International curricula, both IB & IGCSE, are gaining popularity across the globe due to their experiential and application-oriented learning methodology. Students learn to apply their knowledge and experience to real-life situations, making them ready to handle whatever life poses for them.
1. Encourages international mindedness
The international curriculum aims to build global citizens, where students see themselves connected with the global community and develop a great sense of responsibility to its members. They develop an awareness of the inter-relatedness of nations and peoples and recognise the complexity of the relationships.
Through the various experiences that the curriculum offers, they develop an appreciation and diversity of cultures in the world and understand their perspectives. Since the 21st Century is all about views, the international curriculum aims to build an attitude of responsibility in the students and a commitment to society.
The students are usually involved in interacting on a level beyond the classroom, sharing and celebrate diversity.
2. Teaches ‘how to learn’
International education imbibes skills in students to enable them to ‘learn how to learn.’ They are intended to apply these skills across the curriculum and provide common language for teachers and students to use when reflecting and building on the process of learning.
It is embedded into day-to-day learning experiences implicitly and explicitly, so that the students have opportunities to practice and incrementally develop a range of skills when the students take charge of their own learning. These skills are learnt, taught, improved, and developed incrementally.
Learners are constantly asking key questions like: What are my present skills in an area and what evidence do I have of my development? What skills can I improve? What new skills can I learn? Through this, they learn self-management skills, research skills, social skills, and other pertinent skills which help them become life-long learners.
3. Builds confident communicators
The international curriculum aims to prepare students with strong communication skills, which are very important skills in the world we live in. They are able to exchange thoughts, messages and information effectively through interaction. The curriculum gives the learners opportunities to give and receive meaningful feedback and use various speaking techniques to communicate with a variety of audiences.
They are trained to use a variety of media and also participate in and contribute to digital social media networks, collaborate with peers and experts using various digital environments and media.
Through the myriad experiences provided to them, they are able to negotiate ideas and knowledge and use modes of verbal and non-verbal communication.
4. Makes the students learn by experience
Learners involved in an international curriculum engage in experiential learning. They are engaged in learning processes where they learn by doing and reflecting on the experience.
The activities include hands-on field exercises, internships, performances, following the design cycle to solve problems. This requires reflection, critical analysis and thinking. It gives them the opportunities to take initiative, make decisions and be accountable for results.
They also learn that making mistakes is a real thing and what’s more important is to learn from them, make amends and achieve success.
5. Improves problem-solving
The international curriculum requires students to identify the problems that face the world today and find solutions through inquiry and inter-disciplinary learning.
Through the various subjects and other experiences in an international school, students aim to offer solutions to problems which can range from being their own to others’ problems that they see around themselves and the problems of the world.
They use design thinking methodologies with creative, systematic approaches to problem-solving. They progress through the stages of discovery, ideation, experimentation, and evolution in search of innovative solutions to vexing problems.
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