Keeping up with the ethos of TIPS, Coimbatore IBDP program aims to equip the students with skills to participate actively and responsibly in an ever-changing and increasingly interrelated world with relevant knowledge database by offering prestigious IB Diploma Program.
The IBDP Program at TIPS represents a passage from adolescence into adulthood. Students in this age bracket have acquired a sense of personal identity and self-esteem. They are very inquisitive, eager to stretch intellectually, interested in sorting out their full potential and quite willing to assume some form of independence.
The curriculum is made up of the DP core and six subject groups.
Made up of the three required components, the DP core aims to broaden students’ educational experience and challenge them to apply their knowledge and skills.
The three core elements are:
- Theory of knowledge, in which students reflect on the nature of knowledge and on how we know what we claim to know, finishing with a 1600 word essay.
- The extended essay, which is an independent, self-directed piece of research, finishing with a 4,000-word paper.
- Creativity, activity, service, in which students complete a project related to those three concepts and connect with the society.
There are different courses within each subject group.
Visit www.ibo.org for further details
The six subject groups and the courses offered at TIPS are:
- Studies in language and literature: English A HL/SL
- Language acquisition: French B, Ab initio SL/ HL | Telugu B HL/SL | Hindi HL/SL | Spanish Ab initio SL (online course)
- Individuals and societies: Business Management HL/SL, Information Technology in Global Society HL/SL, Economics HL/SL,
- Psychology HL/SL and Environmental System and Societies SL
- Sciences: Physics HL/SL, Chemistry HL/SL, Biology HL/SL, Computer Science HL / SL
- Mathematics: Analysis and approaches SL/ HL | Applications and interpretation SL/ HL SL
- The arts: Visual Arts HL/ SL | Film Studies HL/ SL
Human & Social Sciences
Students are required to choose one subject from each of the six academic areas, including one from Individuals and societies. They can choose a second subject from each academic area except the arts.
Studying any one of these subjects provides for the development of a critical appreciation of:
- Human experience and behaviour
- The varieties of physical, economic and social environments that people inhabit
- The history of social and cultural institutions.
In addition, each subject is designed to foster in students the capacity to identify, to analyse critically and to evaluate theories, concepts and arguments relating to the nature and activities of individuals and societies.
At TIPS we offer Business Management, Economics and Information in Global Society courses to choose from. These courses develop leadership, managerial and technological skills amongst students reinforcing the aim of making them world citizens.
Sciences
It is a requirement of the programme that students study at least one subject from group 4. Students explore the concepts, theories, models and techniques that underpin each subject area and through these develop their understanding of the scientific method.
Through studying a science subject students become aware of how scientists work and communicate with each other. While the scientific method may take on a wide variety of forms, the emphasis is on a practical approach. In addition knowledge and skills are put into the context of the way science and scientists work in the 21st Century and the ethical debates and limitations of creative scientific endeavor.
The sciences are taught practically. Students have opportunities to
- Design investigations,
- Collect data,
- Develop manipulative skills,
- Analyse results,
- Collaborate with peers and
- Evaluate and communicate their findings
The investigations may be laboratory based or they may make use of simulations and data bases. Students develop the skills to work independently on their own design, and also collegiately, including collaboration with schools in different regions, to mirror the way in which scientific research is conducted in the wider community.
A compulsory project encourages students to appreciate the environmental, social and ethical implications of science. This exercise is collaborative and interdisciplinary and provides an opportunity for students to explore scientific solutions to global questions.
Mathematics
It is a requirement of the programme that students study at least one course in mathematics; computer science is an elective.
These four courses serve to accommodate the range of needs, interests and abilities of students, and to fulfill the requirements of various university and career aspirations.
The aims of these courses are to enable students to:
- Develop mathematical knowledge, concepts and principles
- Develop logical, critical and creative thinking
- Employ and refine their powers of abstraction and generalization.
Students are also encouraged to appreciate the international dimensions of mathematics and the multiplicity of its cultural and historical perspectives.
Physical Education/ Sports
For DP students sporting activities come in the variety of forms in their core component of the curriculum in the form of Creativity, Activity and Service. CAS’s Activity components give each student an opportunity to learn and teach any sport which brings meaning to their lifestyle.
This physical exertion of the curriculum actively engages the students towards contributing to a healthy lifestyle. Pursuits may include:
- Individual and team sports,
- Dance, outdoor recreation,
- Fitness training, and
- Any other form of physical exertion that purposefully contributes to a healthy lifestyle.
These activities aim at:
- Increasing their awareness of their own strengths and areas for growth – They are able to see themselves as individuals with various skills and abilities, and understand that they can make choices about how to move forward.
- Undertaken new challenges – A new challenge may be an unfamiliar activity, or an extension to an existing one.
- Planned and initiated activities – Planning and initiation is often in collaboration with others. It can be shown in activities that are part of larger projects, as well as in small student-led activities.
At TIPS students learn new games to challenge themselves and push their limits to accomplish their individual goals or learn new techniques to become better in the existing sporting activity. This physical fitness prepares them to endure the challenges curriculum requires to face overall. The students realize the value of interconnection of mental, physical and emotional development.