Curriculum
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Curriculum options: Planning your four years at BIHS Individual BIHS course descriptions |
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)
BIHS program – Grades 9 and 10
Teachers plan these courses in collaboration with one another to ensure that the curriculum builds on common themes and allows the student to gain a deep understanding of the content.
Freshman year
Global Studies: Introduces the concept of the global community through five realms of the world: North Africa, Southwest Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and East Asia. Students will learn about the physical environment, history, culture, and current political/environmental issues of the people in these regions.
Freshman Literature and Composition: Through the geographical theme of the Global Studies, this course examines important issues of cultures through literature. Students also explore the meaning of what they have read through a variety of different writing modes.
Cultural Aesthetics: A study of artistic expression and art history from the global community. Students learn a broad array of art techniques and material while examining universal principals of art and design that we see across culture.
Sophomore year
Global History: Covers major themes in modern world history, including the industrial revolution, imperialism, rise of Communism, and the World Wars. Emphasis is placed on the interaction between the realms studied in the freshman year and Europe.
Global Literature: The literature studied in this course is representative of the heritage of the cultures covered in Global History and Comparative Values and Beliefs. Literature includes non- Western work written prior to the 20th century, paired with contemporary pieces.
Economics Systems (one semester course): Students analyze a variety of current issues global economy, ranging from the debate over free trade and global interdependence, to competing development models for the world’s poorer nations, to the impact of population and economic growth on social, political and ecological systems.
Comparative Values and Beliefs (one semester course): Focuses on comparative world religion and philosophy in relation to the area of study in Global History. Students examine similarities as well as the obvious differences existing from one culture to another as they appear in creative forms. They look at changes in religion over the centuries, geographies of religions.
BIHS program – Grades 11 and 12
Junior year
History of the Americas: This course will examine the modern world with an emphasis on the interaction of people and events, and analysis of the progression of history over time. Students will learn independent historical analysis and articulate knowledge and opinion orally and in writing. Focus will be on the history of the United States, and South America through World War II.
Literature of the Americas: This course will begin the two year curriculum in literature. The readings will include works and authors from around the world and through various time periods. Students will focus on the unique historical, cultural, and geographical influences upon each work. Students will be given an opportunity to take two of the four assessments: one will be oral, the second will be written.
Senior year
Twentieth Century Global History and Government: Focuses on key topic areas looking specifically at issued that transcend national boundaries. Some focus areas include the Cold War, the causes, effects and practices of war, and the challenges inherent in transitioning to Democracy. Students will focus on performing independent research during this year.
Twentieth Century Global Literature: This course concludes the two year approved curriculum. Students will focus on readings which will continue to include international literature in all genres. Students will take the final two assessments: one oral, and one written.
Theory of Knowledge: A capstone course on the philosophy of learning. See additional details below.
Unique Components to BIHS
Extended Essay
During the junior and senior years, all students in BIHS will have the chance to explore an area of interest by writing an outside paper called the Extended Essay. The purpose of the Extended Essay is to provide students with an opportunity to engage in an independent research project at an introductory level. Emphasis is placed on the research process, clear communication of ideas and presenting the information in a logical and coherent essay. Students will be guided towards their topic at school, but will work primarily on the Extended Essay outside of school hours. BIHS students will find experts in their chosen research field to act as a consulting advisor to help them through the process. BIHS teachers will define acceptable subjects and topics for the Extended Essay, so the topic will receive approval before the student begins any research.
Theory of Knowledge
This interdisciplinary course on the philosophy of learning is the capstone course of BIHS. The class, which all BIHS students take in their senior year, is viewed as the culminating experience of our student’s time within BIHS. The course provides the chance for students to reflect on the origin, validity, and value of various kinds of knowledge and make comparisons between them and encourages creative synthesis among all areas of study.
BIHS Creativity, Action and Service (IBCAS)
The IBCAS component of the BIHS program is intended to encourage each student to develop individual skills and interests, provide a well-rounded balance to the demands of academic scholarship and to challenge the student to become aware of their responsibility to contribute to their community in a meaningful way. All students in BIHS will complete their IBCAS hours over two years (junior and senior year). The hours are to be evenly divided among three focus areas and students may begin accruing their IBCAS hours the summer after sophomore year.
Creativity includes a wide range of artistic endeavors (art, dance, teaching, music, drama), including the creativity a student employs in designing and completing projects.
Action involves physical activities such as sports and athletic training and also includes the physical activities required to implement creative or service projects such as building, planting or coaching.
Service is volunteer (not paid nor for school credit) community or social service, including environmental or international projects.
IBCAS activities must be pre-approved and the student is responsible for keeping accurate record sheets and obtaining adult signatures for verification. Students will complete personal reflections on activities that
they participate in.
Some IBCAS hours may be obtained from participating in Berkeley High School activities. Students are encouraged to build upon activities they already participate in, as well as to branch out and gain new experiences. For instance, if students participate in music or drama activities as an extracurricular activity, they may count their performance hours. Sports team practices do not count; performance and game hours do. As a general rule, performance time counts, practice time does not.