IB Teacher Training Online: Official Workshops vs Self-Paced PD Compared
IB Teacher Training Online: Official Workshops vs Self-Paced PD Compared
Quick answer
Official IB workshops and self-paced online PD serve different purposes and aren't substitutes for each other. Official workshops (Category 1, 2, and 3) are required at specific career points and carry IB's own certification. Self-paced online courses fill the much larger space in between.
Key facts
The IB runs its own official workshop programme across three categories (Category 1, 2 and 3), each tied to a specific stage of IB expertise, delivered in person or as a scheduled live online session rather than on demand (ibo.org, Workshop Categories).
Self-paced online courses cannot substitute for an official Category requirement, but they cover ongoing, applied learning that official workshops don't have room for between sessions.
Most accreditors (CIS, WASC) recognise self-paced online learning as legitimate professional development when logged with clear evidence of application, separately from IB's own workshop certification.
What official IB workshops actually require
Category 1 gives teachers new to an IB programme a general introduction to IB philosophy and implementation, often a hiring requirement in the first year.
Category 2 builds expertise in delivering a specific programme, connecting frameworks to classroom practice and assessment.
Category 3 lets educators go deeper into a specific topic or subject area and is open to any educator, including those not currently teaching an IB programme, not exclusively a leadership track (ibo.org, Workshop Categories). All three are paid and run on a fixed schedule.
What self-paced online PD covers instead
Stronger Together: Workshop and the PYP by Tonya Gilchrist, Pro: https://eduspark.world/courses/workshop-and-pyp
The Four Most Common Errors in Concept-Based Unit Design by Rachel French, Pro: https://eduspark.world/courses/the-four-most-common-errors-in-concept-based-unit-design
The Conceptual Inquiry Process by Tania Lattanzio, Pro: https://eduspark.world/courses/the-conceptual-inquiry-process
Five Key Inquiry Strategies, free: https://eduspark.world/courses/five-key-inquiry-strategies
FAQ
Can self-paced online courses replace official IB Category workshops?
No. Category 1, 2, and 3 workshops carry IB's own certification and are required at specific career points.
Is online self-paced PD recognised by IB or by accreditors?
Recognised as legitimate professional learning by most accreditors (CIS, WASC) when logged with clear evidence, but not a substitute for IB's own certification where required.
Sources
- International Baccalaureate, Workshop Categories: ibo.org
- Council of International Schools, International Accreditation Standards and Indicators: cois.org
See EduSpark's inquiry and IB-relevant courses for what to do between workshops. Explore courses.
Explore some of our IB courses: https://eduspark.world/courses