March

📅Planning & Scheduling

• Check the coordinator area of the PRC for updated content.

💁Supporting Students and Teachers

• Facilitate IB faculty meeting and collaboration.

• Update and check assessment calendar (particularly if tracking course assessments such as tests or quizzes on the assessment calendar in addition to IB assessments).

• Pop in and observe IB classes. Meet with teachers afterwards and debrief on the lesson.

• Plan for graduation regalia; create an order form that includes sign-off for requirements for diploma candidates (the requirements for regalia and types of regalia may vary by school). A checklist might include:

  • CAS coordinator confirmation for project and hours completed

  • IB coordinator or counsellor confirmation of good standing in all classes

  • EE supervisor (or EE coordinator) confirmation of EE completion

  • Payment for regalia (if students are required to pay)

  • One option is a Follett medallion, product #0496GZ9

It may be premature to order at this time, but creating a plan and an order form in advance of the deadline can be helpful.

• Ask IB teachers if they have any students who should be eligible for particular honours or recognition.

• Arrange for any applicable recognition of DP students (school or district honours nights or other ceremonies).

• Communicate with organizers of graduation/commencement ceremonies to ensure that IB diploma-eligible students are noted on print programs or other media.

📗Registration and Records

Register teachers for IB trainings.

Visit https://www.ibo.org/professional-development/find-events-and-workshops/

• Some reasons for training include:

  • Course revision (required)

  • New teacher (required)

  • Higher ‘category’ (i.e., Cat 2) after 1-2 sets of exam results (optional, but nice to do)

  • Addressing a deficit (low scores, or a culture shift that’s needed)

  • Building capacity within the school (having more than one person trained for a course can help when teachers leave or in case of emergencies)

• Select the best training option for your school and teacher’s circumstances.

  • Face-to-face training often yields the best experience, but travel can be expensive, particularly if your school is not close to a major IB training hub.

  • Virtual (synchronous) trainings save a lot of money and may be good for teachers who have difficulty traveling.

  • Online (asynchronous) trainings are inexpensive but often lack the interaction among educators that enhance the value of the shared information: these are self-paced modules with weekly assignments, and the training period lasts 4 weeks.

• Have the teachers self-register.

  • Be sure they fill in your name and email as the coordinator.

  • Provide them with your school code.

• Document scheduled trainings on ‘My IB’.

  • Go to ‘my school’ → school profile → school staff → edit → roles with IB → edit subject → edit professional development -->add workshop (put it in as ‘future’).

  • After they have attended, follow the same steps, but edit the workshop and change to ‘attended’.

  • Save certificates of completion (after trainings).

💸Budget and Finances

• Facilitate training registration payment and travel scheduling in accordance with your school district’s policies (if you’re unsure, the school bookkeeper is often the best place to start).

• Advise teachers to keep receipts and log mileage if applicable.

• Help with travel expense reimbursements after the training.

📏Assessment

• First major upload deadline - EEs, TOK essay, Language A HL Essay are due (they are usually due around March 15).

  • Forms for EE, TOK and Language A IAs can be generated in ManageBac as part of the eCoursework review of Student Portfolios.

Be mindful that deadline times are in UTC.

• Train exam invigilators.

  • Print a current Conduct of Exams booklet from PRC for each invigilator.

  • Document the invigilator training (have invigilators sign that they have received training).

• Re-read the conduct of exams manual.

• Optional (but very helpful):

  • Print scripts specific to each exam.

  • Find the types of questions/script needed for each exam in the conduct of exams manual (note that different papers for a single exam are often different types).

  • Put the different script types (unstructured, structured, MCQ) on different colored paper (ex. All structured exams on blue, unstructured on green).

  • Label the top of the page with the exam title and date.

  • List allowed items at the top of the script (calculator, pen/pencil, etc).

  • Place the scripts in your manual (perhaps in a binder) in the order they will occur.