Pre-conference workshops are full-day sessions offered on Thursday, 16 July, before the main conference begins.
Workshops are designed to give attendees a focused, hands-on learning experience on a topic of their choice. Typically, these workshops are led by experts in the field and delve deeply into specific topics or skills, allowing participants to explore tailored concepts, new methodologies, or practical applications. We invite you to learn more about each workshop below.
When registering, please carefully select the pre-conference workshop you would like to attend, as modifications may not be possible if workshops become full.
Workshop 1: Cognitive instructional coaching for IB teachers [FULL]
Presented by: Dr Cherissa Vitter, Associate Professor, Southeastern Louisiana University
This interactive session is designed for administrators, coordinators and teachers who serve as instructional leaders. This pre-conference session focuses on fostering an instructional coaching environment where IB teachers are inspired and supported. Participants will unpack instructional coaching not only through the cognitive lens, but also as an observation tool. Participants will rehearse coaching conversations and relate instructional coaching to the underlying tenets of an IB education. This pre-conference session is facilitated through rehearsal-style experiences. Participants are encouraged to leverage electronic devices to actively engage in developing professional practices and coaching plans while studying the data that informs individual practice. Everyone will leave with an action plan to support a positive instructional coaching environment.
Workshop 2: Connecting the IB framework and approved curriculum in the PYP US public school setting
Presented by: Katie Poulsen, IB Coordinator, Granada Preparatory School
This session helps school leaders and educators integrate literacy curriculum mandates with the IB coherent curriculum requirements in the US public school setting. The 2020 Programme standards and practices require IB World Schools to create a coherent curriculum with full integration of IB frameworks with all local, state or national educational authorities’ requirements. Participants will learn how to use collaborative planning time to align the state-mandated curriculum training and resources with the school’s IB programme design, ensuring a unified and transdisciplinary curriculum.
Workshop 3 (Presented in Spanish): ¿Cuál es su historia en el IB?
En esta sesión previa a la conferencia, las personas participantes reflexionarán sobre la importancia de que todos los miembros de la comunidad remen en la misma dirección y promuevan la propuesta de valor de los programas del IB, así como su impacto en el aprendizaje y la enseñanza. Como parte de este proceso, considerarán sus historias personales y las de sus colegios sobre el IB para comprender los valores compartidos de la educación del IB, generar una visión y planificar cómo comunicarán el valor de la educación del IB a fin de reforzar la identidad colectiva.
Workshop 4: Empathy meets action
Presented by: Tazeen Rashid, Educator, IBEN member
This interactive session explores how design thinking can be used to deepen student-centred, inquiry-driven learning and intentionally build core approaches to learning skills across the IB continuum. Rooted in the theme “Empathy meets action”, educators will learn how to use design thinking as both a mindset and a method to cultivate creativity, collaboration and critical thinking, and to promote inquiry-based learning—key approaches to learning skills. By using tools such as empathy mapping, “how might we” question framing, rapid ideation and prototyping, participants will explore how to help students move from understanding others’ needs to designing and implementing meaningful, student-led action. Participants will leave with a practical toolkit of strategies and templates they can use immediately in their own classrooms. The session is ideal for educators seeking to bring more agency, relevance and engagement to their learning and teaching environment.
Workshop 5: Leveraging portraits of a graduate to support IB programmes
Presented by: Melissa Cuculich and Laura Lane, Senior IB World Schools Managers, International Baccalaureate
Twenty US states have developed “portraits of a graduate” and others are in the process of developing one. These portraits are intended to define the skills, mindsets and competencies students need for success in college, career and civic life. They are often aligned with other state education system future-readiness goals. In this session, participants will align IB attributes from the learner profile, What is an IB education? and the four IB programmes with state-defined competencies. The session will explore how to unpack this alignment with teachers, and how to develop tools to provide feedback on student growth in durable skills and make IB learning visible.
Workshop 6: Strategic use of organizational routines to support an IB education: What school and district leaders need to know
Presented by: Dr David Weiss, USA Director, USA & Canada, International Baccalaureate
Routines are an organizational concept that exist within all schools and districts. Routines can be strategic levers that bridge gaps between IB frameworks and local school and district needs. This session is intended for teams from schools, districts, school groups and school systems to explore this powerful concept further. In the session, the teams will identify routines that are built into the four IB programmes, and will also examine existing routines, explore how they could be modified, and the power of creating new routines to transform school instructional culture.
Workshop 7 (Presented in French): Quelle est votre expérience de l’IB ? [CANCELLED]
Please note this workshop has been cancelled.
Workshop 8: What’s your IB story?
Presented by: Iris Lazarus and Alicia Miller, Senior IB World Schools Managers, International Baccalaureate
In this pre-conference session, participants will reflect on the importance for all community members to be aligned on, and promote, the value proposition of the IB programme and its impact on learning and teaching. As part of this process, participants will consider their individual and schools’ IB stories to understand shared values of an IB education, generate a vision, and plan for how they will communicate the value of an IB education to strengthen collective identity.
Workshop 9 (Presented in Spanish): Liderazgo con sentido, taller en español para coordinadores PEP y Directores
En este taller se explora el rol del liderazgo para generar un propósito compartido y cultivar una comunidad de aprendizaje colaborativa en los Colegios del Mundo IB. Tomando como base las Normas para la implementación de los programas y aplicaciones concretas (2020), los participantes analizarán la alineación entre la dirección escolar y los requisitos del IB. Asimismo, mediante actividades interactivas, rutinas de pensamiento y reflexiones compartidas, los coordinadores y directivos examinarán diversos estilos de liderazgo y estrategias de comunicación efectiva. A través de estudios de caso explorarán cómo el liderazgo distribuido puede empoderar a docentes y estudiantes, fortalecer su agencia y generar confianza. Al finalizar el taller, los participantes contarán con herramientas prácticas para evaluar su contexto escolar, equilibrar la gestión inmediata con el desarrollo profesional a largo plazo, fortalecer las relaciones y diseñar acciones que consoliden una cultura escolar inclusiva, colaborativa y con sentido.
