The Primary Years Programme (PYP) of the International Baccalaureate
Organization was developed over 10 years ago in order to create continuity
amongst international curriculums and to promote international mindedness in
the children who particpated in these programs.
The IB paradigm is based upon the premise that learners construct
meaning based upon personal experience, by connecting new knowledge to prior
knowledge. To that end, the PYP teachers first seek to determine existing
knowledge and then to build upon that knowledge through structured student
inquiry. Therefore, communication and collaboration are highly valued
skills in the PYP curriculum. Furthermore, the PYP encourages students to
take responsible action as a result of the learning process. This action
may include activities which enrich the learning experience or foster
broader social improvements.
Therefore, five essential elements of the written curriculum are emphasized
within this framework.
1. Knowledge: Significant, relevant content that we wish the students to
explore and know about, taking into consideration their prior experience and
understanding.
2. Concepts: Powerful ideas that have relevance within the subject areas
that transcend them and that students must explore and re-explore in order to
develop a coherent, in-depth understanding.
To this end, eight key concepts serve as a framework for IB units in order to
stress meaning and understanding of concepts taught within the Program of
Inquiry (POI). These include:
-Form: What is it like?
-Function: How does it work?
-Causation: Why is it like it is?
-Change: How is it changing?
-Conncection: How is it connected to other things?
-Perspective: What are the points of view?
-Responsibility: What is our responsibility?
-Reflection: How will we know?
3. Skills: Those capabilities that the students need to demonstrate to
succeed in a changing, challenging world, which may be disciplinary or
transdisciplinary in nature.
4. Attitudes: Dispositions that are expressions of fundamental values,
beliefs and feelings about learning, the environment and people.
Therfore, the PYP attitudes focus on the development of personal attitudes in
the children and faculty/staff to foster internationalism and contribute to
the well-being of the school. The attitudes are listed below.
-Appreciation: Appreciating the wonder and beauty of the world and its
people.
-Commitment: Being committed to their own learning, perserving and
showing self-discipline and responsibility.
-Confidence: Feeling confident in their ability as learners, having the
courage to take risks, applying what they have learned and making appropriate
decisions and choices.
-Cooperation: Cooperating, collaborating, and leading or following as the
situation demands.
-Creativity: Being creative and imaginative in their thinking and in
their approach to problems and dilemmas.
-Curiosity: Being curious about the nature of learning, about the world,
its people and cultures.
-Empathy: Imagining themselves in another's situation in order to
understand his or her reasoning and emotions, so as to be open-minded and
reflective about the perspectives of others.
-Enthusiasm: Enjoying learning and willingly putting the efforts into the
process.
-Independence: Thinking and acting independently, making their own
judgments based on reasoned argument, and being able to defend their
judgments.
-Integrity: Being honest and demonstrating a considered sense of
fairness.
-Respect: Respecting themselves, others and the world around them.
-Tolerance: Being sensitive about differences and diversity in the world
and being responsive to the needs of others.
5. Action: Demonstrations of deeper learning in responsible behavior
through responsible action; a manifestation in practice of the other
essential elements.
Finally the PYP encourages both teacher and student self-reflection as
a way of monitoring learning. Other types of assessment included in IB are
rubrics, anecdotal records, checklists, benchmarks, and portfolios.
-Making It Happen, IBO, 2007
