The IB Continuum Part III: The Diploma Programme

This letter is the final installation of our three part series highlighting the International Baccalaureate continuum and how this framework builds toward the next. You’ve heard from our PYP coordinator, Aaron McKinnon, describing the units of inquiry and experiences throughout the younger years of the IB journey. Next, you heard from our MYP Coordinators, Christian Bondy and Trevor Lindsay, detailing the unique experience our middle school students have building upon their experiences in the PYP while developing within their approaches to learning. In this letter, I will outline the Diploma Programme (DP), which is the culmination of all the skills and knowledge that students have gained in their final two years. 

The development of skills such as thinking skills and communication skills is frequently identified as a crucial element in preparing students effectively for life beyond school. A 2007 survey of 400 hiring executives of major US corporations identified their top four requirements of new recruits as being oral and written communication skills, critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, professionalism and work ethic, and teamwork and collaboration skills (Trilling and Fadel 2009). It is with this kind of information in mind that we collectively work to embed these elements in all of the Riverstone curriculum.

In the DP, students at Riverstone grow in their “Approaches to Learning” in a variety of ways. There are, of course, the Diploma Programme requirements. For Grade 11 and 12 students, they will embark on a journey of developing a research question, conduct detailed research requiring a minimum of 20 sources, and write a 4,000 word extended essay (EE) as the first element of the DP CORE. This is a largely independent endeavor with the support of a faculty advisor. At the end of this, students will present their research at the spring EE expo. The next time that your student presents at their grade level expo, imagine them as a senior presenting on their very own research and defending their process at the highest level to professionals in the field. This is what you can expect of your student in Grade 12. For non-IB students around the world, this kind of experience likely won’t occur until much farther along in their post secondary journey. You can see examples of this continuum in the first portion of the “Highlighting a Riverstone Graduate” presentation.

As students continue to move through their entire Riverstone experience, they will continually be asked to call upon the skills that have been acquired throughout their time here. They will also complete experiences in Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) to give back to the community in service requirements, as well as study “how we know what we know” in the two-year Theory of Knowledge course to hone critical thinking skills. 

Beyond the CORE requirements of the DP, students conduct an internal assessment in every subject area that is a study relevant to the real world applications seen within the professional world of that content. As a program, we are building out lots of curricular resources to give all community members a thorough understanding of just what is taught and when throughout their time at Riverstone. As students prepare for their high school experience, please take a look at our course offerings!