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Over the last two weeks at Northbridge International School Cambodia, Grade 10 students have attended meetings preparing them for the next school year and their entry into the IB Diploma Program.
In April, Northbridge will host its annual DP Night where parents and students will meet with all DP teachers and collaborate to help finalize student schedules for next year.
In anticipation of this important transition, the Individuals and Societies (I&S) department invited some of our current Grade 11 students to reflect on their coursework in I&S and shed some light on how studying social sciences has impacted their worldview and possibly their paths after high school graduation.
“As a History student, I find many connections in the course I am taking to my future plans. Although I am not planning to study History, this course helps build important skills such as debating, critical thinking, evaluating sources and reading which are essential for whatever course I decide to take in university. Furthermore, I believe that History enables me to make connections with the historical events I am learning in class with present events which gives me a meaningful insight towards the world we are living in nowadays.”
“I take Econ as my a group 3 subject for my IB Diploma and the similarities between the course theory and real life is uncanny. What we have learned in class can be applied to our real life. I was able to understand why a government body would give money to a firm in order to promote the production of a good, and why an economy encounters growth and downfalls. In my opinion, studying Econ will be beneficial for my career as I plan to study in economic fields. Therefore, it gives me an advantage when I start my university life.”
“I am currently taking History and Business management in DP. Cambodia is a country with an economy that is quickly developing due to the numerous numbers of businesses beginning to open here. Living in a country like this, where there is high competition in the business area, taking Business Management in DP will help me learn the necessary skills in order to succeed and create a thriving business of my own. Moreover, in the future, I hope to open my own business such as a law firm or a restaurant.
"I am also taking History in IBDP, which has taught me many useful skills such as debating or justifying your claims with hard evidence. In the future, I aspire to become a lawyer, and the skills I learn in History will help me succeed in doing so.”
“I’m currently taking economics for one of my DP courses. In Economics, I have learned that there is an opportunity cost whenever I make a choice. Economics gives me the tools to decide which choice is better. It could possibly be helpful for me to decide which university I should go to in the future. Also, I learned some basic knowledge about markets and supply and demand. This knowledge will be helpful for me to make decisions of how much should I price goods when I run a business in the future.”
Tzu Wei
Grade 11 DP Business Management and History Student
“The connection between the Group 3 courses I take, History and Business Management, and the real world is very strong. In History, we discuss a lot about how certain historical events still impact today’s society using key concepts such as continuity and consequences. This not only keeps us rooted to the world we are living in today but also allows us to analyse how we developed overtime. In Business Management, the concepts and topics we learn are very applicable to our daily lives. For example, it has allowed me to see and make connections as to how businesses work in my daily life which I wouldn’t have noticed or recognized before.
"These two classes have also taught me crucial life skills that will be extremely useful when I go to university. Choosing to take History is one of the best decisions I’ve made because it has allowed me to learn how to analyse things more deeply and to look through different perspectives. It has helped me become more open-minded and has helped me realize my own biases and subjectivity which I wouldn’t have before.
"Similarly, in Business Management, we learned how a business can make decisions through the use of organizational planning tools, and this can be applicable to my personal life as well as in my education, for example, it can help me decide where I want to go for university or can help me decide on minor things, like if I should get a haircut.
"Overall, there are strong and significant connections between the real world and the Group 3 DP courses I take.”
Students and parents that have questions regarding the DP course offering in the social sciences that are available at Northbridge should contact the I&S Curriculum Lead, Paul Stanley: Paul.Stanley@nisc.edu.kh
World Children's Day (WCD) is celebrated on November 20 each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare.
The readers of this article have all likely experienced a ‘traditional’ exam setting. Rows of desks, pen and paper, and exam papers that are primarily constructed to test knowledge and recall of the course content. There is certainly some value to an exam paper that assesses a student’s knowledge, but ultimately, knowledge and recall represents a very narrow range of the skills actually needed in the modern world. Recognising this, the IB has taken an revolutionary look at assessment in the middle years, with the eAssessment.