The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program
(IBDP) at AIS-R
Determining the best High School (HS) course of study can be one of the most difficult decisions parents make with their sons and daughters. However, the more information one has often leads to a better decision making process. As the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program Coordinator, it is my job to assist parents and students in receiving accurate information about courses, programs of study and to advise them, all with our excellent Counseling team, on their academic planning. The American International School - Riyadh (AIS-R) students have performed remarkably well in their IB courses and have matriculated at the world’s finest colleges and universities. It is a pleasure to be involved with this robust and successful program and to participate in its continued growth and development at AIS-R.
At AIS-R we offer DP, and U.S. High School college preparatory courses for our Grade 11 and 12 students, all of which prepare AIS-R students for success at universities and colleges of their choice. The information provided here will present specific details about our IB Diploma Program and courses. It is also recommended that students and parents discuss course selections with their current teacher to get advice on appropriate course requirements and choices. For additional information on the IB Diploma Program, please visit www.ibo.org. In addition, information is available in our school’s weekly newsletter, Eagle Central.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about our IB program, please do not hesitate to contact me (jcrook@aisr.org).
The Diploma Programme (DP) is a curricular framework designed by the International Baccalaureate (IB) for students in the last two years of high school.
DP students graduating with the IB diploma are able to study at universities all around the world, often with advanced credit or placement. Students report that their involvement with the IB has given them the tools necessary to succeed at college. In particular, students comment on their sense of preparedness, self-confidence, research skills, and their ability to manage their time. Even more important, they have developed a sense of the world around them and their responsibility to it.
Diploma Programme students study six subjects, (three at standard level and three at higher level) over two years and complete three additional requirements: referred to by the IB as the DP Core: Theory of Knowledge (TOK), the extended essay (EE), and a Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) program experiences outside of the classroom. (Research Findings on the DP Core) At AIS-R, all students complete a CAS program as part of their graduation requirements.
Theory of knowledge:
TOK is an interdisciplinary course designed to help students question and understand how they know and what they know. Students study how individuals from various disciplines view the world in order to develop their own ways of thinking. By stimulating analysis of knowledge across disciplines, TOK seeks to help students make sense of school and the world.
Creativity, Activity, Service - The Core of Diploma Programme
CAS is an experiential learning component of the DP. Students complete a wide variety of extracurricular, community service, and athletic options to complete this requirement.
What is CAS?
CAS is a framework for experiential learning designed to involve students in new roles. The emphasis is on learning by doing real tasks that have real consequences and then reflecting on these experiences over time. This process of doing and reflecting provides an excellent opportunity to extend what is learned in the classroom to a form of service. The most meaningful CAS experience comes from spending time with others to build relationships and develop the self-worth of both server and served.
C - Creativity: Exploring & Extending Ideas Leading to an Original or Interpretive Product Performance
- Creativity in CAS provides students with the opportunity to explore their own sense of original thinking and expression.
- Creativity will come from the student’s talents, interests, passions, emotional responses and imagination. This may include visual and performing arts, digital design, writing, film, culinary arts, crafts and composition.
A - Activity: Physical Exertion Contributing to a Healthy Lifestyle
- This aspect of CAS can include participation in expeditions, individual and team sports, and physical activities outside the normal curriculum. It also includes physical activity involved in carrying-out creative and service projects. Activity may involve participation in sports or other activities requiring physical exertion – such as expeditions and camping trips, or digging trenches to lay water pipes to bring fresh water to a village during an international service learning trip (Week Without Walls).
S - Service: Collaborative & Reciprocal Engagement with the Community in Response to an Authentic Need
- Service projects and activities are often the most transforming element of the IBDP for the individual student; they have the potential to nurture and shape the global citizen.
- Service involves interaction, such as the building of links with individuals or groups in the community (both national and international community).
- Service activities should not only involve doing things for others, but also, doing things with others and developing a real commitment with them.
How AIS-R students participate in CAS
AIS-R DP students have multiple ways to achieve this core component of the Diploma Programme. Examples include the Aspiring Doctor’s Club which has been supporting and funding nursing scholarships for women from underprivileged backgrounds in Cambodia. AIS-R students also participate in CAS through the Letters for Change - a student led and student created club which provides teachers to develop English language skills in those underprivileged children in Saudi Arabia who would benefit from extra practice writing and reading English.
Extended Essay
The extended essay introduces students to the demands and rewards of independent work. Emphasis is placed on doing personal research and communicating ideas effectively in order to write a 4,000 word essay in an area of personal choice.
For more information, please see Key Research Finding on the DP Core.
IB Mission Statement
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment.
These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
The Diploma Program at AIS-R
For students enrolling in the Diploma Programme or individual Diploma courses (DP Subject Briefs), we offer the following:
The Curriculum
IB Diploma Programme students must choose one subject from each of five groups (1 to 5), ensuring breadth of knowledge and understanding in their best language, additional language(s), the social sciences, the experimental sciences and mathematics. Students may choose either an arts subject from group 6, or a second subject from groups 1 to 4. In addition to these requirements, students must earn a minimum 24 points out of a possible 45 points on the final assessments which are externally marked and moderated by the IB, in order to receive the IB diploma.
AIS-R Diploma Program Handbook
DP Parent Frequently Asked Questions Document
DP Results at AIS-R
While we value and celebrate achievement in many ways outside a final course result, we understand that these scores are important in enabling our students to take their next steps. As parents consider AIS-R for their child they often ask about our IB Diploma scores, because these are tangible measures which open doors to the future. Here is a 5-year snapshot of results earned by AIS-R students. If you have any additional questions or require additional information, please contact our DP Coordinator, Mr. Jason Crook (jcrook@aisr.org).
How do Colleges and Universities View the Diploma Programme
The DP is internationally recognized as providing one of the highest standards in university preparatory education. More than 1,000 colleges and universities in North America have recognition policies on how they weigh it in admissions, advanced standings, college credit, and scholarship. A list of colleges and universities that grant credit, scholarships, and/or advanced standing for IB diplomas and certificates is available here. You might also be interested in research on acceptance rates for DP students versus other qualifications and programs - from IBO, Harvard.
Please refer to global research findings on the diploma programme publications from the IB for more information.
To hear more from Debra Von Bargen, the Assistant Dean of Admissions at Stanford University and a parent of an IB student, click HERE.