Holistic education differs from traditional classroom teaching in that it puts a child’s entire personality at the center and combines academic support with social, emotional, and creative development.
Holistic education at private schools differs from public schools mainly through the consistent combination of academic excellence, individual support, and personal development, made possible by smaller classes and more flexible curricula.
Holistic education is especially important at international schools because it supports children not only academically but as whole persons, with the social, emotional, and intercultural skills a globalized world demands.
Theory of Knowledge (TOK) is important for the IB Diploma because it is a required component that trains critical thinking about how we know what we know and, together with the Extended Essay, can add up to three bonus points.
Theory of Knowledge (TOK) is a required IB Diploma course that trains critical thinking and, together with the Extended Essay, can add up to three bonus points.
There is no set minimum number of CAS hours for the IB Diploma; instead, students must demonstrate seven learning outcomes over the two years, with around 150 hours often used as a guideline.
The IB recognizes CAS activities in three strands, Creativity, Activity, and Service, as long as they involve personal challenge, learning goals, and reflection; paid work, regular lessons, and religious practices do not count.
CAS stands for Creativity, Activity, Service, a required IB core component in which students engage in creative, physical, and community-service activities over two years and reflect on seven learning outcomes.
The Extended Essay is assessed by external IB examiners against five criteria worth a total of 34 points, and together with Theory of Knowledge it can add up to three bonus points to the overall IB score.
The Extended Essay is an independent research paper of up to 4,000 words that every IB Diploma student writes over about a year with a supervisor, and it is assessed externally on five criteria for up to 34 points.
