Pre-conference workshops

These sessions are designed to enhance your conference experience and help you gain professional and leadership skills.

Pre-conference workshop 1: Future design-oriented thinking: How are you embracing a fast-changing, challenging world? 

This workshop will re-evaluate the strategies and resources required to meet the diverse needs of 21st century learners. In an increasingly fast-paced world, how are we as educators embracing tools, such as mobile technologies, to address our diversity of needs? Are we accommodating future career paths considering the growth in areas such as robotics, AI and biotechnology? Are we equipping students with sufficient pathways to allow them to navigate an increasingly tumultuous world? Are our physical and digital spaces reflecting our goals? How can we ensure our community of learners is truly resilient, innovative and can flourish in order to make the world a better place? 

Pre-conference workshop 2: Demystifying programme development plans: Unveiling their role and alignment with Programme standards and practices (PSP) 

This workshop will delve into the programme development plan and its pivotal role in shaping aspects of the IB programme within the school context. The sessions will deliver a comprehensive understanding of the plan’s key components and emphasize its significance in evaluating and reflecting on the impacts of the school’s programme development initiatives. 

Participants will gain insight into how the programme development plan connects the school’s activities and strategic plans to the IB’s Programme standards and practices. It serves as a guiding framework, enabling the school to learn from its efforts and expand its capacity as a dynamic learning community. 

During the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to discuss the implementation of the programme development plan in their specific school contexts, examining scenarios ranging from single-programme schools to those offering multiple IB programmes. 

Pre-conference workshop 3: How does evidence-based reflection enhance intentional programme development? 

This workshop will focus on action research to explore how programme development planning can maximize student learning. Pedagogical leaders will have the opportunity to reflect on the different stages of programme development planning and consider the importance of collecting and analysing evidence at each stage. Join the IB World Schools team in an interactive workshop to identify the key success factors for a programme development plan, with special emphasis on defining the area of focus and involving the school community in a collaborative development process.  

Pre-conference workshop 4: Towards excellence in education: Designing and developing an inclusive approach to learning and teaching 

The principles of equitability and inclusivity are at the core of IB education. This interactive workshop will explore designing and developing inclusive practices in learning and teaching which will help all students participate and succeed in their IB learner journey. The workshop will be divided into segments. 

The first segment will explore the meaning of inclusive education. Participative discussion will touch upon cultural factors that affect the educational journey of students.  

The second segment will cover inclusive approaches to learning, teaching and assessment: universal design of learning and assessment and using the IB’s Access and inclusion policy. Participants will reflect on their school’s practices and alignment with the IB’s inclusive policies. 

In the last segment, different cultural contexts will be discussed. Participants will reflect on what works and what is not inclusive in their context and how to make changes that will advance inclusive education. 

Pre-conference workshop 5: From language learners to language leaders: Fostering success in K-12 IB language learning 

Join us for an immersive workshop that aims to foster success in K-12 IB language learning. Designed for school leaders, heads of departments and language teachers, this dynamic session equips attendees with essential skills and strategies to build impactful language programmes. Our goal is to empower language learners to become confident language leaders, ready to navigate global audiences. 

Explore effective practices for curriculum development, language proficiency cultivation, confidence building and communication skills enhancement. Gain valuable insights from successful language programmes in Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong and China. Discover innovative approaches and practical techniques that can be implemented in the classroom to support students’ language acquisition and literature. 

Unlock the potential of your language learners and pave the way for their success in an ever-connected world. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to transform your K-12 IB language programme. 

Pre-conference workshop 6: Implementing learner-driven programmes: Using self-reflective inquiry as an effective and systematic approach

This workshop will explore how schools can use the self-inquiry approach to make effective and systematic changes needed for programme development centred around students. Instead of focusing on discrete and specific organizational operations, this workshop will show how a conceptual level of understanding and practices, as well as data-driven analysis, can result in holistic and long-term programme development and alignment using examples of approaches to learning, service as action and student agency. There will also be strategies for the following: setting goals; structuring teams and collaboration opportunities; providing resources to staff and students; involving different members of the community; and celebrating developmental achievements.