4 Skills You Don’t Realise the IB Teaches You
Attaining the IB certificate at the end of the journey is definitely an achievement worth discussing. But after 2 years of trudging through the IB, there has to be more than just a piece of paper!
If you’re an IB student wondering if it’s worth it, fret not as this article will reveal some hidden benefits that IB students will experience throughout their journey. Hopefully, after reading this article, you will feel that the IB is worth it after all!
1. Time Management Skills
IB students have a large variety of commitments that take up a huge portion of well… every day.
The typical IB student has a minimum of 3 non-academic activities, a 4000 word research paper (Extended Essay), a pseudo-philosophy subject (Theory of Knowledge). These are on top of the 6 subjects that IB students have to study for. If you’re a “high-flyer”, you also have numerous university applications to write or leadership roles in school.
All in 2 years!
I remember even having to stay in school up till 8pm on some days because of my hectic schedule!
But there is a silver-lining in the 2 years of non-stop hustle of IB students: You learn how to prioritise and manage your commitments!
Somehow, IB students get things done! Need a 4000 word essay churned out whilst studying for exams? Done. Need to attend soccer training after school then go for a consultation but still finish tomorrow’s assignment? Done.
These time-management skills are sub-consciously drilled into IB students as they adapt to the rigor and intensity of the IB program. When they’re done with the IB, they will be better able to juggle the many commitments life throws at them.
If you’re still lacking in time management skills, have a read at this article we wrote!
2. Developing Independence
One uniqueness of the IB is the various self-designed compulsory assignments.
IB students have to complete the Extended Essay. With little guidance, the Extended Essay requires IB students to come up with their own investigation for a research question that they are interested in. This Essay can span months and my personal essay was more than 50 pages long.
As this may be the first research paper that an IB student may face, he/she will need to figure out many things. These include skills like conducting surveys, gathering data, formatting a proper paper, creating a bibliography, etc.
Due to limited supervision, IB students usually have to figure this out on their own through asking friends or searching the internet. This, in my opinion, is a good practice as it forces IB students to become more independent instead of always being spoon-fed on how to perform certain tasks.
3. Enhancing Creativity
One way this is cultivated is again, through having to complete the Extended Essay.
Having to design a research paper from ground-up does require creativity. Not only are IB students expected to come up with what they want to investigate but also how they want to conduct the investigation. This takes loads of brain juice!
This is not an easy feat. However, the end result of holding the completed EE in your hands after hard work is definitely worth remembering.
I vividly remember working on my EE till the wee hours of the morning, reading literature reviews on a topic I was extremely interested in given my ethnicity background.
4. Developing An Evaluative Mind
Many of the assignments during the IB do not actually require a “right” answer. What they really want to see if the student has thought through the process and evaluated the methodologies.
For instance, during the Internal Assessment, some students have the conclusion of not being able to accept or reject their hypotheses. This could be due to limitations in their experiments or because their results are inconclusive.
So how do they score marks?
Students can actually score marks for their level of thought in terms of how they carry out their experiments and just for having sound methodologies. In the example above, if students can explain why their results are inconclusive, this can prove to be in their favour. This encourages students to focus not on the final results but the actual process.
They are also rewarded for questioning whether their methods are the most effective or not which encourages deeper thinking.
This is also evident in the types of examinable questions which often request students to compare or evaluate.
Final Words
If anything, the IB is actually an extremely academically rewarding program. It’s something you should consider if you are intending to apply to renown universities across the globe. Not applicable to the UK as it’s based off their A Level Cambridge system, the IB has garnered greater forms of recognition particularly in the States, Australia and Canada compared to their local forms of assessment.
We hope these four tips have been insightful.
The IB is no easy feat, especially to reach the high coveted scores of 43 and above. However, IB Lounge has a bunch of resources to help you. Known to be a one-stop shop for anything IB, our expertise is in providing relatable and specialised help for the IB program. Our tutors have all been through what you are going through and want to reach out to help you.
If there’s anything you’d like to find out more on why these local Singaporean students can score so well, it’s best to join them to polish up your skills if you’d want to embark on the IB journey ahead.