IB-approved professional development opportunities
- For a schedule of regional IB workshops, conferences and conventions, schools should refer to the IB Asia Pacific Events Calendar available at http://www.ibo.org/ibap/workshops/.
- Workshops: There are a range of regional workshops and on-line workshops for each of the programmes. For descriptors of workshop topics, levels and criteria for attendance see http://www.ibo.org/ibap/workshops/.
- Category 1 workshops provide an introduction of IB to educators new to the programme and prepare educators to successfully implement the IB programme. Participants are not expected to have any background knowledge of the IB subjects and programmes.
- Category 2 workshops enhance the understanding of the IB philosophy and programme model, and improve the quality of programme delivery. Participants are expected to have background knowledge of the IB subjects and programmes.
- Category 3 workshops provide a forum for exploring educational ideas and areas of interest, as well as opportunities for investigation into specific areas of expertise. Participants are expected to have background knowledge of the IB subjects and programmes.
- Regional Conferences: The IB Asia Pacific Regional Conference is an annual event that focuses upon a particular theme and caters specifically to IB programme coordinators, division principals and heads of schools.
- For a schedule of global IB workshops available across the regions as well as on-line professional development, schools should refer to: http://www.ibo.org/events/workshopsetc.cfm.
- For long term strategic planning, schools may also refer to the IB Asia Pacific Regional Workshop Planner to find out where workshops are likely to be offered in the years to come.
- Schools may also request in-school workshops to meet their particular needs. Specific guidelines and conditions exist regarding the provision of in-school workshops; for more information, schools should refer to the programme-specific in-school workshop policies.
- The IB teacher award scheme is offered at an increasing number of universities worldwide [see http://www.ibo.org/programmes/pd/award/ ]. It is offered at two levels. Level one aims to formally recognize teachers’ knowledge and understanding of curricula, pedagogical and assessment issues involved in implementing and teaching IB programmes. Level 2 acknowledges the commitment of teachers who have further developed their understanding of the principles and practices of IB programmes by completing a higher level of academic study. It includes systematic and rigorous inquiry into international education with reference to one or more IB programme.
- IB-related professional development activities include:
- Exchanges with and visits to other IB schools
- IB Programme Network Events (for more information see “The Role of IB Networks”)
- IB Regional Association Events (for more information see “The Role of IB Associations”)
- Use of the On-line Curriculum Centre for:
- programme-specific resources
- participation in programme-specific forum discussions
- access to on-line advisors
* Important note: Participation in supportive IB-related professional development activities offered through the OCC, regional IB Programme Networks and IB Regional Associations is not recognised as a substitute for required IB-approved workshops; however such activities are encouraged and acknowledged by the IB Asia Pacific Regional office (see Standard A2, Practice 12 above). Schools are invited to record the full range of IB-related and non-IB training activities in a Supplementary PD Record, to be acknowledged in the authorization and evaluation process.
If for any reason a school has difficulties in fulfilling the programme-specific training requirements indicated above prior to authorization or evaluation, they should contact the regional office for guidance.
IB Professional Development
- Unpacking the Standards and Practices
- Role of IB Networks
- Role of IB Associations
- Associations Criteria for Recognition
- Guidelines for Providers
- In-School Workshops
- Recognition of externally provided development
- Rules and Policy for use of IB Intellectual Property
- Supplementary PD record
- Examiner Terms and Conditions
- Workshop Leader Terms and Conditions
- Workshop Planner
