Primary Years Program (PYP)
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.
Essential Elements of the PYP
The five essential elements—knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes, action—are incorporated into this framework, so that students are given the opportunity to:
• gain knowledge that is relevant and of global significance
• develop an understanding of concepts, which allows them to make connections throughout their learning
• acquire transdisciplinary and disciplinary skills
• develop attitudes that will lead to international-mindedness
• take action as a consequence of their learning.
Knowledge
Significant, relevant content that we wish the students to explore and know about, taking into consideration their prior experience and understanding.
Knowledge in the PYP is organised under six transdisciplinary themes. The transdiscipinary themes transcend and articulate the traditional learning areas of Language, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, Arts and Personal, Social and Physical Education and provide a framework for designing Units of Inquiry.
Transdisciplinary Themes
Who we are
An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, 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
An inquiry into orientation in place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between and the interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives.
How we express ourselves
An 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
An 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
An 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
An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.
Concepts
Powerful ideas that have relevance within the subject areas but also transcend them and that students must explore and re-explore in order to develop a coherent, in-depth understanding. These concepts are form, function, causation, change, connection, perspective, responsibility, reflection.
Concept |
Key Question |
Form What is it like? |
The understanding that everything has a form with recognisable features that can be observed, identified, described and categorised. |
Function How does it work? |
The understanding that everything has a purpose, a role or a way of behaving that can be investigated. |
Causation Why is it like it is? |
The understanding that things do not just happen, that there are causal relationships at work, and that actions have consequences. |
Change How is it changing? |
The understanding that change is the process of movement from one state to another. It is universal and inevitable. |
Connection |
How is it connected to other things? The understanding that we live in a world of interacting systems in which the actions of any individual element affect others. |
Perspective |
What are the points of view? The understanding that knowledge is moderated by perspectives; different perspectives lead to different interpretations, understandings and findings; perspectives may be individual, group, cultural or disciplinary. |
Responsibility |
What is our responsibility? The understanding that people make choices based on their understandings, and the actions they take as a result do make a difference. |
Reflection |
How do we know? The understanding that there are different ways of knowing, and that it is important to reflect on our conclusions, to consider our methods of reasoning, and the quality and the reliability of the evidence we have considered. |
Skills
Those capabilities that the students need to demonstrate to succeed in a changing, challenging world, which may be disciplinary or transdisciplinary in nature. These include thinking, communication, social, research and self-management skills.
PYP Transdisciplinary Skills
Thinking skills Acquisition of knowledge: Gaining specific facts, ideas, vocabulary; remembering in a similar form.
Comprehension: Grasping meaning from material learned; communicating and interpreting learning.
Application: Making use of previously acquired knowledge in practical or new ways.
Analysis: Taking knowledge or ideas apart; separating into component parts; seeing relationships; finding unique characteristics.
Synthesis: Combining parts to create wholes; creating, designing, developing and innovating.
Evaluation:Making judgments or decisions based on chosen criteria; standards and conditions.
Dialectical thought:Thinking about two or more different points of view at the same time; understanding those points of view; being able to construct an argument for each point of view based on knowledge of the other(s); realizing that other people can also take one’s own point of view.
Metacognition:Analysing one’s own and others’ thought processes; thinking about how one thinks and how one learns.
Social skills
Accepting responsibility: Taking on and completing tasks in an appropriate manner; being willing to assume a share of the responsibility.
Respecting others:Listening sensitively to others; making decisions based on fairness and equality; recognizing that others’ beliefs, viewpoints, religions and ideas may differ from one’s own; stating one’s opinion without hurting others.
Cooperating:Working cooperatively in a group; being courteous to others; sharing materials; taking turns.
Resolving conflict:Listening carefully to others; compromising; reacting reasonably to the situation; accepting responsibility appropriately; being fair.
Group decision-making:Listening to others; discussing ideas; asking questions; working towards and obtaining consensus.
Adopting a variety of group roles:Understanding what behaviour is appropriate in a given situation and acting accordingly; being a leader in some circumstances, a follower in others.
Communication skills
Listening: Listening to directions; listening to others; listening to information. Speaking Speaking clearly; giving oral reports to small and large groups; expressing ideas clearly and logically; stating opinions.
Reading: Reading a variety of sources for information and pleasure; comprehending what has been read; making inferences and drawing conclusions.
Writing: Recording information and observations; taking notes and paraphrasing; writing summaries; writing reports; keeping a journal or record.
Viewing: Interpreting and analysing visuals and multimedia; understanding the ways in which images and language interact to convey ideas, values and beliefs; making informed choices about personal viewing experiences.
Presenting: Constructing visuals and multimedia for a range of purposes and audiences; communicating information and ideas through a variety of visual media; using appropriate technology for effective presentation and representation.
Non-verbal communication: Recognizing the meaning of visual and kinesthetic communication; recognizing and creating signs; interpreting and utilizing symbols.
Self-management skills
Gross motor skills: Exhibiting skills in which groups of large muscles are used and the factor of strength is primary.
Fine motor skills: Exhibiting skills in which precision in delicate muscle systems is required.
Spatial awareness: Displaying a sensitivity to the position of objects in relation to oneself or each other.
Organization:Planning and carrying out activities effectively.
Time management: Using time effectively and appropriately. Safety Engaging in personal behaviour that avoids placing oneself or others in danger or at risk.
Healthy lifestyle: Making informed choices to achieve a balance in nutrition, rest, relaxation and exercise; practising appropriate hygiene and self-care.
Codes of behaviour: Knowing and applying appropriate rules or operating procedures of groups of people.
Informed choices: Selecting an appropriate course of action or behaviour based on fact or opinion.
Research skills
Formulating questions: Identifying something one wants or needs to know and asking compelling and relevant questions that can be researched.
Observing: Using all the senses to notice relevant details.
Planning: Developing a course of action; writing an outline; devising ways of finding out necessary information.
Collecting data: Gathering information from a variety of first- and second-hand sources such as maps, surveys, direct observation, books, films, people, museums and ICT.
Recording data: Describing and recording observations by drawing, note taking, making charts, tallying, writing statements.
Organizing data: Sorting and categorizing information; arranging into understandable forms such as narrative descriptions, tables, timelines, graphs and diagrams.
Interpreting data: Drawing conclusions from relationships and patterns that emerge from organized data.
Presenting research findings: Effectively communicating what has been learned; choosing appropriate media.
Attitudes
Attitudes are dispositions that are expressions of fundamental values, beliefs and feelings about learning, the environment and people.
PYP Attitudes and Descriptions |
|
Appreciation |
Appreciating the wonder and beauty of the world and its people |
Commitment |
Being committed to their own learning, persevering 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 effort 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. |
Action
Action involves demonstrations of deeper learning in responsible behaviour through responsible action; a manifestation in practice of the other essential elements.
The Action Cycle of the Primary Years Programme
The action cycle is the simple yet powerful tool used to teach children how to take action. By going through the three steps of choosing, acting and then reflecting back upon the results of their choice, students are able to grow socially and personally, developing skills such as cooperation, problem solving, conflict resolution and critical thinking. This is an important part of student's participation in their own learning.
