Radical Sabbaticals for Students are a unique new summer program specifically designed for high school students involved in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program (often incorrectly referred to as just 'the IB').
The Diploma Program (DP):
The Diploma Program (DP) is an educational program taught in one of three languages - English, French or Spanish - and is intended for students in their final two years of secondary school, often before entering university. It is taught in 1,348 schools in 121 countries (as of 2005). The program, administered by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is one of the most widely recognised pre-university educational programs in the world.
The Extended Essay (EE):
Students in the DP program must write an essay of at most 4,000 words in any chosen subject (not necessarily one taken for the final exam) but not across subjects. The task involves independent research and requires producing a comprehensible written piece. Each student is paired with a supervisor, who provides insight toward the final product. It is essential to submit an Extended Essay (often abbreviated as EE) or the candidate cannot receive the IB Diploma. The essay requirement is intended to acquaint diploma candidates with the kind of independent research and writing skills expected by universities.
The topic may be any that the student feels is researchable. The essay permits students to deepen their programs of study, for example by selecting a topic in one of their Higher Level (HL) courses. Or they might add breadth to their academic experience by electing to write in a subject not included in their program choices (if permitted by the supervising teacher).
Creativity, Action, Service (CAS)
Each DP student must complete at least 150 hours, spread out over at least one and a half years, doing something creative, participating in sport or other physical activities, and doing community service / social work. The general guideline for CAS is to split it evenly among Creativity, Action and Service, hence a de facto requirement of 50 hours of each. The whole lot of the work done for CAS must be documented in the 'CAS diary', which is eventually sent to the IBO as a proof of the fulfilled CAS program.
Participation in CAS raises students’ awareness of community needs and gives them an opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom to address those needs. It also gives them confidence in their ability to bring about change. The projects must have tangible results and offer real benefit to others.
| The International Baccalaureate (IB) |
| What is the IB? |
The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a group of three educational programs and their respective examinations, as established by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). |
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The International Baccalaureate is a comprehensive and rigorous high school degree program (usually taken in the final two years of high school) that is similar to the final year of secondary school in Europe. The IB program is internationally licensed by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), and places a strong emphasis on the ideals of international understanding and responsible citizenship. The IBO offers schools three programs:
- the Primary Years Program for students ages 3–12
- the Middle Years Program for students ages 11–16
- the Diploma Program for students in the final 2 years of secondary school
The programs are modelled after educational systems from around the world, without being based on any particular one, incorporating both the breadth offered by some as well as the early specialisation offered by others. Since their founding in 1968, their rigour and high standards have ensured their wide recognition throughout the world. Completion of the prescribed IB curriculum results in the award of an IB diploma, and credit and advanced placement may be awarded by colleges and universities for successful performance on IB subject tests. |
| The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) |
| Who is the IBO? |
The International Baccalaureate Organization aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. |
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The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is an international non-profit educational foundation, founded in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation's original intent was to provide schools with an international curriculum which would be acceptable to universities and college around the world. This idea led to the creation of the IB Diploma Program. The Middle Years Program and Primary Years Program were created in 1994 and 1997 respectively, allowing the IBO to direct education all the way from age three to the end of the secondary level.
The IBO functions on fees charged from schools who wish to implement one or more of the organisation's educational programs. Traditionally, the schools offering the programs were private internaitonal schools, but the number of public schools (state schools outside of North America.) is increasing. Today, over half of all Diploma Program students are from these schools. There are currently over 1,500 schools implementing the organisation's programs in 121 countries to approximately 200,000 students. |
| What is the Diploma Program? |
The Diploma Program is a rigorous pre-university course of studies that leads to examinations, for highly motivated secondary school students. |
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The Diploma Program is a comprehensive two-year curriculum, available in English, French and Spanish, that generally allows students to fulfill requirements of various national education systems. IB diploma holders are admitted to universities worldwide, including the most selective.
The grading system is criterion-referenced. This means that each student’s performance is measured against well-defined levels of achievement. Top grades reflect knowledge and skills relative to set standards applied equally to all schools.
Responsibility for all academic judgments about the quality of candidates’ work rests with over 5,000 examiners worldwide, led by chief examiners with international authority in their fields. |
| What is the Extended Essay? |
The Extended Essay (one of the requirements of the Diploma Program), is an essay of up to 4,000 words, written on a freely-chosen topic, and provides the students with an opportunity to conduct independent research on a topic that interests them. |
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The student writing an EE works together with a supervisor who advises and guides them in the writing process. In total, students are expected to spend about 40 hours on writing the EE, but some students use a shorter and others a longer amount of time. The Extended Essay is externally assessed (graded) by the IBO.
The EE may be written on a topic of the student's choice, taken from the field of any one of the IB Subjects. However, the topic must not be either too broad or too narrow. The subject that the EE is written is recommended to to be one that the candidate has formally studied, but this is not required. Also, the EE may not be written across different subjects – it must concentrate on one subject only.
The supervisor must be a teacher at the school that the student attends. The supervisor provides the student with assistance in putting together their EE, including guiding them in finding a suitable research question and on how to acquire the necessary resources to complete the research (such as a specific resource material–often hard-to-find documents or books–or laboratory equipment). The supervisor may suggest improvements to a version of the EE, but must not be engaged in writing it. The IBO recommends that the supervisor spend approximately two to three hours in total with the candidate discussing the EE. Some schools allow their students to choose a supervisor from outside their school, provided that the student appoint a teacher from inside the school to handle required administrative paperwork (such as anti-plagiarism policies).
The Extended Essay is assessed (graded) by examiners appointed by the IBO on a scale of 0 to 36. There are "general" and "subject-specific" criteria, at a point ration of 2:1 (24 possible points for the general criteria and 12 for the subject-specific one). |
| What is the CAS Requirement? |
Creativity, Action, Service (usually referred to as just CAS) is a component of the Diploma Program, with the aim of providing a 'counterbalance' to the academic rigour of the educational programme. |
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Students are expected to spend at least 150 hours during the two-year program participating in different activities that have a function of developing them creatively, physically and socially. The component is often thought of merely social services, but it is in fact more than just that.
All the portions (Creativity, Action, and Service) should, according to the IBP, be interpreted as imaginatively as possible, so that a wide array of different activities can qualify for CAS. As the total required amount of hours is 150, and as they should be equally divided between the three portions, there is a de facto requirement of approximately fifty hours each.
For each activity the student takes part in, an activity leader is needed. The activity leader's job is to monitor the student's work in carrying out the activity, and to write a report on it. The activity leader cannot be another Diploma Program student or a member of the studen't family, and should be able to comment on the student's progress in their chosen task. The student also produces for each activity an entry in their CAS diary, including details on the activity and their personal ideas about the development made during it.
The necessity of reporting every activity in a specific way and the requirement of an activity leader have been the strongest criticisms presented against the CAS system. These often take a lot of effort, and may deter the students from doing any more useful work than is required. However, there is no other feasible way of proving whether the student has actually done the work they claim to have done.
CAS is not assessed, but a failure to complete and report the full 150 hours is a failing condition for the IB Diploma. | |