International Baccalaureate and Freedom - Essay Example

? Does the International Baccalaureate offer greater freedom/ opportunity to develop creative/ critical skills? A Discussion Paper Course Title Name of Professor Date of Submission Introduction Even though the International Baccalaureate (IB) agenda does not lay down a specific programme for critical thinking and creativity, which is an exclusive arena for the educator, they do created objectives which are quite useful and instructive. The objectives of the (IB) programme that relate to the development of creative and critical skills are as follows (Chalmers 1989, 34): (1) to provide students with the opportunities to develop the aesthetic, imaginative and creative faculties; and (2) to encourage the pursuit of quality, through training, individual experiment and persistent endeavour. The social and educational programme of the IB is summed up in the two abovementioned objectives. Pedagogical and practical goals are clear in the IB’s common phrases such as ‘informed participants in local and world affairs’, ‘lifelong learners’, and ‘critical thinkers’ (Chalmers 1989). However, the actual objective of the IB has not been attained until learners become creative and critical thinkers. As stated by the mission statement of IB (Phillips & Pound 2003, 47): Through comprehensive and balanced curricula coupled with challenging assessments, the International Baccalaureate Organisation aims to assist schools in their endeavours to develop the individual talents of young people and teach them to relate the experience of the classroom to the realities of the world outside. Beyond intellectual rigour and high academic standards, strong emphasis is placed on the ideals of international understanding and responsible citizenship, to the end that IB students may become critical and compassionate thinkers, lifelong learners and informed participants in local and world affairs, conscious of the shared humanity that binds all people together while respecting the variety of cultures and attitudes that makes for the richness of life. The attainment of these above stated goals will be determined only by the learners’ lifelong performance in the outside world, that is after they finish and leave school. IB is motivated by ideology; it boldly aspires to cultivate particular thoughts and actions. According to Mattern (1991 as cited in Phillip & Pound 2003, 67), “A sense of values is needed to inform [the students’] studies and their life purposes as well. Without it, they may be clever, knowledgeable, even wondrously creative, but they will never become citizens of the world nor give it their gifts as should those who have known a true international education.” IB has accepted this challenge. Relevance of the Topic The International Baccalaureate programme has been criticised by some scholars, such as Bailey and Karp (2003), for relying greatly on the judgments and views of students or parents about the advantages of programme involvement. Nevertheless, of the investigations that have connected IB curriculum participation to results aside from academic performance, IB programme involvement seems to be advantageous. Amuedo-Dorantes and colleagues (2004), for example, discovered a substantial negative relationship between cigarette use and IB programme participation. Nevertheless, the connections between substance abuse and IB programme participation did not show significance statistically. Therefore, it is important to further explore the influence IB programme involvement may have on learners, specifically on teaching methods and learning approaches that promote the development of critical thinking and creative skills. One of the believed advantages of the IB curriculum is that exceptional and talented students have the chance to learn and work well with other learners, who have the same motivations and capabilities, giving exceptional and talented students the chance to feel recognised and to foster encouraging sense of self that develop from building and maintaining social relationships (Gatt 2003). Gross (1989) has reported that when exceptional learners are not grouped with other gifted students, they encounter a weakening of self-worth and a growing unfavourable self-concept. Through creative activities and academic tasks, the IB curriculum tries to cultivate in its learners better critical thinking and creative skills. Yet, there is still dispute about the actual benefit of the IB curriculum, making the relevance of this study more justifiable. A number of scholars have recommended the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP), a pre-university programme for students, for gifted secondary learners, whereas others have focused on the curriculum’s comprehensiveness to the detriment of depth, specifically in the sciences and mathematics (Pound 2006). Unreliable findings firmly indicate that learners join the IB DP with great confidence. They expect to sustain their high academic achievement, and they expect to be well equipped for university studies (Pound 2005). This paper hence attempts to verify whether the IB programme offers greater freedom or opportunity to develop students’ creative and critical skills. Overview of the International Baccalaureate Programme The IB programme is a curriculum of international education based on a group of ideals related with harmonious global cooperation and focus on sustainable development, which may be identified as reaching equilibrium between a just allocation and distribution of resources, conservation of the environment, and economic progress (Phillip & Pound 2003). Its main emphasis is on an international social policy. This distinguishes it from national education institutions. Nevertheless, it does not disregard the significance of the country and its cultural norms as suggested in the below statement by Peel (1988 as cited in Phillip & Pound 2003, 66): The honesty of the IB stems from the fact that we require all students to relate first to their own national identity-their own language, literature, history and cultural heritage, no matter where in the world this may be. Beyond that we ask that they identify with the corresponding traditions of others. It is not expected that they adopt alien points of view, merely which they are exposed to them and encouraged to respond intelligently. Nowadays, more national institutions are attempting to incorporate a global domain into their curricula and there is a great deal of high-quality, outstanding material being generated, for instance, by the British Department for Education and Employment (Milgram, Dunn & Price 1993). However, the prevailing direction of a nation’s education institution is countrywide, and it would be astonishing if it were not. With regard to pedagogy, the IB programme puts emphasis on the enhancement of initiative and creativity, critical thinking skills, lifelong learning, and working cooperatively (Pound 2006). Howard Gardner (1999) adds the programme in his record of schools that are effective in helping learners look for facts, understand, and motivating them to become involved in the protection and conservation of the environment. For any specific nation the appeal of IB does not emanate from the fact that it allows learners to talk about global issues, to interpret world literature, to become proficient in other languages, because these have turned out to be more and more feasible in large numbers of national institutions. As a globally developed and globally studied programme, not embodying any single national institution, it gives strong global experience and is motivated by pedagogical rights and privileges relating to international social policy. It offers intergovernmental bodies and national institutions an excellent opportunity to gain from and strengthen evaluation system and a global curriculum (Blandford & Shaw 2001). Several such initiatives have been implemented or are being implemented all over the world. Critical Reflection on Theories Numerous programmes have been embarked on to involve learners in global education, only a handful of which is examined thus far. But this discussion will focus on the IB programme. The major argument here is that the IB programme has often been connected to the constructivist approach. Doolittle and colleagues (2001) argued that there are three forms of constructivism, namely, (1) cognitive, (2) social, and (3) radical, each with distinct ontological and epistemological theories. Regarding this classification, the IB programme is most frequently expressed as social constructivism, in which the learner has no way of finding out the truth completely, but can gain knowledge of socially created symbols through the perspectives of environment, culture, and language. Majority of international educators supports classroom transformation from conventional, memory-oriented education to multidisciplinary, constructive pedagogy. Academics claim this pedagogical transition is required to equip learner abilities and talents for an ever more globalised, interconnected world. In this form of international education, “learning is self-motivated and directed; focuses on aesthetic, moral, emotional, physical and spiritual needs of the learner as well as cognitive attainment; knowledge building entails a dynamic interaction between teachers, learners and multiple sources of information” (Gaudelli 2003, 11). Constructivist education is perfectly appropriate with the wider ideals and standards of international education, as the arena has and persists to be about change. Hanvey (1976) argued that in order for learners to function successfully in the emerging global village, a redirection of paradigm was needed. This direction involves, apparently, critical thinking skills and creativity. This is shown in the following five dimensions: (1) understanding that the perspective of an individual is not shared globally and that other people have perspectives that are deeply unique from one’s own; (2) understanding other people’s actions, behaviours, and outlooks from their own point of view; (3) relating to the diversity of traditions and knowledge found across the globe; (4) articulating the idea that the world is truly an interrelated whole; and (5) understanding that problems face societies and people that they have the ability to do something about (Hanvey 1976). Anderson’s and Anderson’s (1979) imaginary depiction of international education is an excellent example of how the IB programme cultivates critical thinking skills and creativity in learners: I took the opportunity to wander the school plant. I was particularly attracted to the photographic display along one of the hallways. The wall was lined with photos showing human faces, some revealing happiness and joy and others grief and sadness. The display... was entitled ‘The Language of Smiles and Tears’ and had been created by a student photography club. Later, I met Nobu and we proceeded to her world literature course. On this particular day, they were ending the section of the course that dealt with birth. One of the students had written a short essay dealing with similarities and differences in attitudes toward the birth of children revealed in the literature of the students had read, and today the class discussed and criticised the young man’s essay (Anderson & Anderson 1979, 6). The IB programme was developed to be available and accessible to all learners. Making international education accessible to large numbers of students was a major change, as curriculum of this form had traditionally been offered to privileged students who aspired for foreign services positions (Pound 2006). It was generally believed among educators until the 1960s that learners below 16 years of age were not prepared or equipped to understand international issues. Very few have been elaborated about how educators started putting into effect international education in the 1970s (Phillips & Pound 2003). Weston (1975) proposed that American education systems, elementary through college, were taking measly measures to deal with the global issues at the time. Konick (1979) reported that merely 8 percent of educators by 1973 had a curriculum whose main emphases were global issues. Top practitioners in international education named the absence of actual applications of existing theories since the 1970s and worked together to support reinforce “the teacher’s central role in bringing global perspectives to the classroom” (Young 2010, 248). Professional growth and teacher education were required to strengthen the evolution of theory to practice. Issues about the exact occurrences in international classrooms have cyclically emerged within the arena. Becker (1982) argued that even though education institutions and educators all over the United States had positively accepted global theory, slight was documented about the value of what was taking place in global education. Anderson (1982) claimed that “There is a degree to which looking for global education in schools and classrooms can be likened to watching a classical magic show. That is, things are not necessarily what they appear to be” (as cited in Gaudelli 2003, 15). He applied a case of teaching about Japan in a manner that encouraged biased mindsets, creating an image of the Japanese as unusual and detached from the world. Attempts have been initiated to explain more accurately how international education has been applied in classrooms, even though these have been quite new thus far. Merryfield (1998) studied educators’ strategy for international education in an inclusive examination of preservice, apprentice, and veteran global educators. She tried to contribute to the understanding of how learners and educators take part in international education (Gaudelli 2003, 15): Although there has been considerable rhetoric about the need for global education, little attention has been paid to how teachers are actually reaching about the world, its peoples, and global issues... We know very little about what actually happens in globally oriented classrooms. Much of the educational theory and practice has in fact arisen since the introduction of international education in the 1960s (Gaudelli 2003). Yet, astonishingly, little is documented about the success of international education in helping learners make sense of their context and the world. Because of the wide-ranging features of international education, a number of studies may perhaps be regarded component of the education literature, namely, cognitive development studies, pedagogical content, teacher evaluation, critical theory, etc. Studying the implications and outcomes of global education curriculum on learning has been the main objective of the research of Torney-Purta (1985). In an examination of the impact of international education on 1,155 student respondents from globally driven schools and International Baccalaureate (IB) schools in nine different states, respondents took an examination that assessed global awareness and global knowledge in a control group and experimental approach, the latter being engaged in international education course openly. A multiple regression analysis of respondents’ scores named the following factors as the main determinants of global knowledge: travelling abroad, keeping updated on international news, enrolling in more social studies subjects and grade point mean (Torney-Purta 1985). Likewise, the major determinants of global awareness were grade point mean and keeping updated on international news (Torney-Purta (1985). Torney-Purta (1985 as cited in Gaudelli 2003, 24) reported: The results of the survey suggest that some programs falling under the general category of global education do make a positive contribution to the global awareness and concern of secondary school students. The effective programs appear to be those which have been established for several years, those which combine curricular with extra-curricular activities, and those which have stressed teacher training. Teachers in different preparation phases have also been investigated in international education. Merryfield (1998) conducted an observation of and interview with 60 respondents to study the decision making behaviours of teachers in relation to international education. Teachers who do not possess an extensive background in international education still acknowledged the importance of culture, the importance of linking global issues to the lives of students, and the importance of connecting these spatially and temporally. Competent international teachers used all of these relevant theories, and integrated a stronger paradigm into their teaching approaches (Merryfield 1998). These teachers were more inclined to lecture about global hegemony and inequalities, draw on a larger array of teaching methods, and focus on critical thinking and creativity. Studies have also been conducted that put emphases on educators’ professional development in relation to international education. For instance, Vulliamy and Webb (1993) studied the national curriculum and in-service schooling in the United Kingdom. They discovered that even though educators supposed pedagogies like self-assessment, discussion, problem solving, collaborative learning, and investigative programme would be weakened by national curriculum, majority were capable of sustaining progressive approaches toward education. In addition, the researchers discovered that international education was unfamiliar with large numbers of in-service educators, and even though they simply applied constructivist pedagogical approaches, they were commonly not able to understand the content-direction and inclusiveness of the domain (Vulliamy & Web 1993). How educators act in response to attempts to globalise curriculum has been a foundation of empirical studies in the arena. It is vital to emphasise here that international education has commonly lacked a strong experimental basis through a great deal of its curricular development. Several domains that require consideration, like how educators deal with the global-local division, how educational perspective and culture influences international learning and teaching, how international students and teachers apply use relevant concerns, and how teachers and students examine individuality with regard to an international education, are expanded in this study. Even though the existing attempt does not resolve all the inconsistencies in what people understand about international education, the author hope it contributed significantly to the current understanding about what takes place when learners and educators take part in global education. Reflection on Approaches to Teaching The International Baccalaureate acknowledges that learning and teaching approaches will differ ‘between schools and within schools between teachers’ (Shaw 2001, 70). The curriculum of IB is rooted in a constructivist perspective of cognition. This implies that actual critical thinking and creativity are produced when the process of learning draws the interest of the existing mental ideas and beliefs of a student, which should be questioned for development to take place (Gaudelli 2003). Due to this the perspective of the student is regarded significant and educators, within bounds, must be ready to adjust their teaching approach to the learning modes and levels of understanding of individual students. In addition, teachers have to be eager to deliver their subject not only individually but to engage learning into wider curriculum objectives (Crain 2000). Educators are supported in this task with direction in the subject handbooks, the online learning centre, teacher support facilities, and the development of intensive courses supervised by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) and governed by professional examiners and educators (Pound 2006). In the author’s years of experience in the teaching profession it becomes clear that the requirement for an internationally accredited certificate was a major driving force for educators and parents. It would function as a universal authorisation to advanced education and hence make global movement possible. Gaining knowledge of global issues and other cultures, and gaining proficiency in other languages, were vital practical components for the development of higher-order thinking and creativity among learners of international education. The author realises that a new pedagogical model is required to support global knowledge, a model that would mitigate discriminations and biases: critical thinking along with a creative and open mind eager to challenge traditional assumptions, eager to move away from traditional practices in view of new experiences and knowledge, eager to embrace the reality that being unique does not imply being abnormal and out of the ordinary. This was somewhat a deviation from the focus at the time on amassing facts or information by memorisation. Still, one of the most significant features of teaching is the relationship between teacher and student. Runco and Albert (1990) reported that several children prefer learning with the presence of grownups, but initially the researcher hypothesised that creatively brilliant learners would perhaps favour self-reliant and inherently committed and determined effort. Studies on environments additionally substantiate that hypothesis, but also demonstrate that the assumption should be taken into consideration. A lot of creative minds have recognised the valuable contribution of a teacher. Creative learners mostly valued teachers, and similarly, relatives, parents, faculty, or friends, who appreciated their intellectual inclinations, encouraged them to be self-reliant, and sharpened their thinking (Runco & Albert 1990). Simonton (1997) discovered that creative learners improved considerably from their teachers, and these educators were discovered to be particularly qualified and proficient in the subject area. The creative learner may be naturally determined, but flourishes on the help and support for his/her self-reliance in a field of interest. The author observed that the mentors, who were preferred by creative and critical thinkers, when re-evaluating their own learning experiences, were those who fostered self-reliance, valued uniqueness, and strengthened imaginativeness. These mentors were also motivated, and were regularly present for consultation. Educators believed to be unhelpful to the development of creativity and critical thinking were unduly indifferent, inflexible, unresponsive, and critical. This observation goes well together with what is known about the effect of International Baccalaureate on learners’ creativity and critical thinking, because learners have the capacity to develop their innate motivations if granted the opportunity to pursue their own interests. Several scholars have claimed that creative minds in the past have quite poor academic performance. Likewise, Sak (2004) declared that creativity is not linked to academic grade point mean. A number of scholars even characterised the academic performance of critical thinkers and creative minds as ‘often miserable’ (Sak 2004, 216). He challenged the success with which pedagogical methods reinforce creative abilities, and argued that a lot of creative famous people had acquired modest forma education. Obviously, other brilliant minds are highly educated, yet even these people appear to resort substantially on their informal education. In truth, the best possible degree of formal education for first-rate creativity and critical thinking appears to be at least a year of college, instead of a baccalaureate or graduate diploma (Simonton 1997). The justification of Simonton (1997) for this assumption was that schooling is inclined to infuse traditional frame of thinking, which is contradictory to creative and critical thought. This can be circumvented by educators. If teachers can achieve this, they may even lessen or prevent the ‘fourth grade slump’ (Sak 2004, 216). The creative mind and critical thinker value self-sufficient effort, has a broad array of interests, innately driven and inquisitive. S/he is able to employ both heterogeneous and homogenous thinking approaches, perhaps makes use of coordinated mental functions, inclines to be defiant and eccentric, generates unique insights, and is excellent at identifying and resolving issues or tasks that facilitate strong thinking (Sak 2004). These cognitive and personality attributes manifest self-reliant learning approach. Mentors, in the classroom, should expect the critical thinker and creative learner to demand self-reliance, in terms of building peers, in the selection of activities and assignments, and from the teacher (Runco 1991). If these gifted minds worked on tasks that are inherently stimulating, teachers can anticipate considerable determination from their creative pupils. There are different components of learning approach relating to the IB curriculum, in particular, the critical thinker and creative learner. A number of what was examined here may indicate that creativity and critical thinking in the IB classroom will gain from an ingenuous learning and teaching approaches. And in fact, Sak (2004) argued that ingenuousness was slightly connected to creativity and self-reliance. He explained that learners in ingenuous classrooms had better mathematics, reading comprehension, and vocabulary performance than those in conventional classroom setting, and there were several suggestions that ideational facility was greater in an open classroom. Nevertheless, there was no dissimilarity between the two forms of classroom settings with regard to the originality performance in different cognitive exams. Hence, it is the contention of this paper that a pedagogical setting that is receptive or open to individual learning approaches is more apt to produce creative learners and critical thinkers in IB classrooms. In an IB classroom educators should not expect that pupils can be completely self-reliant, nor allow the students to dominate the class; instead, they should behave as facilitators. Flexible and receptive education will give learners the opportunity to pursue their own interests, and build up skills to strengthen their creative attempts. Mortimore (1999) stated that, with the critical thinker and creative learner, the adult should not allow that learner’s abilities go astray. Teachers should enhance these abilities by building a flexible and open environment, as well as the monitored freedom which appears crucial for creative, analytical skills. The idea of ‘regulated freedom’ (Shaunessy et al. 2006, 77) is completely in agreement with IB’s insights about the importance of pedagogical flexibility. This point is strengthened by exploring general accounts of creative outcomes. Even though there is contention on the most accurate standards for outcomes, there is an agreement that creative outcomes should be practical and innovative. Behaviours or outcomes that are unique or creative but futile are not ingenious; they are out of the ordinary. In the words of Guilford (1968), learners have to gain the skill of applying both convergent and divergent thinking approaches. It is a matter of ingenuity and vision being both original and principle directed. Bringing this into play in the educational context, critical thinking and creativity are advantageous, and appear to thrive in an open and flexible setting. But compliance is also important, and this entail prepared lectures (Carnell & Lodge 2002). This may appear quite unsophisticated given that useful creativity and critical thinking requires that the learner is aware of avenues in which s/he can seek out valuable insights. This implies that large numbers of creative and analytical learners have abilities that will be most successfully developed through organised lessons. Flexible and responsive education, according to Jarvis and colleagues (2003), may be most favourable for several attributes and abilities, such as creativity and critical thinking, but more traditional classroom settings may be more appropriate for others, such as memorisation. Much of what was discussed here in relation to the IB curriculum suggests that teachers should scrutinise their expectations for learners. Teachers and parents should scrutinise their own attitudes and behaviour as well. Runco and Albert (1990) discovered positive connections between creative learners and their parents in critical thinking skills, and proposed that much of the commonality was an outcome of imitation and modelling. In sum, throughout this reflection the author stressed the significance of balance. The creative learner and critical thinker are not merely nonconformists and individualists. They have the capacity for conformity and defiance. They need to examine and assess. They need to acquire critical and creative thought, but also require norms and knowledge based on fact. They need deference from teachers, but also have to be tested. Teachers should persevere for harmony in IB classrooms in order to foster creativity and critical thinking. Much cautiousness should be taken with sweeping statements, particularly those relating to creative learners and critical thinkers. This is due to the importance of balance and due to the fact that the population of creative and analytical learners is a diverse one (Young 2010). It was stated by Walberg and Stariha, with great relevance to the current IB curriculum, that (Milgram, Dunn & Price 1993, 115): The grouping of students has special relevance for gifted and talented students. Teaching students what they already know or are yet unready to learn wastes time and may harm motivation. For this reason, traditional whole-class teaching of heterogeneous groups can cause inefficiency and problems. Educators must consider how students are grouped and try to help the full range if they want them all to learn as much as possible. Well-defined subject matter and student grouping may be among the main reasons why Japanese students are world leaders in achievement. Carefulness should be practiced because it is not possible to take in isolation attributes that are common to creative and critical thinkers. No single motivational trait or personality characterises all creative and analytical learners (Milgram et al. 1993). A number of attributes may only be shown in certain circumstances and several may ebb and flow as a developmental stage function. Possible most vital are the area variations in creativity. A number of attributes may be linked to creative ability in a specific field but not in others. Partly due to their inherent motivation, creative and critical thinkers have a tendency to commit themselves to mathematics, science, art, sports, or some other particular field (Milgram et al. 1993). A learner who is skilful in expressing him/herself through art may favour independent effort, whilst a learner with critical thinking skills would definitely not (Carnell & Lodge 2002). It is hence crucial to understand the diversity and uniqueness of the creative and critical thinking group, and shun generalising arguments about the learning approaches of creative learners and critical thinkers in the IB classroom. Customary education seems to provide learners avenues to express themselves and work in a number of areas, such as the ‘logical-mathematic and verbal symbolic’ (Milgram et al. 1993, 115) areas of Gardner, but creative learners may only develop and function to their potentials when taking part in alternative areas, such as kinaesthetic, intrapersonal, and interpersonal. Several scholars, like Runco (1991), have proposed to monitor creative and critical thinking abilities in the moral arena. Evidently, creativity is varied, and creative learners embody a diverse group. Consequently, teachers will require various methods and strategies. To become successful with creative and critically thinking learners, teachers will themselves have to be creative and analytical. The IBO is defensive of the quality and reliability of its curriculum. Education institutions wanting to adopt them go through an exhaustive training course, which involves a compulsory checking of the school by IBO authorities and mandatory faculty training at IB seminars. Nevertheless, the IBO is open in communicating generally useful insights with national organisations and in looking for means where in features of its curriculum might function in local circumstances (Phillips & Pound 2003). The IBO studies the pedagogical context on an international level, considering materials, knowledge, and patterns named in accounts by institutions like the Centre for Education, Research and Innovation, the Council of Europe, and UNESCO, other than insights from national documents (Phillips & Pound 2003). It makes use of these accounts in the careful and regular development of student evaluation methods and curricula, discussing with the schools with a Diploma Programme. However, local schools wishing to take on an IB Diploma Programme framework have to study how it could be improvised. The UK system would gain from a framework identical to the IB programme, but changes would have to be initiated with regard to the level of complexity and evaluation processes—subject area of a distinct nature (Pound 2006), vocational subjects for example, might be included as well into the framework, if it is to address a broader array of student abilities. Conclusions As a pedagogical paradigm that was advanced of its period, the International Baccalaureate Programme is currently positioned at the core. It acts in response to what educational organisations are trying to attain: creativity and critical thinking abilities. However, the unique aspect of the IB curriculum is the manner it can contribute to the attainment of these goals, through the integration of global knowledge and global awareness, to eliminating the feeling of uncertainty that lingers across the globe. As an autonomous body it may be believed that it is exceptionally positioned to do so. Aside from challenging its students to develop creativity and critical thinking skills, the IB programme creates an international web of educational organisations where educators and students from substantially diverse cultures can get to know each other, at IBO symposiums or through concerted efforts that are instigated between independent educational organisations. Information technologies facilitate the development of creativity and critical thinking skills among learners across national boundaries. 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