Curriculum

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Curriculum options: Planning your four years at BIHS

The overarching goals of BIHS are to offer insights into the nature of international education and to build the student’s sense of identity and cultural awareness, fostering a spirit of discovery and enjoyment of learning for all BIHS students. Students will learn to approach academics from a variety of standpoints, and the curriculum will further students’ recognition and development of universal human values. Teachers will work to equip students with the skills to learn and to acquire knowledge, individually or collaboratively, and to apply these skills and knowledge accordingly across a broad range of areas.

The BIHS curriculum grades 9-12 will be an integrated course of study in the history, culture, literature, artistic expression and political, economic and belief systems of nations across time and across the globe. All courses from BIHS will meet the California Content Standards and UC/CSU entrance requirements

Fundamental to the BIHS curriculum is developing the students’ understanding of the nature and value of their own cultures. BIHS students will be required to relate first to their own cultural identity; from there they will learn to identify with the cultural heritage of others. They will develop inquiry skills as they expand their levels of knowledge and understanding. They will construct meaning from existing knowledge and personal experience through active inquiry.

Students will take three yearlong courses within the BIHS; they will select the remainder of their courses from academic areas within the comprehensive school (mathematics, science, world language, P.E., African-American Studies, and Visual and Performing Arts) This process will allow students to choose from the rich elective program at Berkeley High School.

Development of the whole child (affective, cognitive, creative, and physical); use of a variety of teaching and learning methodologies (e.g., differentiated instruction) to produce a climate where students discover how they learn best in different contexts; exploration of subject matter in increasing depth; and a curriculum that allows students to acquire the knowledge, attitudes and skills they need to participate effectively in life in the twenty-first century are fundamental not only to the IBO philosophy, but to sound pedagogical tenets. Emphasizing these foundations will help ensure that all students are successful in challenging courses.

Berkeley International High School course offerings overview

The following courses will be considered as fulfilling the BIHS program requirements. Although included in the UC a-g requirements, math, art, international language and science classes are not listed below because they are not designated as BIHS classes. BIHS students will take math, art, international language, and science classes in the comprehensive high school and can use these courses toward fulfilling requirements for the IB Diploma. Students in BIHS must study a second language and are expected to be able to use this language in a range of contexts and for many purposes. Note: some students may receive a waiver from this requirement, based on their particular needs. The languages available include Spanish, French, Kiswahili, German, and Latin.

Click on an individual course below for a complete description.
In addition, a printable excerpt of BIHS course offerings from the Berkeley High School course catalog available on the BHS PTSA website (PDF format)

Ninth Grade

In ninth grade, BIHS students will take Global Studies, Freshman Literature and Composition, and Cultural Aesthetics within BIHS. Students will take their other courses in the Comprehensive High School program.

BIHS teachers will plan collaboratively in order to integrate the three core classes. Freshman Literature and Composition, as well as Global Geography, will study the geography, culture and literature of regions simultaneously. Topics covered throughout the four-year curriculum will include the study and comparison of different cultures, examination of ethnic experiences in the Americas, as well as the role ethnicity, race and culture play in our modern world.

Global Studies (history)
Freshmen Literature and Composition (English)
Cultural Aesthetics (art)

Tenth Grade

Global History (history)
Global Literature (English)
Comparative Values and Belief Systems (history)
Comparative Political and Economic Systems (economics)

Grades 11/12: IB Diploma Programme

The distinctive aims of the Diploma Programme as a whole are to offer a rigorous program that promotes international understanding; educates the whole person, emphasizing intellectual, personal, emotional and social growth; and develops inquiry and thinking skills, and the capacity to reflect upon and to evaluate actions critically.

In addition, the core of the junior and senior curriculum includes a creative component based on three requirements: 1. an extended essay, 2. a course on the Theory of Knowledge and 3. a community action project.

All students who complete at least junior and senior year within BIHS will receive a BIHS diploma.

Diploma candidates are required to select one subject from each of the six subject groups. At least three and not more than four are taken at higher level (HL), the others at standard level (SL). HL courses represent 240 teaching hours and will be covered over a period of two years; SL courses cover 150 hours and will be covered within one academic year. By arranging work in this fashion, students are able to explore some subjects in depth and some more broadly over the two year period; this is a deliberate compromise between the early specialization preferred in some national systems and the breadth found in others.

Assessment for the DP is based on a broad approach: examinations (short response questions, structured response questions, data analysis questions, case study questions), investigations, conversation exercises and project work; and exhibitions. Each form of assessment must measure student performance in relation to the stated objectives of the relevant course. These objectives generally focus on higher-order cognitive skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The main requirement of any internal assessment is that it support good classroom practice. The principal aim of conducting internal assessment is to evaluate student achievement against those objectives that do not lend themselves to external written examinations or tests.

Some assessments are conducted and overseen by teachers but are then marked by examiners outside the school. These assessments include examination of a substantial piece of writing that has been researched and developed over a period of time, such as essays for Theory of Knowledge and extended essays. All such pieces of work are sent to external examiners to maximize objectivity in marking. This assessment is covered by students’ examination fees.

External examinations in subject areas are taken by diploma candidates during their senior year, although it is possible to take one or two subjects at the end of junior year. These examinations are identical across the world for each subject, reinforcing the coherence of the international program and curricula. Students with limited economic resources will have their examinations subsidized, primarily through state and federal monies that are available for low-income students taking AP and IB examinations. In addition, BIHS will look for outside sources to provide additional funding as necessary.

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Curriculum

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Berkeley International High School course offerings overview

Ninth Grade

Tenth Grade

Grades 11/12: IB Diploma Programme

Eleventh Grade

Twelfth Grade

Incorporated Aspects of BIHS