IB - An All-round Curriculum
To better understand the IB Curriculum, let's look at the details. The IB curriculum is divided into two major components: class requirements and the core. In IB, the following classes are required To earn the IB diploma, students must take six topics: one from each of groups 1–5, plus either one from group 6 or one from groups 1-4 as a substitute. See what courses are available.
| IB GROUP | GROUP NAME | COURSES |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Studies in Language and Literature |
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| 2 | Language Acquisition |
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| 3 | Individuals and Societies |
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| 4 | Sciences |
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| 5 | Mathematics |
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| 6 | The Arts |
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A Higher Level (HL) student takes a minimum of three (but no more than four) classes, amounting to 240 hours of study. In the remaining classes, you will study 150 hours to achieve the Standard Level (SL). An exam culminates each class, which is graded from 1 to 7, with a 4 representing passing and a 7 representing passing. You can find more information about IB's scoring on their website.
Its Core
There is still work to be done on your IB processes. You must also complete The Core in order to earn your IB diploma. We can break the core down into three major parts:
Theory of Knowledge (TOK)
ToK plays an important role in the Diploma Programme of the IB because it offers students the chance to reflect on what knowledge is and how we know what we claim. Every student enrolled in DP must complete it. This is the foundation of the DP curriculum. The understanding of how information is interpreted, as well as the retention, change, or rejection of other people's ideologies. Students may instead write a TOK essay and present it orally instead of taking exams.
Extended Essay
An extended essay is a self-directed research project culminating in a 4,000-word paper. Students conduct their own independent research as part of this independent study and can examine a topic of personal interest that relates to one of their six DP courses or an interdisciplinary approach that will correspond to their World Studies extended essay. A supervisor, usually a teacher at the school, provides assistance and guidance to students throughout the research and writing process. Every student is required to attend three sessions with their supervisors. The final session of the interview is called viva voce. The extended essay and reflection sessions can be extremely useful for stimulating discussion in countries where interviews are required for employment or university placements.
Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) Project
It is another mandatory project that will assist you in receiving your IB Diploma as it is a three-part project that allows the student to engage in some extracurricular activities. Being creative is about being able to write a short story, play an instrument, take part in a theater production, etc. As long as you can prove why your activity qualifies as creative (you will need to write an essay about it), your activity can meet your creativity requirement. Sports-related activities, such as rock climbing or hiking, qualify as activity, whereas traditional community service involves service in the form of volunteered time. There are many things you can do, from feeding the homeless to organizing fundraisers for brain cancer research.
