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IB Summer Virtual Workshops

The Branksome Hall IB Summer Virtual Workshops are an exciting opportunity for you to learn from world-class, certified International Baccalaureate instructors, improve your knowledge of the IB curriculum and network with many like-minded thinkers.

This year's virtual workshops take place:
Tuesday, July 30 to Thursday, August 1, 2024
The registration deadline is July 29, 2024. An early bird discount will be available until May 15, 2024

The Team

Heather Friesen
Head, Academics and Professional Learning

Lorraine Ashtiani
Administrative Assistant to the Head, Academics and Professional Learning
Coordinator, Branksome Hall IB Summer Virtual Workshops

Rebecca Shu
Administrative Assistant, IB Programs & BHX Program Coordinator

Testimonials

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IB Education, Category 3 - Learning Diversity and Inclusion

“This workshop was great because the workshop leader used the same apps and platforms that all teachers use and can easily access. In the past, when the leaders just used the IB proprietary apps, it was hard to find the resources and to have online discussions. Using Padlet, Zoom, etc. was much smoother.”

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DP Category 2 - Theory of Knowledge

“Our workshop leader did an excellent job of facilitating this workshop to ensure we felt ready to assess for TOK. The content in this workshop was mostly for the assessments, which was helpful to see where we want to go with the course when we teach it.”

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PYP Category 2 - Evidencing Learning

“I thought it was a great workshop. I am happy I made notes and will use them to implement improvements to my classroom this coming year. Thank you.”

Which workshops should I choose?

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Choose Category 1 workshops if you are new to the IB or if your situation is similar to any of the following:
1. You are new to the faculty of a longstanding IB World School and have not taught in an IB programme previously.
2. You are aware of the IB philosophy and programme structure but are not experienced in teaching or administering the IB.
3. You are familiar with the IB subject guide (including assessment procedures, moderation) and would like greater confidence before teaching a course.
4. You have inherited a course and would like a review before teaching it to suit your own style and expertise.
Choose Category 2 workshops to develop your expertise in delivering an IB programme. You will have an opportunity to:
1. Make connections between programme frameworks and classroom practice.
2. Enhance your understanding of assessment in IB programmes.
3. Discuss and analyze standards and practices.
Choose Category 3 workshops to go more deeply into areas you enjoy and to deepen your understanding and mastery of a particular area or subject.

Note: Teachers and other school leaders who do not teach in an IB World School but wish to sample IB learning may choose to participate in many of our workshops. Please refer to the "Recommended for" information in each workshop description.

PYP Workshops & Descriptions

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CAT 1: Making the PYP Happen - Implementing Agency +

Recommended for: All Primary Years Programme (PYP) teachers (early years, Primary Years, new to PYP and with some experience of the PYP).

This workshop invites you to inquire into your own teaching practices and reflect on how you can develop the capabilities of a PYP teacher. By exploring the PYP framework, you will connect how voice, choice and ownership is recognized and developed in all members of the IB community. You will be supported in your understanding of learning and teaching in a transdisciplinary, concept-driven curriculum and how to design this in your own school context.
CAT 2: Learning and Teaching for Conceptual Understanding +

Recommended for: Experienced Primary Years Programme (PYP) teachers, coordinators and school leaders.

A transdisciplinary, concept-driven curriculum supports the development of students’ understanding of complex ideas. Build your capability to design and evidence or assess concept-based learning that leads to depth and rigour in student thinking within and across subjects. You will investigate how the programme of inquiry promotes a school-wide vision for concept-driven learning, and, with the planning process, creates opportunities for students to make connections and transfer understanding from one context to another.
CAT 2: PYP Evidencing Learning +

Recommended for: Primary Years Programme (PYP) administrators, coordinators and teachers

Engage with the latest developments in educational assessment, its purpose and characteristics. Explore how to monitor, document, measure and report on learning to inform the learner, learning and teaching and the learning community throughout the learning process. You will strengthen your assessment capabilities by analyzing data and evidence to inform decision-making for learning and teaching, providing meaningful feedback to feedforward for next steps, and supporting your students to become assessment capable.
CAT 3: Creating a Curriculum for Transdisciplinary Learning +

Recommended for: Primary Years Programme (PYP) teachers and coordinators.

Impactful learning occurs when teachers and students take a transdisciplinary approach. This workshop supports teachers in the design and writing of curriculum that balances disciplinary and transdisciplinary learning and teaching while responding to the needs of the learner and the learning community. You will consider how curriculum development can include students and the learning community as collaborators.

MYP Workshops & Descriptions

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CAT 2: Individuals and Societies +
Recommended for: Middle Years Programme (MYP) subject-group teachers with at least one year of experience delivering the MYP in their specific subject. In order to actively participate and collaborate, all Category 2 participants are encouraged to have previously created, taught and assessed at least one MYP unit.

Category 2 workshops encourage you to:
- Explore and align your practices with the IB standards and practices
- Refine and continue to develop a collaborative and collegial approach to the structures and principles of your subject group aims and objectives
- Deepen your understanding and capabilities for delivering your content through concepts, context and approaches to learning skills
- Evaluate, strengthen, and design new tasks that will support the implementation of your subject group expectations
- Reflect upon the relevance, innovation, and rigour of the student-centred environments that you have created
- Discover and create opportunities to make your content more accessible to a broader range of students
CAT 2: Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning in the MYP +

Recommended for: Teams of at least two teachers from different subject groups can attend so they can work together on developing resources, strategies and units to be used at their schools. Individual teachers are also welcome. The workshop is suitable for new and experienced teachers.

This workshop is based on the Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning in the MYP guide. The workshop will support schools and teachers in their efforts to structure meaningful interdisciplinary inquiry through providing a thorough look into planning, teaching, learning and assessing of interdisciplinary units.

This interactive workshop is designed to provide step-by-step guidance on how to prepare interdisciplinary teaching and learning strategies effectively, from identifying possible interdisciplinary threads, to designing multifaceted questions of inquiry in the context of purposeful syntheses and assessing student´s interdisciplinary understandings.

For this purpose, you will unpack the interdisciplinary aims, objectives and criteria and explore ways to practically organize interdisciplinary teaching and learning in your school context through collaborative practices. Through a practical hands-on approach, participants will understand the importance of this foundational MYP element and how promoting interdisciplinary teaching and learning leads to school growth and deeper student understanding.
CAT 2: Math +
Recommended for: Middle Years Programme (MYP) subject-group teachers with at least one year of experience delivering the MYP in their specific subject. In order to actively participate and collaborate, all Category 2 participants are encouraged to have previously created, taught and assessed at least one MYP unit.

Category 2 workshops encourage you to:
- Explore and align your practices with the IB standards and practices
- Refine and continue to develop a collaborative and collegial approach to the structures and principles of your subject group aims and objectives
- Deepen your understanding and capabilities for delivering your content through concepts, context and approaches to learning skills
- Evaluate, strengthen, and design new tasks that will support the implementation of your subject group expectations
- Reflect upon the relevance, innovation, and rigour of the student-centred environments that you have created
- Discover and create opportunities to make your content more accessible to a broader range of students
CAT 2: Sciences +
Recommended for: Middle Years Programme (MYP) subject-group teachers with at least one year of experience delivering the MYP in their specific subject. In order to actively participate and collaborate, all Category 2 participants are encouraged to have previously created, taught, and assessed at least one MYP unit.

Category 2 workshops encourage you to:
- Explore and align your practices with the IB standards and practices
- Refine and continue to develop a collaborative and collegial approach to the structures and principles of your subject group aims and objectives
- Deepen your understanding and capabilities for delivering your content through concepts, context and approaches to learning skills
- Evaluate, strengthen, and design new tasks that will support the implementation of your subject group expectations
- Reflect upon the relevance, innovation, and rigour of the student-centred environments that you have created
- Discover and create opportunities to make your content more accessible to a broader range of students
CAT 3: Building Self-Directed Learners Through Approaches to Learning +

Recommended for: Middle Years Programme (MYP) teachers, coordinators and administrators.

Through the MYP approaches to learning (ATL) skills framework of categories and clusters, you will inquire into how students develop skills that have relevance across and beyond the curriculum, helping them “learn how to learn.” ATL skills in cognitive, affective and metacognitive domains can be learned and taught (explicitly and implicitly), improved with practice and developed with increasing complexity incrementally.

They provide a solid foundation for learning independently and with others. ATL skills help students prepare for, and demonstrate learning through, meaningful assessment. They provide a common language that students and teachers can use to reflect on, and communicate on, the process of learning.

DP Workshops & Descriptions

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CAT 2: Chemistry (new syllabus) +
Recommended for: Diploma Programme (DP) subject teachers who have prepared students for at least one DP exam session in that specific subject. Educators should enroll in a Category 2 workshop in their particular subject area.

These workshops are designed for participants who are keen to improve the teaching and learning experience in the DP classroom.

The workshop will enable participants to:
- Unpack elements of the IB Programme standards and practices as a guide for decisions regarding delivery of the subject
- Review and share strategies that support successful collaborative planning and reflection which deepen links with the DP core—theory of knowledge (TOK), CAS and EE
- Consolidate understanding of the nature of the Extended Essay and the role of the supervisor, to include reference to world studies interdisciplinary extended essay
- Examine the connection between their chosen subject, the approaches to teaching and learning and the learner profile while promoting international-mindedness
- Create teaching and learning strategies that develop self- regulated and metacognitive learners
- Design appropriate inquiry-based lessons and activities for their subject
- Discuss strategies for addressing assessment-related challenges in the chosen subject
- understand how to arrive at a judgment using a common assessment task and published criteria
- Analyse IB subject reports to promote student achievement
- Discuss successful strategies for recording, reporting and monitoring ongoing student progress in the subject group
- Design formative learning engagements that will equip students with the required factual, procedural and conceptual knowledge that support the summative assessment task(s)
- Engage with and integrate current IB publications on the programme resource centre into the teaching of their subject
- Discuss and share strategies to promote academic integrity
- Interact with and explore the TSM and subject-specific teaching and learning resources on the programme resource centre and in the programme communities throughout the curriculum life cycle
- Participate in professional learning communities within and beyond your school to facilitate the transfer of professional development
- Reflect on the teacher’s role in programme evaluation, particularly how to highlight horizontal and vertical in- school planning
CAT 2: Environmental Systems & Societies (new syllabus) +
Recommended for: Diploma Programme (DP) subject teachers who have prepared students for at least one DP exam session in that specific subject. Educators should enroll in a Category 2 workshop in their particular subject area.

These workshops are designed for participants who are keen to improve the teaching and learning experience in the DP classroom.

The workshop will enable participants to:
- Unpack elements of the IB Programme standards and practices as a guide for decisions regarding delivery of the subject
- Review and share strategies that support successful collaborative planning and reflection which deepen links with the DP core—theory of knowledge (TOK), CAS and EE
- Consolidate understanding of the nature of the Extended Essay and the role of the supervisor, to include reference to world studies interdisciplinary extended essay
- Examine the connection between their chosen subject, the approaches to teaching and learning and the learner profile while promoting international-mindedness
- Create teaching and learning strategies that develop self- regulated and metacognitive learners
- Design appropriate inquiry-based lessons and activities for their subject
- Discuss strategies for addressing assessment-related challenges in the chosen subject
- Understand how to arrive at a judgment using a common assessment task and published criteria
- Analyse IB subject reports to promote student achievement
- Discuss successful strategies for recording, reporting and monitoring ongoing student progress in the subject group
- design formative learning engagements that will equip students with the required factual, procedural and conceptual knowledge that support the summative assessment task(s)
- Engage with and integrate current IB publications on the programme resource centre into the teaching of their subject
- Discuss and share strategies to promote academic integrity
- Interact with and explore the TSM and subject-specific teaching and learning resources on the programme resource centre and in the programme communities throughout the curriculum life cycle
- Participate in professional learning communities within and beyond your school to facilitate the transfer of professional development
- Reflect on the teacher’s role in programme evaluation, particularly how to highlight horizontal and vertical in- school planning
CAT 2: Mathematics: Analysis & Approaches +
Recommended for: Diploma Programme (DP) subject teachers who have prepared students for at least one DP exam session in that specific subject. Educators should enroll in a Category 2 workshop in their particular subject area.

These workshops are designed for participants who are keen to improve the teaching and learning experience in the DP classroom.

The workshop will enable participants to:
- Unpack elements of the IB Programme standards and practices as a guide for decisions regarding delivery of the subject
- Review and share strategies that support successful collaborative planning and reflection which deepen links with the DP core—theory of knowledge (TOK), CAS and EE
- Consolidate understanding of the nature of the extended essay and the role of the supervisor, to include reference to world studies interdisciplinary extended essay
- Examine the connection between their chosen subject, the approaches to teaching and learning and the learner profile while promoting international-mindedness
- Create teaching and learning strategies that develop self- regulated and metacognitive learners
- Design appropriate inquiry-based lessons and activities for their subject
- Discuss strategies for addressing assessment-related challenges in the chosen subject
- Understand how to arrive at a judgment using a common assessment task and published criteria
- Analyse IB subject reports to promote student achievement
- Discuss successful strategies for recording, reporting and monitoring ongoing student progress in the subject group
- Design formative learning engagements that will equip students with the required factual, procedural and conceptual knowledge that support the summative assessment task(s)
- Engage with and integrate current IB publications on the programme resource centre into the teaching of their subject
- Discuss and share strategies to promote academic integrity
- Interact with and explore the TSM and subject-specific teaching and learning resources on the programme resource centre and in the programme communities throughout the curriculum life cycle
- Participate in professional learning communities within and beyond your school to facilitate the transfer of professional development
- Reflect on the teacher’s role in programme evaluation, particularly how to highlight horizontal and vertical in- school planning
CAT 3: Assessment for Learning in DP/CP +

Recommended for: Experienced Diploma Programme (DP) and Career-Related Programme (CP) teachers and coordinators.

Use this workshop to explore and increase your understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of DP/CP assessments.

Then develop lesson plans and units of instruction using DP/ CP assessment philosophies and practices. Over the course of the workshop, you will learn about assessment in the DP/CP, assessment objectives across all subject groups, the relationship of DP/CP assessments across multiple DP/CP subject groups and the central role of feedback in assessment. You will also discuss understanding by design, backward design and the role of assessment in backward design. You will explore effective instructional strategies and the role of assessment across IB core philosophies (learner profile, approaches to learning, approaches to teaching). You will also have the chance to design reflective assessments.

Fees & Payment Policy

Registration Fee: $1,200.00 CAD (approximately $900.00 USD).
A portion of this fee is paid to the International Baccalaureate Organization for professional development support that allows us to make these workshops possible.

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Payment Policy

Once registration is completed, you will be emailed an invoice with your registration confirmation. Payment is due within 30 days of registration. Any registration made after May 15, 2024 must be made by credit card.

Acceptable payment methods:
Visa, MasterCard or cheque – no purchase orders will be accepted.

Wire Transfers:
To pay via wire transfer please email conferences@branksome.on.ca for more information.

Please Note: We will only release login information to participants who have paid in full.

Other Policies

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Registration Policy +

Branksome Hall IB Summer Workshops will send you a registration confirmation after payment has been processed.

Branksome Hall IB Summer Workshops reserves the right to withdraw any session due to low enrollment. All refunds will be processed within 30 days after the close of the workshop.

Late Registrations
A $50.00 late fee will be charged for all registrations received after the registration deadline of July 29, 2024.
Waitlist Policy +

Once a workshop is full, we will waitlist participants on a first come, first served basis. Should space become available, waitlist requests will be processed in the order in which they were received.

Notification will be sent via email to the participant and IB Coordinator, where applicable, if an opening becomes available. The participant or the IB Coordinator must accept this spot via written confirmation (email or fax) within four business days. If a confirmation is not received within four days, the offer becomes cancelled. Once written confirmation is received from the participant, all registration and cancellation policies are applicable. Waitlist notifications sent out after the registration deadline are not subject to the $50.00 late fee.
Cancellation Policy +
Registration fees will be fully refunded, minus a $75.00 administration fee, for cancellations received in writing before June 30, 2024. The administration fee applies regardless of if we have received payment. Please email conferences@branksome.on.ca to request a cancellation.

A credit will be issued for cancellations received between July 1, 2024 and the workshop date. This credit will be valid for the next year’s workshop only. Your acceptance of the terms of this agreement shall be your acknowledgment of this policy. All cancellations will be processed after the workshop and refunds will be issued in the form of a cheque.

Why do we charge when people cancel?
- We have created workshop materials for the cancelling registrant
- We have hired workshop leaders based upon the registrant’s promise to attend
- We have, in the case of late cancellations, lost the income of a waitlisted participant
Attendance Policy +

All Branksome Hall IB Summer Workshops are 15 hours in length; it is required that participants attend the entire workshop. An electronic Certificate of Attendance will be emailed to each participant following the workshop, only if they have completed 15 hours total. If, after two weeks from the end of the workshop, you have not received your certificate, please email conferences@branksome.on.ca.

One replacement certificate can be issued free of charge up until one year after the workshop end date. Requests made after this date will incur a $20.00 administration fee.
Privacy Policy +

Please note that Branksome Hall IB Summer Workshops is required to share your workshop registration data with The International Baccalaureate Organization. The IBO will not share your data with anyone else.

Contact Us

Branksome Hall IB Summer Virtual Workshops for Teachers
Phone: 416-920-6265, ext. 568
Email us

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We wish to acknowledge this land on which Branksome operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work and go to school on this land.

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Branksome Hall
10 Elm Ave, Toronto, ON, Canada
M4W 1N4

1-416-920-9741 
admissions@branksome.on.ca 

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