Introduction to the new IB Pilot – Systems Transformation
For the last 12 years, project based learning – in various forms and varieties – has been at the heart of my teaching practice. It has been stamped with different lables such as “Inquiry Based Learning” or “Guided Inquiry“, but the principle has been the same: to ignite passion and motivation for students by giving them autonomy, choice, and real world experience in their learning. In doing so, learning beccomes meaningful.
When I was asked last spring if I’d be interested in teaching this course, I literally fell out of my chair. To be a part of an IB Pilot that puts the things I care about most at the core of its curricular program feels surreal. At the same time, I recognize that this is a pivotal moment – if the course succeeds, the IB will take on the model and it will be a course offering for schools around the world. It’s a huge opportunity and represents an exciting shift in how we think about teaching and learning in the IB.
So what’s the course? You can find out more about each school’s version of the IB Systems Transformation Pilot on these sites:
UWC Atlantic– began teaching 2023 (first exams, 2025)
UWC Southeast Asia – Dover and East – begin teaching 2024 (first exams, 2026)
Upper Canada College – begin teaching 2025 (first exams, 2027)
Mulgrave School – begin teaching 2025 (first exams, 2027)
All Systems Transformation courses focus on teaching students systems thinking skills that explore real, complex global issues. Each school has tailored the course to focus on issues and lenses that are specific to the geographical and cultural setting of the school, while also giving students the opportunity to pursue values and mindsets that are central to each school’s identity.
For example, in Singapore one of our core units prioritizes issues related to sustainability, not only because it is part of our UWC mission, but also because Singapore is a place that constantly faces tensions between sustainable practices and economic growth. For this reason, our exploration into sustainability explores human practices and behaviors affecting the environment, while also examining tensions that environmental compliance obligations (ECO) create within corporate systems.
Systems thinking helps students understand these complex issues through different stakeholders’ perspectives while simultaneiously taking a systems approach to see the issue from a bird’s eye view. Learning these skills helps students move away from binary thinking to appreciate changemaking interventions as opportunity costs that affect stakeholders in different ways. Effective changemakers (and leaders) can not only identify leverage points for change, they also account for ripple effects that consider how to alleviate short-term challenges stakeholders face as systemic changes take effect. Effective leaders have an eye on the system, and use their communication and active caring skills to lead value-based initiatives that onboard stakeholders to buy-in to the just, equitable, and susatainable potential of the system.
The IB Systems Transformation course will run as a pilot until 2030, at which time the IB will determine whether or not to scale it as part of their global course offerings.
Header photo by Polina Zimmerman
