The International Baccalaureate Teacher Award at Bilkent University Sunday, 30 October, 2011 IBAEM Regional Conference

1. Context: Bilkent University, its values, and developing I.B. schools, and the Graduate School of Education 2. Program: Mapping course activities onto IBTA areas of inquiry 3. Challenges faced in Year 1 of the IBTA ( ) The International Baccalaureate Teacher Award at Bilkent University

Values at Bilkent University Bilkent = Turkish for “City of learning & science” Founded in 1984 as the first private university in Turkey Meritocratic enterprise International research

Values at Bilkent University Concern for Education Foundation, not for profit High level of scholarship support by merit Rigorous assessment and graduation criteria Setting up Bilkent schools (5 to date; 3 more in the works) Bilkent University Graduate School of Education

Four Bilkent Schools

Bilkent School in Erbil (currently Pre-K, K, 1 st and 2 nd grades) 6

Bilkent Graduate School of Education Started in 2000, dedicated to preparing well- qualified high school teachers. Current GSE programs include: MA in Curriculum & Instruction with Teaching Certificate (CITE) MA in Curriculum & Instruction (in-service) MA in Management & Education (in-service) MA in TEFL (in-service) PhD in Curriculum & Instruction

Hours that our CITE students spend in schools learning to be teachers…

1.Enhancing teaching and learning Two students who disagreed with this value felt that we have too many courses, covering too much content, preventing students from learning as fully as possible. 2.Fostering communication and collegiality 3.Encouraging innovation and risk taking 4.Promoting inter-cultural understanding and respect 5.Acknowledgment of diversity and multiple perspectives 6.Supporting reflection and professional learning Review of IBTA values at Bilkent GSE In March 2011 survey of first cohort in IBTA, 21/23 students agreed or strongly agreed that our program was supporting the following values.

The Program: CITE-IBTA framework How are we integrating IBTA into our CITE curricula? Why is the framework so complicated? How are we blending theory and practice?

1. CURRICULUM PROCESSSES CourseDomain TE Teaching Methods I TE Teaching Methods I TE 525 Learning and Teaching CI 511 Curriculum in Inter. Context TE Teaching Practice TE 510 Curriculum and Instruction TE School Experience I A. International Education; role and philosophy of the IB programme B. Curriculum frameworks C. Curriculum and instructional design D. Curriculum articulation

2. TEACHING and LEARNING CourseDomain TE School Experience II TE Teaching Practice TE Teaching Methods I TE Teaching Methods II MBG 452 TE 510 Curriculum and Instruction TE 524 Guidance TE 525 Learning and Teaching CI 511 Curriculum in Inter. Context Curriculum Review E. Learning theories, strategies and styles F. Teaching methodologies and the support of learning G. Differentiated teaching strategies H. Selection and evaluation of teaching and learning materials

3. ASSESSMENT and LEARNING CourseDomain TE 518 Measurement and Evaluation TE 525 Learning and Teaching Curriculum Review TE Teaching Practice TE Teaching Methods I TE Teaching Methods II CI 511 Curriculum in Inter. Context TE 524 Guidance TE School Experience II TE School Experience I I. Principles of assessment J. Developing assessment strategies K. Designing assessment tasks and rubrics L. Differentiation of assessment M. Effective feedback

4. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING CourseDomain TE School Experience I TE School Experience II TE 524 Guidance TE Teaching Practice TE 525 Learning and Teaching CI 511 Curriculum in Inter. Context TE 510 Curriculum and Instruction TE Teaching Methods I TE Teaching Methods II TE 520 Inst. Tech. and Mat. Design Curriculum Review N. Principles and processes of reflective practice O. Collaborative learning P. Use of ICT to support building of communities of practice

Allocating time: Prioritizing with other demands Ideas for reducing redundancy across courses. Balancing YÖK requirements with thesis work with teaching certificate and work in schools. How to ensure coverage of IB without doing injustice to other curricular frameworks that may help students in their future careers? Challenges…

Student perspectives: Requested more IB in some courses (math & TLL/CR), less in others. Too much content coverage of wide range of I.B. topics in 510/511. Would prefer focused IB coverage in Methods/CR courses, less in general courses. Continue improvement of using OCC for course activities. Tone down the IB Learner Profile; over zealous in first year. Challenges…

Faculty discussions More IB in practical ways in Methods/CR, less in general theory courses. Strategies for using OCC, forums, and other web sites for particular course needs. Ongoing discussions about aligning Methods & CR. Natural inclination of some students for doing thesis research in our I.B. schools. Challenges…

GSE-IBTA Reference Moodle