IB Matters

Epizode

• Creating the Culture of your IB Program with Rohit Vaswani 14.03.2026 44min

  Send us Fan Mail When an experienced IB DP teacher like Rohit Vaswani becomes the new IB coordinator, they bring a certain set of tools to the job. They might know the nuts and bolts of the position: deadlines, exam prep, and compliance issues. But, it takes a special leader to examine the system in place to see where the philosophy of the IB structure and the culture it is meant to create can be improved. Do your IB teachers share in the mission? Do the students just comply with deadli...
• Creating Autonomous Learners with Taryn Moir 05.03.2026 33min

  Send us Fan Mail Taryn Moir is an educational psychologist focused on bringing research-backed best practices into the classroom. In this episode she describes some of the research she has done and has studied that led to her book, 'How to Create Autonomous Learners: Teaching Metacognitive, Self-regulatory and Study Skills - A Practioner's Guide.' She shares several examples of reading strategies that help students develop their own toolbox of skills that can be used in any classroom an...
• Supporting DP students moving on to higher education with Leah Thayer 25.02.2026 29min

  Send us Fan Mail Leah Thayer has spent a lifetime supporting people in transition. From her work in conflict zones, developing public health supports, and now in counseling students, Leah has been there to meet the needs of the people she serves. Young people exiting the Diploma Programme are understandably anxious about what comes next for them. What if they don't pass the exams? How do they find a good school? How does the school find them? How can teachers help their students find a match ...
• Leading in an IB School and beyond with Gavin Kinch 13.02.2026 28min

  Send us Fan Mail Gavin Kinch has been on an IB journey which began as a classroom teacher and has led him to be appointed the IB School Leadership Council chairperson. Along the way, he has developed a philosophy of mentoring younger teachers through their own professional journeys. He talks about the 'classroom teacher' to 'school teacher' transition. Gavin is the Principal of ACS, an IB school in Singapore which has close to 200 IB graduates every year. As he says, there is a great team of ...
• The impactful IB student with Arjun Malhotra 04.11.2025 41min

  Send us Fan Mail The IB educational framework is designed to provide students with knowledge, skills, and attributes that will serve them throughout their lives. Our guest, Arjun Malhotra, is a high school junior (DP year 1) who has experienced an IB education since elementary school. Our conversation touches on the many ways Arjun has developed his sense of place in the world, honed his academic skills, and initiated his strong desire to make the world better. He gives much of the cred...
• Growing the IB in Nepal with Maksud Alam 06.09.2025 30min

  Send us Fan Mail Maksud Alam is a dynamic young IB leader working at Swostishree Gurukul IB World School in Kathmandu, Nepal. His school is only the second in Nepal to offer the MYP and one of 7 schools in Nepal to offer the IB, so far. There are several others in the candidate phase right now. We talked about the challenges and the rewards when building a programme from the ground floor in a new school, and in an area without many potential collaborators nearby. Maksud came to his IB coordin...
• Michael Dunn and what makes TOK special in the IB 05.08.2025 42min

  Send us Fan Mail Michael Dunn, known as the man behind Theoryofknowledge.net is our guest on this first episode of our 5th season. Michael grew the most popular TOK website on the internet, organically, from a wish to share what he was doing in his own classroom in Peru. It eventually became what it is today, a highly respected, and much used, resource for teachers around the world. You'll find teachers in all subjects using these materials to teach critical thinking no matter the age o...
• The Journey to PYP Authorization at Smart Innovations School 18.07.2025 40min

  Send us Fan Mail Returning guest, Rezuan Chowdhury and the head of his school's governing board, Rifat Abedin, speak about becoming one of very few PYP schools in Bangladesh. They detail the rationale from the parent's perspective and the process from the PYP coordinator's perspective. We also learn about the training their teachers have undergone and the plans for expansion and even future MYP and DP goals for their very new school. Rezuan has been a regional leader even before his sch...
• Towards IB for all with Phil Evans 13.07.2025 14min

  Send us Fan Mail While this is, technically, a quickcast to promote speakers and vendors at the #IBGC2025 in NOLA, its really an introduction to the IB North Americas' excellent initiative designed to encourage greater IB DP and CP participation. So, please use the overview shared by Phil Evans and the numerous links, to begin exploring how your school community could embrace a philosophy that all students deserve an IB education. Who wouldn't want a student-centered pedagogy with inqui...
• Digital learning tools for IB schools - Kognity 09.07.2025 12min

  Send us Fan Mail Continuing our series of quickcasts leading to the 2025 IB Global Conference in New Orleans, we feature Kognity, an IB partner organization. Chris Barres and Sian Steggles tell us about Kognity and their digital teaching and learning platform. Kognity will also host a session entitled, 'Digital Dilemma! What do we really want from digital resources?' at 2:00 on Wednesday, July 16th in the St. Charles and Lafayette rooms. Links: Kognity.com Free interactive trial ...
• Start the discussion in your classroom - Kialo Education 07.07.2025 13min

  Send us Fan Mail This is the third of several 'Quickcasts' to introduce listeners to vendors and presenters at the 2025 IB Global conference in New Orleans. Here, we speak with Amnah Ejaz of Kialo Education, an online discussion platform. It's available free and will be featured in a booth at the upcoming IB Global conference in New Orleans. They are also hosting Michael Dunn of TOK.net who will be speaking at a session entitled: 'Critical thinking in a polarized world'. His session wil...
• Three Steps to a more equitable Diploma Programme - Robert Kohnert 05.07.2025 13min

  Send us Fan Mail This is the second of several 'Quickcasts' to introduce listeners to vendors and presenters at the 2025 IB Global conference in New Orleans. This episode features Robert Kohnert, a coordinator of advanced programming in Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS). Robert uses his experience in MPS to drill down into what is working and what could be improved to help students who take up the Diploma Programme. He has three steps to share with attendees: how to get students into the DP cl...
• AI Guidance for IB Schools - Eblana Learning 03.07.2025 12min

  Send us Fan Mail This is the first of several 'Quickcasts' to introduce listeners to vendors and presenters at the 2025 IB Global conference in New Orleans. This episode features Rachel Bodily, co-founder of Eblana Learning. We did a full podcast with Rita Bateson the other co-founder a few months ago. Check that out here. Rachel gives a sneak peek at the session they are offering at the IBGC 2025 and talks about the mission of Eblana Learning. We also talk about the free upcoming Eblana sess...
• IB Humanities - a place to build skills with Novadene Miller 26.06.2025 45min

  Send us Fan Mail Returning guest Novadene Miller is a skilled and motivational teacher. She draws from her experience earning a doctorate in Geography to bring multiple perspectives and resources to the classroom. In this episode she shares how her Humanities students build cross-disciplinary skills like critical thinking, collaborative skills, and research skills while engaging in many different activities both in and out of the classroom. She also talks about the many resources that c...
• Customize your school's IB training with Casey Strecker 19.05.2025 32min

  Send us Fan Mail Do you need to get your teachers official IB training that doesn't break the bank? Did you know that schools can request specific subjects and categories of training that come straight to you? In this episode, Casey Strecker of Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) and I go over the advantages of in-school workshops. We talk about how to order them, the responsibilities of the host school, and how to use them to get your staff the training that fits your school's needs. Note: The ...
• Focusing on Arts & Culture in an IB setting with Alex Soulsby 12.05.2025 46min

  Send us Fan Mail The MAGIC-T model is at the center of education at the Prem International School in northern Thailand. Creative director of the school, Alex Soulsby explains how using arts and culture as a focus works so well in an IB continuum school for all ages and IB Programmes. He shares how visiting arts and culture practitioners bring their perspectives directly into the curriculum and themselves take advantage of the school's resources available in return. There is resource exchange ...
• Enhancing ATLs in an AI World with Rita Bateson 14.03.2025 47min

  Send us Fan Mail Rita Bateson has been part of MYP evolution since the days of the 'Next Chapter'. Today, she is still engaged in the Enhanced MYP and has researched how AI is going to influence the Approaches to Learning (ATLs) in all IB Programmes. Along with Rachel Bodily, they have co-founded Eblana Learning which is a central repository of resources, training, consultancies and both online and in-person courses. Rita’s LinkedIn Eblana Learning LinkedIn Rita’s Substack Rita will be in-per...
• Engaging your students with Chaahat Dhall 05.01.2025 42min

  Send us Fan Mail Our guest, Chaahat Dhall, from Fountainhead School in Surat, India has some great ways she engages her MYP students. From human libraries, to silent debates, to advisory circles and beyond, Chaahat shares some of the many resources she uses throughout the year. Chaahat was also one of Jiana Shah's MYP teachers, so you can learn from one of the teachers who influenced Jiana as she developed her skills as an MYP student. The list of resources Chaahat has shared is too extensiv...
• The IB Continuum Student: Jiana Shah 2.0 22.12.2024 51min

  Send us Fan Mail Jiana Shah is back, two years after we first spoke. Then, she was a 14 year old 9th grader looking forward to the end of the MYP and the beginning of her Diploma Programme journey. Jiana began in the PYP as a kindergartner and is now a Diploma Programme junior well on her way to completing her entire school experience as an IB student. This makes her an excellent person to talk to about the rollercoaster experience as she navigates the challenges and accomplishments of...
• Play-based Learning with Smriti Sajjanhar 08.10.2024 39min

  Send us Fan Mail Smriti Sajjanhar from Genesis Global School shares her expertise in using Play-based Learning (PBL) with students in her PYP school. She shares great anecdotes telling how PBL has transformed the way students learn and even think about their learning. Teachers, students, and parents engage in open-ended explorations without preset objectives for the children. These sessions result in often surprising results - and that's the point. Kids learn things and go on adventures, insi...