Years of IB Experience for Top Tier Schools

[inspired]

Hi!

How many years of IB experience do my partner and I need to be eligible for top tier schools in South East Asia? Do we need to have consistent experience in our subjects?

Thanks!

[sid]

How long is a piece of string?
There are so many variables that any number is automatically both wrong and right. Having said that, at least three, more likely five, and possibly a decade or more

[fine dude]

Having taught at a few top-tier schools for a while, here are my two pennies:
I think the fundamental premise is to have deeper pedagogical content knowledge which means you can guide all students successfully both in terms of every day learning as well as steering them through complex assessments, projects and extended essays. If you can shorten students' learning curve by teaching them creatively, finish syllabus on time, and provide enough review opportunities, IB isn't really rocket science. Of course, experience helps, but you need to know your stuff like the back of your hand if you wish to navigate through multiple IB classes. I have seen PhDs falter in connecting with students and building strong professional relationships. 3-5 years is a good time to experiment and refine teaching and learning strategies.

[PsyGuy]

Generally the rule is you can move up a tier or over from one region to a more desirable a region with each successful contract, that time being the most as two years. So if you start in the middle of the third tier (contract 1) your looking at a floater third tier in a better region youre second time (contract 2) around a second tier IS next (contract 3), and a first tier IS in the finish (contract 4) so thats about 6 years in IE.
In general IT performance and competence has four inflection points when an IT shows significant development in craft progression, 1yr, 2yr, 4yr, and 8yr. Six years is half way through the third and fourth inflection point, its right around that 5 year mark that a DT/IT has demonstrable depth and breath of knowledge and has created efficiencies in their practice that show both innovation and refined proficiency approaching if not firmly describable as expertise in both complex and rudimentary tasking across the three core dimensions of P^3 (Performance, Perpetration and Production). This is the point that both internally the IT and externally outside edus recognize that the job gets easier. Classroom and behavior management and organization become reflexive in nature. Contemplation of metrics across meds/peds/asst have a measure of depth that is efficient and effective. The IT is no longer finding what works and works for them but has establish both formally and informally a 'solidness' of practice that is describable easily and commonly as optimizing student growth, development and learning. The IT makes the job look easy, and for the most part it has become so. The ITs approach to professional advancement has transitioned outside the classroom to external elements and factors at higher order levels of teaching and learning than those commonly associated with 'teaching and learning'. These challenges across the spectrum are comparable to the differences , for example, between 'lesson planing' and 'curriculum design'. The IT has set and fixed the former and is definitively in the realm of the latter regardless of the actual nature perpetration, production and performance of the task before them.
The IT no longer concerns themselves with the quantifiables of the string (as length, width, etc.) but the utility that can be coaxed and garnered regarding the qualities the string possess and can applied and synthesized regarding the ITs craft and how this makes for a better student experience in the transfer of knowledge and understanding.

[Heliotrope]

3-5 years seems about right. The rest of your CV needs to tick other boxes as well of course, and of course there are always exceptions where someone got into a top tier schools with less IB-experience, so don't hesitate to apply already. And of course there are top tier school that don't do IB.

[inspired]

Heliotrope wrote:
> 3-5 years seems about right. The rest of your CV needs to tick other boxes
> as well of course, and of course there are always exceptions where someone
> got into a top tier schools with less IB-experience, so don't hesitate to
> apply already. And of course there are top tier school that don't do IB.

Thanks for your suggestion! What other boxes does a CV need to tick? Could you elaborate on this idea a bit?

[Heliotrope]

inspired wrote:
> Heliotrope wrote:
> > 3-5 years seems about right. The rest of your CV needs to tick other boxes
> > as well of course, and of course there are always exceptions where someone
> > got into a top tier schools with less IB-experience, so don't hesitate to
> > apply already. And of course there are top tier school that don't do IB.
>
> Thanks for your suggestion! What other boxes does a CV need to tick? Could you
> elaborate on this idea a bit?

I can only speak my current and previous school.
Let me just copy-pasted what I wrote elsewhere:

------------------------------------
To be considered there are a couple of prerequisites:
- At least 6-8 year of international experience
- Experience (3-5 years) with the school's curriculum
- Demonstrated ability to stay at a school beyond the initial contract (at least one 4 year stint at your most recent schools, longer is better, more than one 4+ stay is also better)

If you don't meet all of these, none of the other qualities will help you - your CV will be in the 'no'-pile.
Having good school on your CV helps, and great references and perceived 'fit' are extremely important. After that, interesting extra-curriculars will help you stand out.

At my current school (and my previous two) they also don't really care about being cross-certified - we have almost no teachers teaching more than one subject, although when applying at smaller schools it's definitely a plus to be cross-certified.
Being a 'logistical hire' is also of no importance at my last couple of schools. Lots of teachers with kids would get hired, and being a teacher couple won't help you - it's usually one of the two they're really interested in, and they're not interested in hiring a weaker candidate just because they really want to hire their partner. It's happened a couple of times where they would only offer one of the two teachers in a couple a job, and if they accept their spouse would then try and get a job at another school in the city.
------------------------------------

Hope that helps, and keep in mind that -although not many- there are always exceptions, and what's true for one tier 1 school is not necessarily true for all tier 1 schools (although probably for most).

EDIT: What can also help is having international experience in the same region or a similar kind of country in terms of level of development.
A tier 1-school in Senegal might prefer experience in a similar('ish) African country rather than in Western Europe, all other things being equal (same caliber schools on CV, curriculum experience, etc.), since some countries are not for everyone.

[shadowjack]

I second Heliotrope's point about having experience in a similar school in the region.

Having experience in a similar type of location or country, in a different region, and being there for more than two years, is also a benefit when seeking a job :-)

[secondplace]

By IB experience, do you mean teaching the Diploma Programme? Or experience in other IB programmes - e.g. PYP and MYP?

Experience in with the PYP or other inquiry based programmes is certainly desirable if looking to teach in the PYP.

I would say the same, but to a lesser extent, for MYP.

[inspired]

secondplace wrote:
> By IB experience, do you mean teaching the Diploma Programme? Or experience
> in other IB programmes - e.g. PYP and MYP?
>
> Experience in with the PYP or other inquiry based programmes is certainly
> desirable if looking to teach in the PYP.
>
> I would say the same, but to a lesser extent, for MYP.

Hello Secondplace!

I am hoping to teach in the MYP. Partner is keen on DP and MYP for some subjects that I have read on here are in demand.

Thanks!

[secondplace]

For MYP I would suggest investigating the underlying pedagogy and thinking about how your experience and approach to teaching and learning aligns with it.

Also, there is an emphasis on collaboration and curriculum creation so showing your experience in those areas would be good.

Good luck!

[PsyGuy]

Not really, IB is all about experience with it. If youre experience is lite the best low entry option is being able to talk the talk in an interview and being able to talk and possibly show how what youre doing now in your classroom and what you have been doing looks IBness. The rule is no amount of experience equals any amount of training.

[inspired]

secondplace wrote:
> For MYP I would suggest investigating the underlying pedagogy and thinking
> about how your experience and approach to teaching and learning aligns with
> it.
>
> Also, there is an emphasis on collaboration and curriculum creation so
> showing your experience in those areas would be good.
>
> Good luck!

Hey hey! I am already in an IB school at this moment. Do not think it is a top tier school, though. That's why I am asking about how many years I need to get under my belt before higher level schools consider us.

Thanks!

[popgirl]

I've known people get jobs at top tier IB schools with 2 to 3 years IB experience.

[wayfarer]

It depends on how you define top-tier.
I got a teaching position at a top tier IB school with 2 years of IBDP experience. However, I would not describe that school as a top tier school. Though I have seen it appear regularly on numerous ISR top tier school lists.
I did go on to teach in a (what I would classify) solid top tier school after 5 years of teaching IBDP