TRANSFORMATIVE

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
FOR A CHANGING WORLD
LEARNING THAT EMPHASIZES
ASKING, THINKING AND DOING

What does it mean to be an effective, internationally minded International Baccalaureate (IB) educator
and leader in today’s world? IB Professional Development answers this question through lifelong
learning opportunities that reflect the culture and purpose of IB, delivered in a distinctive IB environment.

Just as IB programmes develop the whole student, IB Professional Development is designed to

cultivate the lifelong learning and development of IB educators and administrators.

From asking the right questions to engaging with complex Dynamic ecosystems of global
global challenges, IB uses constructivist inquiry to prepare
peer collaboration
students to build a better world.
Highly experienced IB educators and leaders design, develop
IB applies this same approach of questioning, reflecting and and deliver professional learning experiences for their peers.
doing to all professional learning experiences. Through open These facilitators are members of the IB Educator Network
communication and action-oriented inquiry, IB builds on (IBEN) and come from a worldwide professional learning
educators’ knowledge and shares best practices across diverse community of internationally minded educators, school leaders
experiences. Educators and administrators who complete IB and administrators. English, Spanish and French are the core
professional development are even more prepared to apply languages of IB instruction, with workshops and other learning
their skills in any cultural or school context, weave issues of experiences delivered in schools’ languages of instruction,
significance into their work and care for the whole student in such as Mandarin, Arabic, Turkish and Japanese. Extending the
a way that meets the unique needs of today’s students while network within the IB community, IB educator certificate pro-
reflecting IB philosophy. grams are offered through strong partnerships with a variety of
respected higher education institutions globally.

IB educators and administrators will find engaging experiences,

open exchanges of ideas across the range of contexts and per-
spectives, and immersive sessions that extend inquiry to design
thinking, project-based learning, global scenarios and beyond.
And they’ll find these learning experiences delivered through
dynamic learning communities, digital resources and flexible
learning pathways.

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LEARNING THAT STRENGTHENS
EXPERTISE AND UNDERSTANDING

IB educators and leaders participate in IB’s practice-based 9 design values in every learning experience
lifelong learning for many reasons:

• to develop new insights into pedagogy and practices

• to hone skills in curriculum and unit planning Rebalanced learner agency where
educators co-create curricula and actively
• to explore new ideas, experiences and student produce their professional development
experience
-centered teaching

• to apply inquiry-based approaches and concepts Inclusive environments that leverage

to real-world cultural contexts the power of differences in the context of
shared learning
• to become reflective practitioners
International mindedness that establishes
IB offers a robust selection of learning experiences and services
common ground and recognizes variations
for every point of the professional journey. to be as important as commonalities

Enhancing practical relevance, delivering a more integrative

Collaborative learning ecologies like
experience and offering collaborative, team-based activities
professional learning communities,
online and in person, IB develops educators who bridge the demonstrating the power of collective
worlds of scholarship and practice. intelligence

Reciprocal knowledge obligations in

Intentionally designed for which educators develop themselves and
others by co-constructing learning in a safe
meaning and growth environment

Every IB professional learning experience is grounded in the

Team and individual learning with a focus
process of social constructivism and actualized through action- on collective responsibility and personal
oriented inquiry, centered on the learning community and mastery
driven by a shared set of design values.
Spirals of inquiry via higher-level question-
ing and nonlinear feedback loops
Relevant academic research provides a professional context for
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integrating and applying concepts and skills from other parts

Usable knowledge artifacts like digital
of the learning experience. Concurrently, IB uses the concept of portfolios, that optimize resources and
“educator as researcher” to link systematic inquiry to educator keep learning practical
practice and reflection.
Multiple opportunities for reflection
with a focus on constructive, actionable
1
feedback
Hargreaves, D. 1998. “Creative professionalism: The role of teachers
in the knowledge society.” Arguments 22. Demos. 1-898309-79-5.

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LEADING THROUGH QUALITY
AND CONSISTENCY

IB ensures consistency of the professional learning experience

worldwide through a global architecture and continuous
“What do we mean when we talk about professional develop- improvement through a robust quality assurance framework.2
ment? In relation to the International Baccalaureate, this means
a commitment to be critical and self-reflective, dedicated to IB is devoted to inclusivity and responds to the full diversity
lifelong learning and continuous improvement. Professional
of participant needs. This includes language, culture, age and
development should be ongoing for all educators, irrespective of
geography, as well as learning styles, degrees of IB experience
experience—not only for continuous professional and personal
and access to and fluency with technology.
growth, but to ensure that we keep improving the learning expe-
riences and outcomes of all students.”
When workshops conclude, surveys assess workshop facil-
ANTHONY TAIT, DIRECTOR OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
itators’ capabilities, content quality and overall satisfaction
with the learning experience. This evaluation system engages
participants in observation, analysis and reflection about the
learning experience and helps IB ensure quality, consistency
The PD design process and continuous improvement.

Planning the professional

development journey
EMPATHIZE
IB Professional Development is flexible. Pre-scheduled or on-
demand, individualized or peer-to-peer, educators and adminis-
trators can access learning experiences through a range of
DEFINE
convenient delivery channels to maximize the power of the IB
global community for each educator. Over the course of their
careers, all IB educators take at least one workshop and most
IDEATE
take several in pursuit of their desired learning outcomes.

PROTOTYPE

LAUNCH

QUALITY
ASSURANCE
REVIEW

2
Derived from Guskey’s Professional Development Evaluation Model.

3
Workshop success at a glance Entry points for IB Professional
Development

8.5
• Face-to-face workshops – Offered around the world,
these workshops bring diverse groups of educators
together in multi-day learning events. These workshops
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
typically involve 15 hours of face-to-face sessions over
2.5 days.
Overall quality rating on the workshop
(scale of 1-10): 8.5
• Online workshops – Delivered via a high-quality
learning platform, these workshops expand access for
educators from all over the world to an unparalleled
8.3
exchange of knowledge. Workshops typically last four
weeks and require approximately 16 learning hours.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

• In-school, cluster and district (“on-demand”) workshops

Overall rating on the workshop content – These face-to-face events develop staff on site and focus
(scale of 1-10): 8.3
on specific issues, areas of IB philosophy and learning and
teaching strategies.

• E-learning and blended learning – Webinars, self-paced

e-learning modules, “nano PD” offerings, playlists and other
online resources focus on specific aspects of IB programmes
87% that can be applied immediately in the classroom.

Participants who believe the workshop reflects

its description well or perfectly well: 87%

Note: Data reflects 2019-2020 workshop survey reports.

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 IB educator and leadership
certificates

Educators gain a deeper understanding of what it means to

teach and lead in an IB context through these certificate pro-
grams designed to develop influential leaders in international
education. The IB partners with reputable institutions around
the world to embed IB philosophy and pedagogy within their
education and educational leadership offerings. IB-certified
educators bring a research foundation to any school role and
infuse higher-order thinking skills into a new generation of
students. IB-certified leaders guide and inspire school commu-
nities that want to implement and sustain IB programmes or
Workshops
become an authorized IB World School.
Category 1: IB philosophy and implementation. Educators
focus on all aspects of becoming an authorized IB World School IB certificate in teaching and learning: Equips
or adding a new IB programme. educators, reflective practitioners and researchers
with the principles and practices associated with IB
Category 2: Delivery. Educators work toward more experiential Primary, Middle Years, Diploma and Career-related
professional exchanges and improved teaching quality. programmes.

Category 3: In-depth investigations. Educators explore guided IB advanced certificate in teaching and learning
professional inquiry, specialization and educational research, research: Prepares educators for the rigorous inves-
ideas and trends. tigative work involved in advancing their school’s
curriculum development, pedagogy and assessment.
IB education workshops: Whether across IB programmes or
with a singular focus, educators examine the question: “What is IB certificate in leadership practice: Develops
an IB education?” These provocative learning experiences present educators and administrators who guide a school
challenging ideas around the IB mission to make the world a through IB authorization, implementation and
better place through education. beyond.

IB leadership workshops: Educators learn essentials of leading IB advanced certificate in leadership research:
across cultures and contexts and how to navigate the complex Empowers educators and administrators with deep
international education arena. They emerge adaptable and ready capacities in rigorous investigative work and a pro-
to thrive as a leader, wherever they go. found understanding of IB leadership responsibilities
and capabilities.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP TO TRANSFORM YOUR LEARNING, TEACHING AND LEADING.
ibo.org/pd-options

5
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© International Baccalaureate Organization 2020
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