The International School at Mesa del Sol is an authorized IB World School for its Primary Years Programme and iB Middle Years Programme.
For additional information about IB World Schools, please visit https://ibo.org/
PYP Curriculum
The Primary Years Programme (PYP) presents schools with a comprehensive plan for high quality, international education.
It provides schools with a curriculum framework of essential elements — the knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes, and action that young students need to equip them for successful lives, both now and in the future.
Schools work with the five elements to construct a rigorous and challenging primary curriculum for international education.
The PYP aims to create a curriculum that is engaging, relevant, challenging and significant for learners in the 3–12 age range. The curriculum is transdisciplinary, meaning that it focuses on issues that go across subject areas.
The PYP is organized according to:
The written curriculum, which explains what PYP students will learn
The taught curriculum, which sets out how educators teach the PYP
The assessed curriculum, which details the principles and practice of effective assessment in the PYP
Written Curriculum
The International Baccalaureate® (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) balances the acquisition of significant and relevant knowledge and skills, the development of conceptual understanding, the formation of personal, positive attitudes and the capacity to take responsible actions.
The PYP:
addresses students’ academic needs and their social and emotional well-being
encourages students to develop independence and to take responsibility for their own learning
supports students’ effort to gain understanding of the world and to function effectively within it
helps students to establish personal values as a foundation on which international-mindedness will flourish.
The written curriculum, outlined below, is made up of five essential elements and details what students will learn.
Essential elements in the PYP
The five essential elements of the PYP are:
knowledge, which is both disciplinary, represented by traditional subject areas (language, maths, science, social studies, arts, PSPE) and transdisciplinary
concepts, which students explore through structured inquiry in order to develop coherent, in-depth understanding, and which have relevance both within and beyond subject areas
skills, which are the broad capabilities students develop and apply during learning and in life beyond the classroom
attitudes, which contribute to international-mindedness and the wellbeing of individuals and learning communities, and connect directly to the IB learner profile
action, which is an expectation in the PYP that successful inquiry leads to responsible, thoughtful and appropriate action.
Transdisciplinary Themes
WHO WE ARE
Inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; person, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities, and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human
WHERE WE ARE IN PLACE AND TIME
Inquiry into orientation in place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationship between and the interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives
HOW WE EXPRESS OURSELVES
Inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic
HOW THE WORLD WORKS
Inquiry into the natural world and its laws, the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.
HOW WE ORGANIZE OURSELVES
Inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment
SHARING THE PLANET
Inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and other living things; communities and the relationship within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.
Each theme is addressed each year by all students. (Students aged 3 to 5 engage with four of the themes each year.)
In addition all PYP students have the opportunity to learn more than one language from the age of seven. These transdisciplinary themes help teachers to develop a programme of inquiries–investigations into important ideas, identified by the schools, and requiring a high level of involvement on the part of the students. These inquiries are substantial, in-depth and usually last for several weeks.
Since these ideas relate to the world beyond the school, students see their relevance and connect with it in an engaging and challenging way. Students who learn in this way begin to reflect on their roles and responsibilities as learners and become actively involved with their education. All students will come to realize that a unit of inquiry involves them in in-depth exploration of an important idea, and that the teacher will collect evidence of how well they understand that idea. They will expect to be able to work in a variety of ways, on their own and in groups, to allow them to learn to their best advantage
Taught Curriculum
The taught curriculum is the part of the International Baccalaureate© (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) that sets out its pedagogical approach.
It identifies how schools should teach the PYP written curriculum.
The PYP is committed to structured, purposeful inquiry that engages students actively in their own learning. The programme supports students’ efforts to construct meaning from the world around them by:
drawing on their prior knowledge
providing provocation through new experiences
providing opportunities for reflection and consolidation.
This approach respects students’ developing ideas about how the world works. It encourages them to question, consider and refine their understanding of the social and natural world.
How do IB educators plan for learning in the PYP?
Collaboration is a key part of planning for schools implementing the PYP. All teachers are engaged in the planning process, defining the curriculum’s central ideas, discussing how best to bring inquiry into those ideas in the classroom, and finding ways to meet the needs and interests of every student.
Teachers must attend training in order to implement the PYP. The IB offers a wide range of professional development to support educators in gaining a deeper understanding of the programme.
Assessed Curriculum
The unique approaches to teaching and learning in the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) can be explained through the taught, written and assessed curriculum.
The assessed curriculum explains how teachers go about gathering and analysing information about student performance. The IB does not set examinations or moderate grades in the PYP.
What are the purposes of assessment in the Primary Years Programme?
The purposes of assessment are to:
promote student learning
provide information about student learning
contribute to the successful implementation of the programme.
Through assessment, the IB helps schools teaching the Primary Years Programme (PYP) to identify what students know, understand, can do and value at different stages in the teaching and learning process.
In the PYP, learning is viewed as a continuous journey, where teachers identify students’ needs and use assessment data to plan the next stage of their learning.
Teachers use a wide range of assessment strategies to collect information on each of the elements represented in the written curriculum: the understanding of concepts, the acquisition of knowledge, the mastering of skills, the development of positive attitudes and the ability to take responsible action.
The PYP Exhibition: encouraging in-depth, collaborative inquiry
In the final year of the PYP, students, carry out an extended, in-depth, collaborative project known as the PYP exhibition.
This involves students working collaboratively to conduct an in-depth inquiry into real life issues or problems. Students collectively synthesise all of the essential elements of the PYP in ways that can be shared with the whole school community.
It also provides teachers with a powerful and authentic process for assessing student understanding.
The exhibition represents a unique and significant opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the IB learner profile developed throughout their engagement with the PYP.
It also provides schools and students with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the transition of learners to the next phase of their education.
The Exhibition
The Exhibition is an important part of the PYP for all students. The exhibition takes place in the final year of the PYP and is the culmination of a substantial piece of research involving group collaboration, inquiry, social action, and a presentation to an audience.
Quality Assurance and Professional Development
Any school, or group of schools, wishing to offer one or more IB programmes as an IB World School must first be authorized. The requirements are the same for all schools, and the procedure is designed to ensure that schools are well-prepared to implement the programme successfully. All IB World Schools are required to participate in an ongoing process of review and development, using the same programme standards and practices.
As part of its ongoing commitment to the development of a highly skilled global learning community, the IB provides a wide range of high-quality professional development opportunities to help new, experienced, and expert school leaders and educators understand, support, and successfully deliver IB programmes reflecting IB standards and practices.