The start of a school year can be challenging for both students and teachers as they adapt to new changes in the classroom. There have been many teacher changes at ISB this year as the teacher turnover was particularly high, with a cohort of new teachers joining the high school. For seniors, the idea of some of their teachers changing during the second year of IB sparked a wide range of emotions of uncertainty, concern, and anticipation. The IB is a 2-year course that builds a strong teacher-student relationship and effectively develops the skills and knowledge necessary for the final exam, all of which are important for predicted grades and college recommendation letters. Some of the seniors and new teachers shared their thoughts on adjusting to this mid-IB adjustment.
Amongst the seniors, there seems to be nervous energy surrounding the idea of a new teacher, especially as the beginning of the senior year can be one of the most stressful times of the course with IOs, IAs, EEs, and college essays going on in the background. Senior, Lucy Lee, says she was “disappointed because I finally had a grasp of what to expect from my (former) teacher and now I had to adapt to new teaching styles and expectations for how assignments should be completed.” Especially with the combination of this grade having to complete all assessment components for the May 2023 examination and coming back from many virtual classes last year, the question arises whether new teachers can cover the remaining class content at a comfortable pace and get to know their students on both the academic and personal level in a short span of two months. This is why senior Mig Charoentra is nervous about the second round of IB predicted grades coming out in early October as he will be using it for his early action and early decision universities. Mig hopes that former teachers will also have significant say in the decision of predicted grades alongside new teachers and that students have the ability to know and question their rationale in a way that is respectful.
Nevertheless, how well the seniors adapt to this new change comes from their effort and responsibility as well, and they are looking at the positive side. For example, Sikarn Chamnanraratanakul learned effective study techniques from her new teacher that she is planning to implement, and Nod Charindhorn is actively asking questions and seeking feedback outside of the classroom to know his teacher better. A senior who has two new IB teachers this year, Fern Limvattanakul, says “although this is not the most desirable situation, I am more motivated to study harder so I can go above my new teacher’s expectations.”
New teachers also have their thoughts on their experience going into a new classroom. Among the 19 new high school faculty joining ISB this year, Sara McCosh is a veteran teacher from the St. Andrews School Bangkok who is currently in the HS Social Studies department. Ms. McCosh has had 13 years of experience teaching IB students and is a senior examiner for IB Economics, IB Business Management, and TOK.
One of her IB Economics HL students this year, Minin Hetrakul, was “nervous about how I would hold up to a new teacher because Economics is my most challenging class and because we are behind on class content.” Ms. McCosh similarly knew the IB Economics HL Year 2 class was behind on content coverage, and with the relatively large class sizes at ISB compared to her previous schools, she found it a bit difficult to progress at an ideal pace. However, her skill-based learning philosophy of growth mindset and reflection is very much like what ISB values, so transitioning into her new IB classes was not very difficult. Ms. McCosh also comments that her students are cooperative and good at adapting to the transition.
To make sure this transition is even smoother for her students, Ms. McCosh is in frequent contact with the former teacher and asks many questions about the content that was or was not covered last year. Additionally, she has access to the former teacher’s teaching resources as well as her students’ previous grades. In terms of deciding predicted grades, she values her students’ self-assessments beyond just their academic performance, as it demonstrates their potential for progress. Self-reflections allow her to understand how her students interpret the assessment criteria, why they got a certain grade, and what is required for them to improve for the next assessment. She also looks at their mindset and encourages them to talk to her about what they can and can’t do.
While having a new teacher mid-IB may not have been desirable for seniors, they understand that it is not within their control and have to adapt to the change. Both seniors and their new teachers are doing their part to build stronger relationships with each other.