IB Primary Years Program
- 1. Joseph D. Sharp Elementary School IB/PYP International Baccalaureate/Primary Years Programme Parent Presentation
- 2. IBO: A Brief History • International schools for American diplomats’ children in native cultures. • Prepare students to gain admission to university. • Formally established as an organization in 1968 based in Geneva, Switzerland. • The Diploma Programme, for students in the final two years of school before university. • The Middle Years Programme (MYP) is for students aged 11 to 16 established in 1992. • The Primary Years Programme (PYP) is for students aged 3 to 12 established in 1997.
- 3. Primary Years Programme (PYP) • Provides an opportunity for learners to construct meaning, principally through concept-driven inquiry. • Traditional academic subjects are part of the programme but it emphasizes the interrelatedness of knowledge and skills through a transdisciplinary programme of inquiry. • The PYP focuses on the heart as well as the mind and addresses social, physical, emotional and cultural needs as well as academic ones. • PYP schools have various student populations in all types of schools including the public, private, charter, and magnet schools. Student populations are transient and/or stable. • Natural fit with standards-based practices. • Exists in already high achieving schools or as a catalyst for school improvement plan. • Flexibility in language of instruction and languages taught.
- 4. International Baccalaureate Organization Mission Statement Through comprehensive and balanced curricula coupled with challenging assessments, the IBO aims to assist schools in their endeavors to develop the individual talents of young people and teach them to relate the experience of the classroom to the realities of the world outside. Beyond intellectual rigour and high academic standards, strong emphasis is placed on the ideals of international understanding and responsible citizenship, to the end that IB students may become critical and compassionate thinkers, lifelong learners and informed participants in local and world affairs, conscious of the shared humanity that binds all people together while respecting the variety of cultures of attitudes that makes for the richness of life.
- 5. Internationalism: the PYP Perspective • Reflects a range of interrelated factors (the student profile). • Focus is on student learning. • Prepare students for successful participation in a global society. • Value-laden.
- 6. PYP Student Profile Attributes • Inquirers • Principled • Thinkers • Caring • Communicators • Open-minded • Risk-takers • Well-balanced • Knowledgeable • Reflective
- 7. PYP Student Profile • Inquirers: Their natural curiosity has been nurtured. They have acquired the skills necessary to conduct purposeful, constructive research. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.
- 8. PYP Student Profile • Thinkers: They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to make sound decisions and to solve complex problems.
- 9. PYP Student Profile • Communicators: They receive and express ideas and information confidently in more than one language, including the language of mathematical symbols.
- 10. PYP Student Profile • Risk-takers: They approach unfamiliar situations without anxiety and have the confidence and independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are courageous and articulate in defending those things in which they believe.
- 11. PYP Student Profile • Knowledgeable: They have spent time in our schools exploring themes which have global relevance and importance. In so doing, they have acquired a critical mass of significant knowledge.
- 12. PYP Student Profile • Principled: They have a sound grasp of the principles of moral reasoning. They have integrity, honesty and a sense of fairness and justice.
- 13. PYP Student Profile • Caring: They show sensitivity to the needs and feelings of others. They have a sense of personal commitment to action and service.
- 14. PYP Student Profile • Open-minded: They respect the views, values and traditions of other individuals and cultures and are accustomed to seeking and considering a range of points of view.
- 15. PYP Student Profile • Well-balanced: They understand the importance of physical and mental balance and personal well-being.
- 16. PYP Student Profile • Reflective: They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and analyze their personal strengths and weaknesses in a constructive manner.
- 17. WHAT IS CURRICULUM? Include all student activities, academic and non-academic since they have an impact on student learning.
- 18. Three Interrelated Components 1. The written curriculum. The identification of student learning within a curriculum framework. The expression of teacher’s ideas on paper. 2. The taught curriculum. The theory and application of good classroom practice. Examination and continued re-examination of practice. Continued professional development. 3. The learned curriculum. The theory and application of effective assessment. Meaningful assessment brings balance to our work and reminds us of its purpose.
- 19. Learners Constructing Meaning What do we How best will want to learn? we learn? Written curriculum Taught Curriculum How will we know what we learned? Learned curriculum
- 20. What do we want to learn? The Written Curriculum
- 21. PYP Uses WE in These Questions Everyone is a learner, the entire school community Teachers must continue to learn about the content in which we are engaged and our own practice.
- 22. The Written Curriculum The Essential Elements • Concepts: Powerful ideas that have relevance within and across the disciplines in which students must explore and re-explore in order to develop understanding. • Knowledge: Significant, relevant, subject matter we wish the students to explore and know about. • Skills: Those things that the students need to be able to do to succeed in a changing, challenging world. • Attitudes: Dispositions which are expressions of fundamental values, beliefs, and feelings about learning, the environment, and people. • Action: Demonstrations of deeper learning in responsible behavior through positive action and service; a manifestation in practice of the other essential elements.
- 23. What attitudes does the PYP suggest that schools should encourage? • Appreciation • Empathy • Commitment • Enthusiasm • Confidence • Independence • Cooperation • Integrity • Creativity • Respect • Curiosity • Tolerance
- 24. Appreciation Appreciating the wonder and beauty of the world and its people
- 25. Commitment Be committed to their learning, persevering and showing self- discipline and responsibility.
- 26. Confidence Feeling confident in their ability as learners, have the courage to take risks, applying what they have learned and making appropriate decisions and choices.
- 27. Cooperation Cooperating, collaborating and leading or following as a situation demands.
- 28. Creativity Being creative and imaginative in their thinking and in their approach to problems and dilemmas.
- 29. Curiosity Being curious of the nature of learning and of the world, its people and cultures.
- 30. Empathy Imaginatively projecting themselves into another situation, in order to understand his or her thoughts, reasoning and emotions.
- 32. Independence Thinking and acting independently, making their own judgments based on reasoned principles and being able to defend their judgments.
- 33. Integrity Having integrity and a firm sense of fairness and honesty.
- 34. Respect Respecting themselves, others and the world around them.
- 35. Tolerance Feeling sensitivity towards differences and diversity in the world and being responsive to the needs of others.
- 36. CONCEPTS What do we want the students to understand?
- 37. Why include concepts as an essential element of the written curriculum? • A good curriculum offers a balance between the acquisition of essential skills and knowledge and the search for meaning. Education is without meaning if students never acquire deep understanding.
- 38. Why include concepts as an essential element? • Education for understanding, with a focus on important ideas, has often been sacrificed to a superficial introduction to isolated facts and skills. The pressure to cover the syllabus and the expansion of the curriculum have resulted in many students leaving school without ever really understanding. Perfect match of PYP and standards-based practices.
- 39. Why include concepts as an essential element? • By starting with the students’ prior knowledge, and by confronting and extending their early conceptions, we begin to promote real understanding.
- 40. Why include concepts as an essential element? • The exploration and re-exploration of concepts leads students towards a sense of the essence of each discipline and an appreciation of ideas which transcend disciplinary barriers. If concepts are approached from a range of perspectives, students can gradually arrive at a deeper understanding. Broad concept rather than a theme.
- 41. Why include concepts as an essential element? • Transdisciplinary units structured around concepts provide a context in which students can understand and, at the same time, acquire essential knowledge, skills and attitudes.
- 42. TRANSDISCIPLINARY SKILLS Thinking Social Research Communication Self-management •Not taught separately • Used in meaningful situations page 33: Making the PYP Happen
- 43. SUMMARY: Essential Beliefs of Concepts • Powerful ideas • Great significance within each discipline and transcend disciplinary barriers • Provide structure for explanation of significant content • Student exploration • Acquire and practice essential knowledge • Reach a deep understanding
- 44. PYP Conceptual Framework for the Curriculum • Clusters of important ideas which can usefully be grouped under a set of overarching concepts, each of which has major significance, regardless of time or place, within and across disciplines • Not the ONLY concepts worth exploring • Serve as labels for clusters of interesting ideas • Taken together, form a powerful set of ideas which drive the teacher/student research projects, the units of inquiry. • Units of inquiry: the heart of the PYP curriculum
- 45. Which concepts were chosen and why? • Major significance in 1. Form the design of a 2. Function trandisciplinary 3. Causation curriculum 4. Change 5. Connection 6. Perspective 7. Responsibility 8. Reflection
- 46. In what sense do these concepts drive the curriculum? • Structured, purposeful inquiry is a powerful vehicle for real learning • Promotes genuine understanding • Challenges students to engage with important ideas • Present key concepts in the form of open-ended questions • Concepts liberate the thinking in the classroom • Suggest a range of further questions • Questions lead to productive lines of inquiry
- 47. FORM What is it like?
- 48. FUNCTION How does it work?
- 49. CAUSATION Why is it like it is?
- 50. CHANGE How is it changing?
- 51. CONNECTION How is it connected to other things?
- 52. PERSPECTIVE What are the points of view?
- 53. RESPONSIBILITY What is our responsibility?
- 54. REFLECTION How do we know?
- 55. SUMMARY: PYP Key Concepts and Related Questions • Form: What is it like? • Function: How does it work? • Causation: Why is it like it is? • Change: How is it changing? • Connection: How is it connected to other things? • Perspective: What are the points of view? • Responsibility: What is our responsibility? • Reflection: How do we know?
- 56. KNOWLEDGE: What do we want the students to know? • Provides students with a shared experience and body of knowledge on which to build and reflect • Ensures better continuity of learning, avoiding redundancy and omissions • Provides a focus for collaboration among teachers, both homeroom and omissions • Provides a focus for professional development • Reduces the pressure of curriculum coverage. Greater vertical articulation. Greater depth • Provides a rationale for resource acquisition
- 57. PYP Areas of Knowledge Themes • Have significance for all students, all cultures • Offer students the opportunity to explore knowledge which is of genuine importance in understanding the human condition • Address the field of knowledge that facilitate transdisciplinary planning and teaching • Will be revisited throughout the students’ year of schooling. An articulated curriculum content
- 58. These themes, as well as the student profile, provide the organizing structure for the school’s framework of content— The Program of Inquiry
- 59. In selecting individual units, structured around the PYP planner, each unit should be: • Significant: contributing to an understanding of meaningful, important life experiences • Relevant: linked to the students’ prior knowledge and experience, placing learning in a more meaningful context • Engaging: potential to interest students and engage them in their own learning • Challenging: potential to extend prior knowledge and experience of the students
- 60. THE PYP PROGRAM OF INQUIRY ORGANIZING THEMES • Who we are • Where we are in place and time • How we express ourselves • How the world works • How we organize ourselves • Sharing the planet
- 61. 1. Who we are • An inquiry into An exploration of the nature of the self; of our beliefs and values; of personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; of our families, friends, communities and cultures; of our rights and responsibilities; of what it means to be human.
- 62. 2. Where we are in place and time • An inquiry into An exploration of our orientation in place and time; of our personal histories; of history and geography from local and global perspectives; of our homes and journeys; of the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind; of the contributions of individuals and civilizations.
- 63. 3. How we express ourselves • An inquiry into An exploration of the ways in which we discover and express our nature, ideas, feelings, beliefs and values through language and the arts.
- 64. 4. How the world works • An inquiry into An exploration of the physical and material world; of natural and human-made phenomena; of the world of science and technology.
- 65. 5. How we organize ourselves • An inquiry into An exploration of human systems and communities; of the world of work, its nature and its value; of employment and unemployment and their impact on us and the world around us.
- 66. 6. Sharing the planet • An inquiry into An exploration of our rights and responsibilities as we strive to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; of communities and of the relationships within and between them.