The Bilingual International Baccalaureate (GIB) Programme at German School Brooklyn

WHY EARN AN INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB)?

GSB is a Candidate School* for the Diploma Programme. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that GSB believes is important for our students. The internationally recognized Diploma Programme curriculum consists of challenging two-year courses in English, Mathematics, History, Science, World Languages, and the Arts; in all IB courses, the focus is on developing critical thinking skills, and emphasis is placed on how students learn. IB courses are active, thought-provoking, and move far beyond memorization of content, preparing students extremely well for college-level study. Supported by a comprehensive and creative assessment program, the IB Diploma Program is held in high regard by colleges and universities around the world.

At GSB, students may have the opportunity to pursue the bilingual German IB (GIB). We welcome students who are new to the German language to join us starting in lower school.

DIPLOMA PROGRAMME (DP) CORE COURSES 

Theory of Knowledge (ToK): Theory of Knowledge (TOK) stands at the center of the IB program, guiding students to think about everything they’re learning in their other classes. TOK asks one deceptively simple question: “How do you know?” The question starts out that general, exploring how we know anything at all. Then it focuses on specific courses such as science, history, or literature. In science the question may be, “How do you know that the scientific method is valid?” In history it may be, “How do you know Montezuma was the last Aztec ruler?” And in literature it may be, “How do you know a good poem from a bad one?” But the goal of TOK is not to make students doubt everything they hear. Instead, it is to help them listen carefully, think clearly, and express themselves confidently. Ultimately, the goal is to help students know how they know. 

CAS (Creativity, Action, and Service): CAS is an integral component of the IB Program. The goal of CAS is to use experiential learning to educate the “whole person”. We look forward to seeing students use their energy and talents as individuals as well as working cooperatively to make a difference. CAS not only fosters responsibility and compassion for our community, but also helps each student be more self-aware.

Extended Essay: The extended essay (4,000 words) asks students to engage in independent research through an in-depth study of a question relating to one of the DP subjects they are studying. The world studies extended essay option allows students to focus on a topic of global significance that they examine through the lens of at least two DP subjects.

BILINGUAL IB DIPLOMA ATTAINMENT REQUIREMENTS 

Students at German School Brooklyn have the choice of either pursuing the full bilingual IB Diploma Programme or individual IB Course Certificates. IB Diploma candidates take six subjects, three at Higher Level (HL) and three at Standard Level (SL), and complete three additional IB core components of Theory of Knowledge, CAS and an Extended Essay. All GSB graduates will receive a U.S. High School Diploma.

Disciplines/Courses, Assessments

• Group 1 – Language & Literature
• Group 2 – Language Acquisition
• Group 3 – Individuals & Society
• Group 4 – Sciences
• Group 5 – Mathematics
• Group 6 – The Arts

*Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme, or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit www.ibo.org.