IB Teacher Training Online: Official Workshops vs Self-Paced PD Compared
IB Teacher Training Online: Official Workshops vs Self-Paced PD Compared
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: ongoing, applied PD that keeps practice sharp without another workshop fee or a flight to a regional conference.
What official IB workshops actually require
Category 1 is aimed at teachers new to an IB programme and is often a school or hiring requirement in the first year. Category 2 builds on that for teachers with some IB experience, often tied to a specific role change. Category 3 targets leadership and whole-school implementation. All three are paid, run on a fixed schedule, and require either in-person attendance or a scheduled live online session, meaning they don't flex around a teacher's own calendar the way self-paced PD does.
What self-paced online PD covers instead
Self-paced courses can't replace an official Category 1 requirement, but they cover the ongoing, applied learning that official workshops don't have room for. A few IB-relevant examples worth knowing about:
- Stronger Together: Workshop and the PYP by Tonya Gilchrist, Pro, on running effective workshop-model teaching within a PYP classroom.
- The Four Most Common Errors in Concept-Based Unit Design by Rachel French, Pro, a focused, practical course correcting specific unit-planning mistakes.
- The Conceptual Inquiry Process by Tania Lattanzio, Pro, for coordinators refining how inquiry actually runs across a programme.
- A Conversation With Kath Murdoch, free, a starting point on inquiry-based practice before going deeper into a paid course.
- Five Key Inquiry Strategies by Kimberly Mitchell, free, short and immediately applicable within a single unit.
Cost and time, side by side
An official Category 1 workshop typically runs as a multi-day commitment with a registration fee, plus travel and cover costs if delivered in person. A focused self-paced course on a specific IB-relevant skill runs a fraction of that cost and can be completed in an evening, which is why most schools treat self-paced PD as the ongoing spine of an IB professional learning programme, with official workshops reserved for the specific points where they're actually required.
When you need the official workshop, and when self-paced is enough
If you're new to an IB programme, moving into a coordinator role, or your school's accreditation cycle specifically requires a Category workshop, self-paced PD doesn't substitute. For everything else, ongoing refinement of unit design, inquiry practice, or workshop-model teaching, a focused self-paced course applied directly to your current unit will move practice further than waiting for the next scheduled workshop.
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. Self-paced courses complement that requirement; they don't satisfy it.
How much does an official IB workshop cost compared to self-paced PD? Official workshops involve a registration fee plus, often, travel and cover costs. A focused self-paced course typically costs a fraction of that and requires no time away from the classroom.
Is online self-paced PD recognised by IB or by accreditors? It's recognised as legitimate professional learning by most accreditors (CIS, WASC) when logged with clear evidence of application, but it isn't a substitute for IB's own workshop certification where that's specifically required.