The Gandhi Memorial International School

Preparing students to be critical thinkers and compassionate problem-solvers frames how Gandhi Memorial International School in Jakarta operates. It’s the only school in Indonesia authorized to offer all four International Baccalaureate (IB) programs, from the early years through the diploma and career-related program. Its staff takes pride in the rigor of its curricula and the focus on cultivating good academic habits, self-discipline, self-esteem, and healthy values.

Manish Kumar, who coordinates the IBCP program and serves as school counselor, says all teachers at the school use Turnitin as a platform to develop their learners, ensure they know how to write well, and back their claims with quality research. He believes these skills are foundational to a meaningful education. With every assignment, Kumar says, “The teacher has to give feedback because, ultimately, it's not the work which will improve learning. It’s the feedback.”

Much of the IB curricula culminates with written research projects. Student final submissions are expected to demonstrate academic integrity, which is one of the core values of the school. It’s compulsory for the Diploma students to submit their research work through Turnitin because, Kumar says, “There is no substitute for truth; no substitute for facts.” He adds that both teachers and students use Turnitin to track and validate Internet sources. Then the teachers use voice comments, rubrics, and other educator tools to provide students with rich, contextual feedback that they can use to improve.

As IBCP Coordinator and Extended Essay Coordinator, Kumar assesses a lot of student essays. When talking about promoting honest, original, quality work, he says: “It [Turnitin] is the most important tool we have at present.”

Gandhi Memorial International School was a Turnitin Global Award Honorable Mention in 2017