The new course – The IB Extended Essay: Managing your Research Project – is an innovative collaboration between the University of Leeds, IB and Europe’s leading online social learning platform, FutureLearn.

The two-week course supports students through all stages of writing their EE; from choosing a topic and framing a research question to structuring and writing the essay itself. Working for two hours each week, learners will improve their critical thinking and time management skills for the successful delivery of the EE.

Robin Julian, IB Curriculum Manager for the EE, said: “This user friendly, interesting online course not only provides students with well-considered guidance to help them with the planning, research and writing of their extended essays, it also frames the EE as important preparation for the transition to a university learning environment”.

Nigel Smith, Managing Director of courses and learning at FutureLearn, said: “The EE is mandatory for all DP students and plays an important role in developing skills invaluable for further study and beyond.

“Finding sources, time and project management, critical thinking and writing effectively are all covered in the new course on FutureLearn, which provides an excellent grounding for IB students undertaking their research project. We’re proud to be involved in such an innovative collaboration; something that offers real value to students at an important juncture in their academic lives”.

Carol Elston, Head of Digital Education Service at the University of Leeds, said: “We are delighted to have worked with the IB to create a high-quality online course that will guide DP students through all the necessary steps for the successful completion of their EE”.

TRANSFORM-iN EDUCATION is designed to support teaching staff and pupils to have time and space within the day to break with convention which the campaign’s founders Dr Perpetua Kirby and Dr Rebecca Webb believe is necessary to ensure a creative and critical society where everyone is better able to respond to life situations where the answer is not always clear.

Dr Kirby and Dr Webb are looking to work with schools and other educational institutions, to support them to look beyond conformity within the school day, which they define as only learning what others already know to pass exams. The academics believe that while it is important to value existing knowledge, it is also vital to explore different ways of thinking and doing things.

Dr Webb, a Lecturer in Early Years and Primary Education at the University of Sussex, said: “In our current education system, children become successful by acquiring lots of curriculum knowledge and behaving in particular ways. Teachers, who, by implication, must never ‘not know’ and deviate from always explaining what things mean – this means constantly and continuously working ever harder to fill more efficiently and effectively the pupil with certain knowledge.

“We feel that this a really optimum time to launch this, it feels like there could be a positive reception for new thinking within the sector. Higher education encourages students to engage in transformative ‘disruptive thinking’, it’s certainly something we have put at the heart of what we do at the University of Sussex, and so it’s imperative that schools follow suit. ”

The campaigners say they want to help influence a change of policy on a national level and broaden the current models of education they have observed during in-depth research in schools which they say assumes certainty about the knowledge presented to students with very little time or opportunity for uncertainty.

They warn that there is currently too much emphasis on pupils conforming to the standards of good behaviour of prolonged sitting in silence and working hard to find the correct answer. Their research highlights that being good can camouflage an avoidance of effort for some pupils, including engaging in new and unexpected challenges where the answer is unclear.

Dr Webb and Dr Kirby stress the importance of having higher expectations for pupils – that go beyond simply learning what is in the curriculum – to create new knowledge. This includes sharing opinions, questioning the ways things have always been done, pursuing new questions and experimenting with different approaches. Their studies identify that pupils are already working with uncertainty, but mostly alone without the support of a teacher.

University of Sussex masters pupil, Mariyam Ahmed Toor, identifies the limits of current schooling for her generation. She said: “We don’t understand that it’s okay to feel uncertain and to not have answers all the time. In fact, somewhere along the way, we were taught in schools that uncertainty is bad which is so ironic because life is anything but certain. And so, instead of feeling liberated in our 20s, we feel overwhelmed and unsure because every move we make needs to be grounded in certainty.”

TRANSFORM-iN EDUCATION will bring together academic and non-academic stakeholders, especially teachers, parents, head teachers and students at schools and colleges, to promote more and better opportunities for different ways of experiencing knowledge in school. It’s founders hope to offer a forum to draw on the talents and expertise of teaching staff, who they say do not currently have the opportunities to step outside existing demands within schools.

The campaign will organise and attend events for researchers and teaching professionals to explore the balance of conformity and transformation in schooling, including the tensions in pursuing both goals.

Dr Kirby, an Associate in the School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sussex, said: “Our research has highlighted the need for the space to produce knowledge differently, what we call transformation. We need to listen to how teachers and students want to create spaces that are better suited to the rapidly changing context of the twenty-first century. This demands that we respond in ways not known or even imagined before, whilst not forgetting what we already know.”

www.transformineducation.org

Ideas Depot features artists such as Salvador Dali, Mona Hatoum, Henri Matisse, and Chris Ofili. It is a colourful and inviting space showing iconic paintings, sculptures, and photographs from the Tate collection of modern and contemporary art. The display has been designed by architect Sam Jacob to resemble the ways artworks might be stored, usually behind the scenes.

In anticipation of each residency – with one taking place per term – the pupils and their teacher will visit behind the scenes at Tate Liverpool’s to see and select the works they would like to have on display during their residency.

The display has been developed in parallel with the initial phases of research Edge Hill University Faculty of Education is undertaking with Tate Liverpool and this innovative education and community project aims to inform gallery learning approaches. The project aims to explore new ways for schools to enhance and enrich teaching and learning, and for teachers, children and their families to enjoy and develop a sense of ‘ownership’ of museum and gallery spaces.

The Schools in Residence programme is the product of many months of work and pilot projects. The first phase saw 150 eight to nine year-old-children participate in workshops with Tate Liverpool artist educator Harriett Hall, programme manager, Dr Deborah Riding and Edge Hill’s Dr Helen O’Keeffe, Nichola Grimshaw and Cait Talbot Landers. Phase two involved classes from LIPA Primary School take up residency in the gallery for two weeks, experiencing their planned curriculum as usual, but delivered using many different spaces as their classroom. Students and staff from Edge Hill, Tate Liverpool and the schools involved reflected on their experiences at the end of each day and the information gathered has helped develop the model for the future Schools in Residence Programme.

Dr Helen O’Keeffe, Associate Dean of Edge Hill’s Faculty of Education, said: “Ideas Depot is an exciting and innovative display which it is hoped will support teachers, children and their families to connect with new and different artworks, seeing how they link to their own lives and school curriculum. The residencies are being developed as a response to the external funding pressures on arts subjects in the curriculum and this helps us to explore a sustainable model where arts learning is embedded into planning. We want teachers to feel confident in using the gallery independently and in creative ways in their teaching.”

Dr Deborah Riding, Programme Manager, Children and Young People, Tate Liverpool added: “Ideas Depot is a very special display at Tate Liverpool that inspires primary aged children to make connections between artworks, their imaginations, and the curriculum. The display also demonstrates the power of collaboration and the exchange of ideas and knowledge. In partnership with Edge Hill we will work with and welcome primary schools from across the region, giving them a space to learn in new and exciting ways.”

Ideas Depot is available for use until Summer 2019.

Students participated in the assignment unequivocally, refurbishing fragmented coastal habitats, offering research and solutions to health issues impacting local communities, and much more. Notable examples among the more than 300 submissions include:

• Students in India distributed medicine to parts of the country where access is limited.
• Maunalua Bay, Hawaii students worked together to protect and maintain endangered reefs.
• Students in Bosnia conducted research to defend their peers against fake news and misinformation campaigns.

“The idea of celebrating the 50th anniversary this way is great.” said Dzeneta Ajanic, a mathematics teacher at Druga Gimnazija Sarajevo, one of the IB World Schools in Bosnia. “The topics IB offered to students are so inspiring and applicable globally. It is our pleasure to work on this project.”

Notable IB alumni were asked to suggest challenges the world is currently facing, for students to tackle under the five themes: health, citizenship, education, environment and equality, all of which are at the core of many of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Dr Siva Kumari, Director General of the IB, said: “We want to show the world that IB students of all ages are equipped with creativity and skills in working together, and are utilising these talents to find solutions to some of society’s most pressing issues. The #generationIB projects showcase the sort of creative thinking, collaborative skills and intellectually curious approaches that mark an IB education.”

Celebrating on the global stage

This week, the IB will partner with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and theGlobal Schools Program Projects to showcase some of the #generationIB solutions to more than 1,500 participants from within and outside the IB community at the IB Global Conference in Vienna, taking place 4-6 October. The conference is designed to bring together educators, government ministers and academia, to celebrate and learn more about the IB’s education across the globe.

Director of the UN’s SDSN, Jeffrey Sachs, had this to say about IB’s global impact: “It’s one thing to announce a goal, it’s another thing to achieve it, and that’s where we need the IB to come in, and young people.” said Sachs. “[some of] these governments…are not really focused on the public good, so they have said “OK, we support these goals,” but they’re not necessarily working hard to achieve them.”

50 years of international education

50 years ago, the IB developed a movement for international education to bring young people together with the skills, values, and knowledge necessary to build a more peaceful future. Today, IB students and graduates in almost 5,000 schools in 153 countries employ their learning to make a real impact in communities, locally and globally.

Heaton School in Heaton Moor is Stockport’s Secondary Special School for young people with severe learning difficulties, profound and multiple learning difficulties, autism and complex medical needs. The school caters for students aged 11 – 19 years.

The school has been working hard over recent years in collaboration with The Rotary Club of Stockport Lamplighter to ‘rewild’ an area of the school field to help the school become a Forest School.

Forest School is an approach to teaching and learning that allows all students develop a wide range of skills and to improve their self-confidence and self-esteem through hands on experiences in natural environments with trees.

The volunteers from the Buckingham Group, McGinley, Network Rail and East-Tec Electrical Services helped to take the project onto the next stage, by donating their time and materials.

The volunteers enlarged the ‘firepit’ area in the grounds and created a path to improve access to the wild area and also installed new lighting to the garden area.

Headteacher at the Heaton School, Jo Chambers-Shirley said: “For medical, physical and sometimes emotional reasons, many of our students miss out on accessing wilderness areas. To have an area on site accessible and available for our students to enjoy therefore greatly enriches their lives.

“Through Forest School activities I have seen many students, and particularly those with the most complex needs, blossom and their self-esteem and mental well being improve. In addition their learning skills improve as well as their communication skills thus helping them develop friendships. We cannot thank the volunteers from Network Rail, McGinley and Buckinghams and East-Tec Electrical Services enough for the improvements they have made to our school grounds.”

Councillor Dean Fitzpatrick, Stockport Council’s Cabinet Member for Education said: “It’s fantastic that these volunteers have given their time and that their companies have donated materials to improve the learning experience of some of Stockport’s most challenged students.”

The presentation was made at an awards ceremony held at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane on Friday 24^th February, and hosted by comedian Rob Beckett. MPCT was one of eight training providers shortlisted for the national accolade.

The award win coincides with MPCT winning a place on the Sunday Times Best 100 Small Companies To Work For list.

Meanwhile, new data from the Department of Education has shown that MPCT’s network of Military Preparation Colleges are stealing a march on other sixth form colleges when it comes to qualifications in employability and preparation for life and work.

In the most recent Quality Achievement Rates released this month, 93.1% of MPCT’s learners gained an Award in Employability Skills (against the national result of 88.8%), and 98% of learners received a Certificate in Employability (compared to national result of 83.4%). It also shows 82.4% of MPCT learners are prepared for life and work, compared with the national average of 66.4%. The college has also helped 74.6% of its young people to achieve basic skills in Maths and English, a steep rise on the national average of 54.8%.

With 20 Military Preparation Colleges across England and Wales, MPCT has helped over 10,000 young learners since 1999. The free-to-attend colleges, which receive Government funding to operate, place a big focus on preparing young learners for future employment, whether that’s in the Armed Forces or other career paths.

Huw Lewis MBE, Founder and Managing Director of MPCT, comments: “The TES FE awards celebrate the people who are committed to making a big contribution to supporting the skill levels of young people, and that’s at the heart of everything we do. We believe that every young person, no matter their background or past obstacles they may have faced, deserves to be given the best possible opportunity to succeed.

“Our ‘roll on, roll off’ approach really works; unlike other colleges, we allow learners to be with us for as long – or as little – as they need to accomplish their personal goals. Many of our learners have struggled in compulsory education, but really thrive when they approach learning in a whole new way.”

The College’s active learning approach helps young people move forward with further education, training and other employment routes by instilling valuable core values and life skills that are transferable to a range of vocations. At least 50% of each and every day is spent doing physical exercise and learning outdoors.

The Military Preparation College welcomes applications and enquiries from both prospective learners and parents and guardians. Information sessions are held every Thursday from 10am – 12noon and 2pm – 4pm.

www.mpct.co.uk

The CP is designed for students wishing to engage in career-related learning while gaining transferable and lifelong skills such as communication, critical thinking and applied knowledge. Nine schools were involved in the pilot, which resulted in a 96 percent pass rate, and increased student retention, attainment and ambitions. All nine of the schools have continued to offer the programme and will be involved in helping the schools now joining the initiative to implement the CP. 

Siva Kumari, Director General, International Baccalaureate said: “The Kent initiative is particularly heartening for the IB because it is a community committed to the betterment of children’s lives via a rigorous academic Career-related Programme. Working together with public, private, educator and IB association partners, we are looking forward to further serving the community of Kent by creating educational pathways that allow students to excel in their immediate job or professional needs and also prepare them for a lifetime of learning and success. We are deeply honoured to be a part of this educational venture and to build it on the success of the pilot.”

With 18 schools new to the initiative, 30 percent of state schools in Kent will be offering students the opportunity to study an IB programme from 2017. Patrick Leeson, Corporate Director of Education and Young People’s Services, Kent County Council said: “By working with the IB to extend access to the Career-related Programme to 18 more schools across the county, we will continue to raise student aspirations across Kent. Thanks to the success of the first pilot we have seen students’ life chances vastly improved in deprived areas of Kent: two thirds of last year’s cohort progressed to higher education, something which would not otherwise have been expected.”

The Career-related Programme is for students aged 16 – 18 years and packages a career-related qualification (e.g. a BTEC) with at least two IB Diploma Programme courses and four unique ‘core’ components (personal and professional skills; service learning; language development; and a reflective project), the programme enables students to become self-confident, skilled and career-ready learners.

The Prince’s Trust Achieve programme is a flexible provision for 13-19 year olds who are experiencing challenges with attendance, attainment or motivation and may be at risk of exclusion or not attaining the grades they are capable of. It incorporates the best of the youth charity’s existing xl and Fairbridge programmes, which have long helped young people of school age to reach their potential, both in education and in their future employment.

The need for alternative curriculum offerings like Achieve remains clear, with a third of school-leavers still not achieving five A*-C grade GCSEs and more than half of young people in Scotland not achieving 5 National Fives. The situation is even worse for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are far more likely to fail to achieve at these levels than their peers.

The new Achieve programme is designed to help disadvantaged young people who are struggling to develop important character skills through relevant, engaging and informal learning. It will connect young people with the world of work and equip them with the transferrable skills and knowledge they need to succeed, focusing particularly on literacy, language and numeracy (LLN) and science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

According to Richard Chadwick, Director of Programmes and Development at The Prince’s Trust, “Too many students in the UK become disengaged with education and leave school or college with few qualifications, low levels of confidence and low aspirations for the future. We have a long history of working successfully with education providers to combat this problem and have drawn on our expertise in youth based work to develop our new Achieve programme, which is our most flexible provision yet for people of school age.”

Young people will be able to access Achieve from August 2016 in schools, colleges or, in some regions, at a Prince’s Trust Centre. Further Education providers can also deliver the programme as NEET prevention, either as a part time study programme or as part of a full time study programme.

This year, The Prince’s Trust will work with more than 500 partner schools and organisations to support almost 10,000 young people through the Achieve programme. More information about how a school, college or alternative education provider can deliver the Achieve programme can be found at https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/help-for-young-people/unlock-your-potential/achieve