International Baccalaureate Five Year Evaluation Visit Key Findings

In October, ISI hosted a virtual International Baccalaureate (IB) Evaluation Visit. Every five years, a visiting team of educators evaluates each of our International Baccalaureate programmes: the Primary Years Programme, the Middle Years Programme, and the Diploma Programme. The visiting educators spoke with ISI Leadership, teachers, students, and parents regarding the IB education experience at ISI. 

Key findings from the visit will be used to guide ISI Leadership in recognizing both strengths and areas to focus on for further development within our institution. After hearing feedback from the evaluators, we are excited to share the key findings with our community.

Overall (Whole School)

Areas of strength

• There is a shared understanding by the entire school community of the IB philosophy and ISI has taken advantage of a variety of opportunities to participate in the IB world community.
• ISI has developed a strong culture of open communication based upon understanding and respect.
• ISI values and supports student language learning through supporting the development of students’ mother tongues and the acquisition of other languages.
• IB programmes at ISI are committed to regular and sustained student actions that have an impact on the community beyond the school walls.
• The school utilizes extensive resources including but not limited to guest speakers, field trips, study abroad trips, and service learning projects to enhance learning.

Middle Years (MYP) and Diploma (DP) Programmes

Main areas of strength

• ISI has promoted the MYP personal project so that its central importance is evident to all groups in the school community.
• The Upper School encourages and supports collaborative planning and reflection which facilitates interdisciplinary learning and teaching.
• Dedicated regular time is provided for teacher collaborative planning to articulate the curriculum and approaches to learning skills.
• The written curriculum in the MYP develops conceptual understandings within and across subject groups.
• Teachers in the Upper School ensure relevant and engaging learning experiences are incorporated into their curriculum.
• Students in the Upper School are provided opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of the curriculum in a variety of ways
• The Upper School provides a multitude of opportunities to celebrate and reflect on multiple perspectives, diversity which promotes open and international mindedness
• ISI places a very high priority on being able to guide/advise students on post-secondary choices from an early stage in the Upper School.
• ISI encourages students to complete the full IB Diploma but also makes accommodations for students to graduate from the school without a full IB Diploma through implementing an inclusive programme with policies and practices that effectively support students with special needs.

Main areas for further development

• The Upper School academic integrity policy should be revised to also incorporate parent responsibilities for supporting students to uphold the policy.
• Teachers should review and discuss assessment data more regularly to inform instruction.
• Develop a professional development plan to further support instruction in the diploma.
• Incorporate the IB learner profile into subject classes.
• Establishing a greater role for the library in contributing significantly to supporting approaches to learning, the Personal Project, and the Extended Essay.
• Teachers in the Diploma Programme should further reflect on their own practices to ensure that teaching and learning consistently integrates Theory of Knowledge in their subject courses.

Primary Years Programme (PYP)

Main areas of strength

• The Lower School creates an inclusive environment where all students feel that they belong in the programme.
• The Lower School creates a shared understanding that personal and social education is the responsibility of the entire school community.
• Teachers provide opportunities for students to reflect on and show compassion to human commonality, diversity, and perspectives.
• The school demonstrates a commitment to transdisciplinary learning - all units of inquiry incorporate opportunities for transdisciplinary learning.
• The Lower School ensures that all teachers adapt learning experiences to support the language development of students.
• The pedagogical leadership team and teachers have created a structured systematic process for collaborative planning and reflection.

Main areas for further development

• The pedagogical leadership team develops a schedule to include more opportunities for specialist teachers to collaborate with grade-level teachers and possibly lead a unit of inquiry.   
• Establishing a greater role for the library in contributing significantly to supporting Approaches to Learning and Exhibition.
• The pedagogical team provides a translation of the planner descriptors to support teacher access (for non-English speakers)
• The Lower School should ensure that all relevant learning experiences are included in and documented in the written unit plans.
• The Lower School should further work on planning meeting agendas to ensure that vertical and horizontal articulation is addressed.
• The written curriculum should be reviewed to enhance the references to the development of the IB learner profile.