Pre-conference workshops are full-day workshops that will take place on Thursday 5 October 2023.
These sessions are designed to enhance your conference experience and help you gain professional and leadership skills.
Pre-conference workshop 1 (SOLD OUT) – Developing student agency and transforming classrooms through Universal Design for Learning
Presenter: Dianne Blackburn
This workshop provides educators across all educational contexts with an introduction to the guiding principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The workshop will explore how simple adjustments can be applied to areas such as the goal, methods, material and assessment, resulting in increased student agency and improved outcomes. Utilizing approaches to teaching, educators will have the opportunity to develop strategies that can be transferred to all educational contexts, creating bespoke resources and artefacts. Practical examples will be shared, including unit planners, programme development plans and a cross-programme resource bank.
Pre-conference workshop 2 – How does evidence-based reflection enhance intentional programme development?
Presenters: Katrin Fox, John Sauer, Terri Walker, Pascal Ashkar
This workshop will explore how programme development planning can maximize student learning through its focus on action research. Pedagogical leaders will have the opportunity to reflect on the different stages of programme development planning and consider the importance of collection and analysis of evidence in each of them. Join the IB World Schools team in an interactive workshop which will aim to identify, together with the participants, the key success factors for a programme development plan, laying special emphasis on both defining the area of focus and involving the school community in a collaborative development process.
Pre-conference workshop 3 – How can evidence-based reflection support purposeful programme development? (Delivered in French)
Presenters: Remy Lamon, Proserpina Dhlamini-Fisher
In this workshop, we will explore how planning programme development can optimize student learning by focusing on action research. Educational leaders taking part in the workshop will reflect on the different steps involved in planning programme development and examine how important evidence collection and analysis are in each step. Join the team of IBWS managers for this interactive workshop to learn, alongside our support staff, what the key factors are in a successful programme development plan. In the workshop, we will look at focus points and consider how to involve the school community in a collaborative development process.
Pre-conference workshop 4 – How can evidence-based reflection support purposeful programme development? (Delivered in Spanish)
Presenter: Guillermo Duff, Antonio Muñoz
En el taller se explorará cómo puede la planificación del desarrollo de los programas optimizar el aprendizaje del alumnado mediante el énfasis que propone en la investigación-acción. Los/as líderes pedagógicos que participen en el taller tendrán la oportunidad de reflexionar sobre las distintas etapas de la planificación del desarrollo de los programas, y de examinar la importancia de obtener y analizar pruebas en cada una de dichas etapas. Súmese al equipo de responsables de Colegios del Mundo del IB y participe en este taller interactivo donde buscaremos, conjuntamente con los/as asistentes, los factores clave para el éxito de un plan de desarrollo de los programas, haciendo hincapié en el área de atención del plan y en la participación de la comunidad escolar en un proceso colaborativo de desarrollo.
Pre-conference workshop 5 – Impact everyone’s learning through the alignment between IB PSPs 2020 and NEASC ACE Learning Principles
Presenter: Darlene Fisher
This session will explore the alignment between the IB programme standards and practices (PSPs) 2020 and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) ACE Learning Principles (LPs). The ACE protocols and the IB programmes share a growth mindset and a focus on exploring evidence of impact on learning. The new Collaborative Learning Protocol created out of this alignment enables schools to achieve NEASC Accreditation along with IB re-evaluation through one set of conversations, one report and one team visit. The workshop will have three parts. Firstly, an introduction to the theory and practice of alignment between the two organizations’ concepts. Secondly, an exploration of a programme development plan (PDP) embedded in an LP. Finally, participants will engage with a PDP focus area of their choice aligned with an LP and explore in depth what impacts they could seek in their schools.
Pre-conference workshop 6 (SOLD OUT) – Revolutionize your learning: Creating a dynamic appraisal system for a community of lifelong learners
Presenters: Liam Browne and Christian Hoffmann
This workshop will explore the potential of approaches to learning as an appraisal framework. The approaches to learning are designed to improve learning and performance irrespective of the level of learners so that the framework can be employed for feedback and reflection for students, teachers, leaders and governors alike. The workshop will provide an overview of current appraisal models and evaluate their potential and challenges. It will outline the design of an appraisal system that aligns IB philosophy with school values. The workshop will present this model, discuss its potential and encourage participants to explore its power within their own school contexts.
Pre-conference workshop 7: Systems leadership and radical imagination: Education for just futures
Presenters: Marija Uzunova Dang and Naheed Bardai
The challenges confronting the world grow in complexity daily. The political spaces where they could be solved are increasingly polarised, and our timeline for turning things around is tightening. As multiple global crises unfold and collide, students are calling out for an education that affirms the possibility of a more just, equitable and regenerative world. What are we as leaders of IB schools doing to give students the kind of education they want, need and deserve? Join us in this important workshop to think about systems leadership, systems transformation, radical imagination and education for just futures.
