International programs promote student autonomy

Simon Marcus Gower, Contributor, Jakarta

The role of the teacher in a classroom is quite often a difficult one. Trying to lead a group of students in their classroom studies consistently requires a balancing act of establishing and maintaining direction and being responsive to students' needs.

A class ideally should be a group of like-minded people who share the same aims, and intention to learn, but this is not always possible.

Sometimes students are encountered who are deliberately obstinate or unruly. Other times, the diverse range of abilities and interests in a single classroom can be difficult to accommodate. When teachers come up against such challenges there is a temptation -- a danger even -- to become something of a dictator.

Students who have been subjected to this kind of heavy-handed approach in the classroom are likely to be obedient, but also passive, unresponsive and unthinking. They have not been encouraged or challenged to think for themselves and so have become highly dependent on their teachers. It could be surmised that their "education" has in fact stifled their development and denied them the opportunities they needed to grow and flourish as independent students and human beings.

The American author, Elbert Hubbard, wrote that "the object of teaching a child is to enable him to get along without his teacher", and this very directly indicates the more subtle and encouraging role of the teacher. In essence the teacher should not be so much of a demanding and domineering figure but should instead be someone who is responsively helping the student in learning.

This more "responsive and helpful" model for teaching and learning is something that is quite expressly built into international programs of education such as the International Baccalaureate Program; or as it is more often referred to the IB Program. This program is increasingly being offered in Jakarta and is increasing in its popularity around the world; no doubt because it is a more responsive approach to education.

But what is the IB Program? Well, it is an internationally recognized curriculum that leads students in their 11th and 12th grades of school to the IB Diploma. It should also be noted that IB Programs are offered for the primary and middle years of children's education, but for the purposes of this article the IB Diploma level is focused on.

The IB Program is governed by the International Baccalaureate Organization based in Geneva, Switzerland and general administration and development comes from the International Baccalaureate Curriculum and Assessment Center in Cardiff, Wales. Schools from around the world can then adopt and implement this program for their students and this is what is happening now in a number of schools in Jakarta.

The IB Program very directly and expressly engenders a model of learning and study that is student-centered and requires that the students are active in their school efforts. Students are encouraged to develop organizational skills and time management to be more independent in what they do and are required to attain a broad "world-view" that allows them to solve problems without constantly requiring the assistance of a teacher. Teachers are far more mentors in this model of education than, say, dictators or controllers.

But what do students engaged in an IB Program actually do? With much talk of greater freedom for students one could get the impression that the students are at liberty to do pretty much whatever they please; but this would be inaccurate as, in fact, quite considerable challenges and requirements of rigor lie ahead for IB Diploma students.

Within an IB Program students are required to complete and take examinations in six IB subjects. These fall into quite familiar categories of languages, sciences, humanities, arts and mathematics but in addition students must write an "Extended Essay", complete a course in critical thinking known as the "Theory of Knowledge" and carry out 150 hours of activities that are much more outside of the classroom context known as "Creative, Action and Service Activities" (or CAS).

All of these engender a much more "hands-on" and practical approach to learning and in many ways create a learning style that is more relevant to today's needs. Students are not just required to "hit the books" and follow lecture-type presentations from teachers but are more and more required to be participants and action-takers.

The "Theory of Knowledge" component of the program requires that the students gain skills in analysis, argumentation, evaluation and critical thought that very directly allows them to become independent and clear-minded thinkers. The "Extended Essay" element sets up the requirement for students to achieve research skills, again with their teacher as mentor and guide but not as their substitute thinker.

In entering into CAS, students might participate in dramatic or musical performances, sporting and team activities or community service activities such as caring for the elderly, helping out at an orphanage or teaching younger children or children with disabilities.

This is, perhaps, the most direct way in which students become active and independent, as they gain the experience of working for and with others and truly achieve awareness of the world around them and how they may participate and contribute to it.

Ultimately, then, international programs of education such as the International Baccalaureate foster rather different approaches to education than have, perhaps, traditionally been thought of. They are more challenging and require that students are highly motivated and that motivation really has to come from the students, it cannot be forced by teachers or parents. Students need to have good reading and writing skills to succeed in such programs because these skills are implicitly required.

Though demanding, such programs can have significant and beneficial results. Students that attain IB Diplomas attain qualifications that are internationally recognized and respected but equally importantly they achieve characteristics that are relevant and valuable in today's world. Significant among these are awareness and skills in cooperative learning and community service and a sense of internationalism that is highly valid and valuable in times of globalization and a growing sense of the "global village". -- The author is the Principal of Raffles International Christian School, Pondok Indah, Jakarta