IST Elementary

Parent workshop

An Introduction to the PYP

IST mission statement

IST aspires to provide an outstanding international education. We value and respect cultural diversity and embrace the people and natural environment of Tanzania. Within this safe, secure and caring community students

reach their full potential as citizens of the world.

IBO mission statement

The International Baccalaureate Organization aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.To this end the IBO works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

The PYP is a philosophy and a curriculum framework that helps prepare students for

life as global citizens.

Internationally

minded

and focu

sed on acti

onWritten, taught and learned

curriculum,5 Essential Elements:

Knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes, action

Constructivist, inquiry based,

transdisciplinary

International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme

IST is a PYP school…

An internationally-minded person is...

Caring

Reflective

Principled

Balanced

Open-minded

Inquirer

Thinker

Communicator

Risk-taker

Knowledgeable

Learners constructing meaning

Teacher

Students

Teachers, Students and Other Adults

The planned curriculum

The taught curriculum

The assessed curriculum

Learners constructing meaning

The five essential elements

• What do we want students to understand?concepts

• What do we want students to know?knowledge• What do we want students to be able to

do?skills

• How do we want students to feel?attitudes• How do we want students to act as a

result of their learning?action

Concepts

Key Concept Key Question

Form What is it like?Function How does it work?Causation Why is it the way 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?

The key concepts, also expressed as key questions, help teachers and students to consider ways of thinking and learning about the word, and act as a provocation to extend and deepen student inquiries.

Transdisciplinary SkillsTo conduct purposeful inquiry and to be well-prepared for lifelong learning – student needs to develop skills beyond those considered “basic”.

Thinking skills• Acquisition of knowledge• Comprehension• Application• Analysis• Synthesis• Evaluation• Dialectical thought• Metacognition

Social skills• Accepting responsibility• Respecting others• Cooperating• Resolving conflict• Group decision-making• Adopting a variety of group roles

Communication skills• Listening• Speaking• Reading• Writing • Viewing• Presenting• Non-verbal communication

Self-management skills• Gross motor skills• Fine motor skills• Spatial awareness• Organization• Time management• Safety• Healthy lifestyle• Codes of behaviour• Informed choices

Research skills

• Formulating questions

• Observing• Planning• Collecting

data• Recording

data• Organizing

data• Interpreting

data• Presenting

research findings

AttitudesTo conduct purposeful inquiry and to be well-prepared for lifelong learning – student needs to deelop skills beyond those considered “basic”.

AttitudesA focus on the development of personal attitudes towards people, towards the environment, towards learning, attitudes that contribute to the well-being of the individual and of the group.

Action• Successful inquiry will lead to responsible action, initiated by

the student as a result of the learning process (p25)• a voluntary demonstration of a student’s empowerment

Choose

Act

Reflect

• Language• Mathematics• Science• Social Studies• Arts• Personal, Social and Physical Education

Knowledge – subject areas

Knowledge

“To be truly educated, a student must also make connections across the disciplines, discover ways to

integrate the separate subjects, and ultimately relate what they learn to life” (Boyer 1995: 82). Ernest Boyer

proposed that students explore a set of themes representing shared human experiences such as

“Response to the Aesthetic” and “Membership in Groups”. He referred to these as “Core

Commonalities”. In the PYP, this idea of human commonalities shapes the transdisciplinary themes.

The Primary Years Programme: A basis for practice p8

Knowledge – transdisciplinary themes

• Who we are• Where we are in place and time• How we express ourselves• How the world works• How we organise ourselves• Sharing the planet

Let’s Reflect

In what ways does the PYP seem different or similar to your own school experiences?

In what ways is it different or similar to your child’s previous education?

What strengths do you see in the programme?

What worries do you have about the programme?