What is the IB?

Our school, Agora Lledó International School, offers students the possibility of taking the IB, that is, the International Baccalaureate® (IB), a model for the future that helps students develop key competencies to achieve academic success, but also professional and personal success in an international context.

What is IB?

First of all, we must explain what the IB is all about: when we talk about the IB, we are talking about the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (DP), that is, a pre-university course aimed at students between 16 and 19 years of age in which they are required to learn at least one additional language (currently the IB® educational programs are offered in English, French and Spanish). It is a highly demanding educational program, both for students and teachers. Its pedagogy is recognized by the most prestigious universities in the world, it provides students with a curriculum universally accepted by higher education institutions, and some studies indicate that IB students go on to university and higher education at a higher rate than students who do not take the program.

We seek to teach students to think independently and encourage them to be the drivers of their own learning. “Thinking critically promotes motivation and curiosity to learn, as it makes the child the main actor in his or her learning and not just a mere recipient of information. In addition, it favors academic performance as it also prepares for the acquisition of mathematical and literacy skills and facilitates the understanding of the scientific method,” explains Aroa Caminero Ruiz, a Clinical Psychologist at the Autonomous University of Madrid with a certificate as a General Psychologist.

Being part of the IB World requires being an investigative, reflective, active and creative center that seeks to constantly improve, characteristics that perfectly define the educational spirit of our school. In fact, our school was the first in Castellón authorized to teach the Diploma Programme (DP) of the International Baccalaureate® (IB) and now we are once again pioneers in the province as the only school applying for the Primary Years Programme (PYP).

Advantages of the IB over the traditional baccalaureate

“The IB model is superior to other learning systems because it focuses on students and gets them to develop both academically and personally. It allows students to gain an international mindset and develop their capabilities to the maximum and prepare for the university world with more depth and maturity,” argues the Headmaster of Agora Lledó International School, Luis Madrid.

Studying the IB allows students to achieve success anywhere in the world and students can pursue their goals in an international context. It also enables them to communicate more and better with people from different cultures and countries, overcoming the language barrier.

The IB offers students a great cultural richness, teaching them to appreciate their own culture, but also to respect and be tolerant of other cultures. “We know that it is essential to learn and practice tolerance from the time we are very young, as this skill will bring us many advantages and will improve our emotional well-being and relationships with others,” says Dafne Cataluña, a psychologist at the European Institute of Positive Psychology

Dynamics of IB classes and how the program impacts student learning

IB classes seek to encourage the practical part and make students reflect: “Learning sessions in the different IB subjects are developed in a practical way within meaningful contexts related to real situations. A fundamental aspect of the IB programs is to try to get students to reflect on how to learn better. Through the IB programs, students ‘learn to learn,'” explains Luis Madrid.

Students develop critical thinking, learn to ask questions, reflect and conduct their own learning are key objectives of the IB, which “rather than giving univocal answers in a unidirectional way, stimulates students to ask complex and interesting questions in a way that gets them to think critically with superior reasoning skills,” argues Madrid.

Benefits of the IB for future employment

The IB provides students with a more open, tolerant, multicultural, reflective and creative mindset, as it fosters an eagerness to investigate and a spirit of discovery, all of which are useful qualities for the job market. However, these are not the only benefits the IB offers students: “By studying in the IB, students manifest essential conditions for university and work success as students develop higher-level research and critical thinking skills. Students also develop presentation and communication skills and perfect their self-organization, commitment and time management skills” concludes the Headmaster of Agora Lledó International School.

Let’s conclude with a phrase from telecommunications engineer, academy teacher and ‘youtuber’, nominated among the ten finalists for the Global Teacher Prize in 2017, David Calle, which invites us to reflect on the education of students: “The sooner they start fighting for themselves the better, because life, after all, is about overcoming obstacles” and our goal is to offer them the help and resources necessary to carry out that fight.