Safeguarding high-performance in Grade 11: How to ensure student success through COVID-19 school closure

Much has been made of the International Baccalaureate’s (IB) decision to cancel the May examination session, and we have many anxious Grade 12 students wondering how their efforts will be translated into points. This is quite important, though we trust that the IB, through their extensive experience and database, will be able to determine robust and statistically valid models for awarding Diplomas. 

It is the Grade 11 students however,  who become an important focus at this time. We must adapt quickly to this new environment to ensure that our students do not suffer from loss of focus, pace, depth, or momentum; as they balance their six subjects, core components, and an array of carefully structured internal and external assessment and feedback dates. Schools and communities that evolve the fastest will be best placed to capture excellence.

Therefore, we have researched successful frameworks for online learning and developed a new learning programme for Grade 11 based on the following factors:

  • high expectations 
  • coherence in the curriculum 
  • assessment and frequent feedback
  • collaborative learning opportunities
  • time on task

With the new timetable, our Grade 11 students will be able to use their time more efficiently and chunk work assignments into subject groups to better focus on one area at a time. We feel that this change will support students in a way that is different from our regular timetable but more focused on content knowledge and self-care.

If you want to learn more, the full article about the new timetable and the factors is published on our LinkedIn profile.

You can also read the previous article learning about learning online where we share how we have developed the new online learning programme for MYP.

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