This article reports on the design of interdisciplinary units in five International Baccalaureate schools in Norway and Denmark, each with fewer than 100 students in their Middle Years Programme. The mixed methods study describes subject combinations and time frames of 37 enacted units and 111 hypothetical interdisciplinary units, and the…

This study explored the empirical evidence with regards to concurrency of learning among the Theory of Knowledge (TOK), Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) and Extended Essay (EE), which are the core components in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). This mixed method research used a concurrency of learning questionnaire…

Across East and Southeast Asia, the International Baccalaureate (IB) is expanding and diversifying. More students from affluent families are 'opting out' of mainstream schooling to take the IB's Diploma Programme (DP), which is marketed as a distinctive skill-based education that prepares students for university. This research investigated how DP…

In this study, we investigated the use of digital technology for aural skills instruction in Advanced Placement Music Theory (APMT) classes in the United States. Our research questions focused on which technologies teachers use for aural skills, how they incorporate them, and what influences their decisions to use them. We created, piloted, and…

Research has shown that engaging students in peer feedback can help students revise documents and improve their writing skills. But the mechanistic pathways by which skills develop have remained untested: Does receiving and providing feedback lead to learning because it produces more extensive revision behavior or is such immediate implementation…

While the International Baccalaureate's Middle Years Programme (MYP) is growing in popularity in Australia and across the globe, few studies have examined the benefits and challenges of this IB programme for supporting student learning. Using a qualitative case study design of three Australian schools that formerly offered the MYP, we investigated…

The general objective of this study was to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of the national curriculum and IBDP according to the perception of gifted students, and to determine the effects of the programmes on the academic achievement of the aforementioned students. Data was collected with an information form. It was found significant…

This study aims to augment the current understanding of how practicing teachers perceive and implement disciplinary literacy and in what ways they collaborate with researchers in a disciplinary literacy project. To do this, we collected and analyzed transcripts of the meetings from a disciplinary literacy project that was a university-school…

In this study, tasks measuring digital media literacy developed by Stanford University were administered at a school in Finland to consider the efficacy and transfer of critical thinking (CT) skills of a 'pre-IB' cohort preparing to enter the two year International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) and a graduating 'IB2' cohort. While the IB2…

Student "Mentor" and "Leadership" Programs impact the climate and culture of schools. Students are capable of outstanding leadership when given the opportunities and constructs to be successful. The evidence is clear that those schools that embrace student leadership and mentor programs have more positive events, activities,…

There is a growing body of research suggesting that schools need to respond to changing social and economic dynamics by prioritising "21st-century skills". Proponents of this view, who have been termed "the 21st century skills movement", have called for greater emphasis on cognitive and non-cognitive skills development,…

Based on relevant literature and recent qualitative findings, the purpose of this survey research was to identify pedagogical approaches to melodic dictation employed by Advanced Placement (AP) Music Theory teachers across the United States. The researcher-designed survey questions focused on pitch and rhythm skills, instructional resources,…

The building of historical thinking skills has historically been a lonely endeavor for AP U.S. history teachers. Many often generate their own pedagogy, perhaps modified from an AP workshop or generally gleaned from released exam essay questions. However, as currently scheduled, in 2014, the AP U.S. history exam will undergo a redesign that will…

Describes the six habits of mind fundamental to the study of history. Argues that a world history course must introduce students to the processes by which historians study the past. Provides suggestions for teaching the habits of mind through the proposed Advanced Placement (AP) world history course. (CMK)

Provides background information on the Document Based Question (DBQ) that is part of both the Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. and European history examinations. Includes an example of the process involved in analyzing documents during the AP examination. Discusses teaching techniques that can be used for the DBQ with the purpose of improving student…