Puzzle Pieces That Fit: Eagle Hill’s IB Program Empowers Diverse Learners

Why Learning Differences Don’t Define Academic Potential in the IB Diploma Programme at Eagle Hill School

By Jane Alwis, History Teacher, Academic Advisor, and IB Faculty 

When I tell people that I teach high school history in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme at Eagle Hill School, I’m often met with puzzled looks. It’s a familiar response—a mix of curiosity and skepticism about how a rigorous academic program like IB aligns with a school tailored for diverse learners. This reaction reflects a common misconception: students with learning differences are inherently limited in their academic potential. But at Eagle Hill, we reject this notion. Instead, we empower students to rise to challenges and redefine what they can achieve. 

A Rigorous Program for All Learners 

The IB Diploma Programme is renowned for its academic rigor, requiring students to engage in a broad range of subjects—math, science, foreign languages, arts, and humanities. This multidisciplinary approach promotes holistic learning, critical thinking, and global awareness. Yet, it’s also demanding, with extensive workloads, collaborative projects, and standardized syllabi that can seem inflexible to students who crave individualization.

One of the unique elements of IB at Eagle Hill, however, is that students can select IB courses a la carte, allowing them to stretch academically in the classes where there is strength while continuing to access the comprehensive support they may need. This customization reflects our belief in understanding each student’s unique learning profile and equipping them with the tools to pursue their academic goals. Longtime former faculty member Dr. Jane Cronin aptly put it, “Our teachers seek to understand each student’s learning needs and approaches and then strive to give them the tools they need so that each student can take on his or her own quest for discovery about themselves and the world.”

This customization reflects our belief in understanding each student’s unique learning profile and equipping them with the tools to pursue their academic goals.

Building Confidence Through Challenge 

The IB Programme at Eagle Hill does more than prepare students for college. It instills confidence, resilience, and a lifelong love of learning. One alumnus remarked, “Practically, the IB programme prepared me very, very well for college, but it also gave me the confidence to push myself more academically and personally.” This transformative experience stems from the IB’s emphasis on critical thinking, research, and inquiry-based learning. Students analyze complex information, form their own opinions, and engage in meaningful discussions—skills essential for navigating both higher education and an ever-changing world. 

Students analyze complex information, form their own opinions, and engage in meaningful discussions—skills essential for navigating both higher education and an ever-changing world. 

Developing a Growth Mindset

Eagle Hill’s IB Programme exemplifies inclusivity. While some view the IB Diploma as accessible only to high-achieving students, we see its potential to benefit all learners, including those with learning differences such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, or ADHD. These diagnoses don’t define a student’s curiosity, intellectual capacity, or motivation to learn. At Eagle Hill, we’re committed to helping students harness their strengths and develop a growth mindset.

Research supports this approach. Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset underscores that confidence is a skill cultivated through effort and perseverance. At Eagle Hill, students build this confidence through individualized attention, small class sizes, and close relationships with advisors who understand their capabilities. This foundation allows them to take on academic challenges with determination and optimism. 

Developing Lifelong Skills 

One of the IB’s most valuable contributions is its focus on metacognition—teaching students to think about their own learning. The programme’s “Approaches to Learning” framework integrates thinking, research, communication, self-management, and social skills into every course. These skills are particularly beneficial for students with learning differences, enabling them to develop effective strategies for self-directed learning.

One of the IB’s most valuable contributions is its focus on metacognition—teaching students to think about their own learning. 

For instance, IB pedagogy emphasizes modeling, scaffolding, formative assessment, and collaborative learning. These practices encourage students to reflect on their thinking, challenge assumptions, and approach tasks strategically. As studies show, this kind of teaching fosters metacognitive awareness, a crucial competency for academic success and lifelong learning.

Celebrating Diverse Capacities for Learning

What sets Eagle Hill apart is our commitment to celebrating the diverse capacities of our students. Head of School Erin Wynne argues that “the genius of the Eagle Hill philosophy remains its simplicity, grounded in the beliefs that our students are endowed with diverse and remarkable capacities for learning and that it is our responsibility as educators to identify, nurture, and celebrate those capacities as our students pursue their dreams.” In fact, the IBO states that, “the [IB] programme is intended to be inclusive, not exclusive, and IB schools are required to give students with wide-ranging abilities, including students with learning disabilities, the fullest access to the programme.”

At Eagle Hill, we don’t shy away from academic rigor. Instead, we provide the support and encouragement students need to embrace it. The result? Graduates who are confident, capable, and ready to tackle the challenges of college and beyond. As our students engage in IB courses, they develop the intellectual curiosity and resilience that will serve them throughout their lives. And as educators, we take pride in watching them thrive—proof that learning differences don’t define potential, but rather, they shape unique paths to success.

Jane grew up in a small town in regional Victoria in Australia. She completed an arts degree, with majors in history and philosophy and a minor in literature, and then obtained a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching at a regional campus of what is now LaTrobe University. After relocating to the United States, she completed a Master of Education in Learning, Teaching, and Education Transformation at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Her teaching experience includes seventeen years in Australian public schools teaching history and English and one very interesting year at a small Catholic school teaching everything, including cake decorating. After relocating to the United States in 2005, she spent five years working in Massachusetts public schools—teaching, amongst other things, history, social studies, and special education. She joined the Eagle Hill teaching faculty in 2011 and now teaches classes in world history, IB history, social justice, and writing.