The Preterm exhibition was an open celebration of the explorations of various IB subjects that the preterm students had undertaken. It was a taster of all the subjects in the IB and emphasised on the IB learner profile and ATL (approaches to learning) skills. It showcased the whole IB curriculum and our collective learning throughout these four months, it wasn't a mundane presentation of the subjects in isolation. Each subject and its fundamentals linked to another subject.
We started work for the exhibition 2 weeks in advance. We started discussing ideas as to how we could creatively represent our learnings in Design and Technology, Art, Physics, etc. It was only a matter of time before we started staying back after school as well.
I being a student that was already a pathwaysian, was returning to pathways after studying in a CBSE school for a year. With the exhibition I had a chance to express what I had experienced in my time away from Pathways. I had created a piece to inspire others. It was inspired by the Yggdrasil tree.
Art was the most fun subject to work on. Economics and Business studies was surprisingly interesting because I have never delved into the world of finance but when I was exposed to these subjects even though I had not formally chosen them, it peaked my interest to conduct my own research into the stock market from time to time. I was also surprised by the freedom of self expression in the IB art curriculum. This was not a trait I had noticed in IGCSE art nor in CBSE.
The students in Pathways have always been open and supportive to preterm students. They welcome them as if within a matter of few days they were already a part of the Pathways family. My case was different since I was returning to this school after a year, but much to my delight I was welcomed with open arms by my old friends and I ended up making some new ones too!
The preterm program was very helpful, since I don't have the pre-IB edge or the MYP background, I would have been lost in Grade 11 for sure if I hadn’t explored the various subjects before making my formal choices in Grade 11.
The preterm program and the exhibition has changed me in several ways. It has been a journey of self expression for me and I have had a better chance of showing how I have grown as a leader that I never had found myself to be. I also learned that it is important to work as a team player. I took initiative and supported my peers. The teachers that were our mentors were busy with the previous grade 11 and 12th batch, hence we had to take control of our work and made sure to never miss a deadline since it was our responsibility. It was a chance to look back and reflect on our learning, I believe that learning in other curriculums is usually done in isolation and the loose ends are not tied, but the preterm exhibition served as a conclusion of our learning
The exhibition can be viewed below.
Taijasi Nigam
Grade 11