With the popularity of IB schools on the rise, more parents are pushing for international school admissions for their children. They understand the importance of inquiry-based education and how it helps pupils develop critical thinking abilities while teaching them essential life lessons. But how do they differ from other schools, and what learning opportunities do Singapore IB schools provide?
How are IB Schools Different?
Through dynamic cycles of inquiry, action, and reflection, an IB education seeks to transform individuals and schools as they learn. Teachers guide and encourage students to build the learning styles required for academic and personal success.
The IB’s programs vary from others in that they:
- educate students of all ages to think critically and challenge assumptions
- evolve independently of government and national systems
- incorporating great practice from research and our worldwide network of schools
- develop multilingual pupils by encouraging students of all ages to explore local and global settings.
The Singapore IB curriculum is learner-centric and inquiry-based. It emphasizes learning and teaching that focuses on students’ questions, ideas, and observations. Instructors regularly encourage students to communicate their ideas and criticize, test, and reinterpret them politely. With inquiry-based learning, instructors and students share responsibility for learning.
In a change from the typical classroom setting, students are encouraged to participate in group projects to learn from their classmates and in types of guided learning offered by an instructor. This learning method improves understanding by encouraging students to discuss concepts with their classmates rather than memorize information and take notes. This type of learning also helps students to take ownership of their education and boosts their engagement with the material.
Field Trips: An Innovative Approach to IB Learning
Field trips are one of the primary differences between ESS and other topics in the Singapore IB curriculum. Field visits allow students to apply what they have learned in class to the outside world of biotic and abiotic elements. Students also write internal evaluation lab reports based on their field trip practical experiences. While learning, students also get the opportunity to practice team-building and social skills through experiential learning.
Benefits of Field Trips
- Engaging Education
Field excursions are associated with the earlier mental process. Students can connect with what they are studying through field excursions. The experience goes beyond simply reading about an idea in a textbook since students can physically participate in it.
- Access to many environments
Field trips provide students with direct access to equipment and surroundings with which they would not otherwise have interaction within the four walls of their school. For example, field trips can take students to visit historical artifacts or even an aquatic world at an aquarium.
- Interaction with others
Students are exposed to a new social setting when they leave the classroom for a field trip. They will meet new people during the field trip and maybe engage with other children. These new contacts teach kids important lessons about behaving in various situations.
- Socio-Economic Development
Students who participate in field trips are more compassionate and tolerant than those who do not. Going on a field trip improves students’ critical thinking abilities and allows them to consider a topic or issue from a new angle. A school excursion will enable pupils to visit different locations.
Conclusion
Many parents look for international school admissions because they provide a more fluid and dynamic curriculum. Singapore’s IB schools foster an environment encouraging students’ emotional and cognitive participation. They provide a wealth of learning possibilities for pupils’ growth and development.
