Why ISB chose to curate their own curriculum?

Many schools around the world often use a set curriculum that has been tried and tested by others. While there are benefits to implementing a tested curriculum, there can be limitations such as a lack of flexibility and adaptability. 

At ISB, we do things differently to ensure both challenging and joyful learning – the type of education necessary in our ever-changing world. 

Rather than being tied to any one curriculum, ISB selects the best standards from around the world to curate an approach to learning that provides the strongest education for students. Find out about the characteristics of the best international schools.

ISB implements a curriculum review cycle to reflect on our standards and learning goals. 

“We ask ourselves, ‘Are these still the most important things to teach? And are the assessments that we designed, the projects, the units that we've built, are these still the most relevant, most authentic, most aligned to what we think are the most important things,’” says Ruth Poulsen, [former] Director of Curriculum and Assessment at ISB.

According to Poulsen, with a curated curriculum, you have exactly what you want students to learn, you know the skills you want them to be able to demonstrate, and you have the understandings you want them to be able to express.

“Prioritizing standards means you go deeper [into the subject matter] which results in a less surface level understanding,” said Ms. Poulsen.

Because we use a curated curriculum, the school is always changing and updating it to ensure we give our students the absolute best, inspiring them both with purpose and compassion. 

But how can your children benefit from this approach to learning? Below are five benefits of attending an international school with a curated curriculum:

What are the benefits of curriculum curation?

Below, we’ve outlined the curriculum curation benefits and why it is important:

1. Skills aligned with ISB’s values and purpose 

When developing the curriculum, ISB’s educators ask themselves and each other specific questions about how the curriculum can be curated to maximize student learning. 

“[We ask] what do we know we want students, by the end of their time at ISB, to know, and be able to do and to understand? So what are the major understandings and skills we want students to possess as a result of our program,” says Ms. Poulsen.

And those standards – aligned with ISB’s values and mission – are what we use to build the curriculum. 

Though these standards are frequently aligned with the American Common Core, the curriculum is so much more than American. Click here to discover exactly what it is. 

“We know that we're teaching skills and understandings that connect to our values and connect to our purpose as a school, and that are informed by our context here in Beijing,” said Ms. Poulsen.

2. Every student’s learning is aligned horizontally and vertically

“When we’re designing our curriculum we want to ensure it’s aligned; aligned to our mission, and aligned both horizontally and vertically,” says Ms. Poulsen.

Essentially what this means is every student in every grade is reaching the standard and reaching the outlined goal. 

With vertical alignment, ISB ensures each grade prepares the student for the next grade. “There is a purposeful increase in rigor [and challenge] and levels of expectation from year to year,” said Ms. Poulsen. 

To see how ISB’s curriculum helped this alumni become an award-winning designer, click here to read the story of Austin Li. He graduated in 2021 after attending ISB for over 10 years and is now studying Arts, Technology, and the Business of Innovation at the Iovine & Young Academy within the University of Southern California (USC).

3. Students learn to think in an interdisciplinary, transferrable way

Because our curated curriculum goes deeper and focuses on fewer topics, knowledge is more easily transferred to a new context.

For example, in middle school and high school social studies, one of the main goals is for students to understand how to efficiently analyze material. 

“Students learn to recognize the value inherent in the source, the limitations, and the point of view of that source,” said Ms. Poulsen. 

Students are taught to be able to see how sources may be biased or how they might be limited in certain ways. They learn how to source additional research to ensure they have an accurate picture of what they’re studying.  

Teachers will then test the knowledge students have acquired by giving assessments that have nothing to do with the content they’ve already learned.

“[They’re given the instructions:] here’s a source you’ve never seen before about a subject you don’t know anything about. Now, can you analyze it? And can you show us what you're able to do without any teacher support?" said Ms. Poulsen.

These assessment designs show transfer – how students can take their understandings and apply them to different contexts. 

“In order to get kids ready to respond to a world that doesn't exist yet, that's being changed every day, we have to give them those chances to practice [these important skills] in new contexts,” said Ms.Poulsen.

4. Curriculums designed backward

Perhaps one of the biggest differences with ISB’s curated curriculum is the Backward Design.

With Backward Design, teachers start with identifying exactly what they want their students to learn, then they design appropriate assessment tasks. 

“They figure out how to get them there,” said Ms. Poulsen. “That's the opposite approach from just giving a teacher a textbook and saying, ‘First, teach page one, then teach page two, then teach page three.’” 

“We don't teach a textbook from the first page to the last page because textbooks tend to emphasize content coverage over conceptual understanding. And we want to emphasize deep understandings, big ideas, and not just, ‘did you cover all this content that then you forget right after the test is over’.”

By working backward and identifying where we want students to be by the end of the term, teachers can develop solutions to best ensure our students reach the intended goals.   

5. Units are built around engaging problems and authentic context

It’s no secret that students are more engaged when they’re passionate about what they’re learning. With ISB’s curated curriculum, “We often try to build our teaching and learning around provoking students to want to figure out what’s happening,” said Ms. Poulsen. 

Teachers will begin class with topics that get students asking, “Why is this happening; what’s going on here; this doesn’t jive with how I thought the world works.”

Referred to as design-based thinking, teachers capitalize on this excitement by encouraging students to try to work through the questions collaboratively. And as they’re seeking answers, educators are giving them the specific information necessary to get them there. 

Intentionally designed to provide optimal learning at any age, the academic program at ISB is inspired by curricula from around the world, instills a deeper understanding in students, and ensures Social and Emotional Learning. 

To learn more about our customized curriculum, click the link below.