PYP What is the International Baccalaureate’s Primary Years Program (PYP)?
The PYP has the goal of creating a better and more peaceful global environment. It is an international teaching/learning model that aims to make students, aged between 3 and 12, think for themselves. In other words, to excite their curiosity and share their knowledge. PYP aims to make students from all corners of the world active, caring and life-long learners who understand that others’ opinions are valuable, even if they differ from our own.
The Purpose of the PYP:
The purpose of the PYP is to raise global citizens with international vision that helps create a better and more peaceful world, aware of the whole of humanity and the planet we share. The PYP curriculum argues that information alone is not enough but that appropriate concepts, skills, and attitudes must be developed as well.
The Three Elements of the PYP:
1. What do we want to learn? (written curriculum)
2. How do we learn best? (learned curriculum)
3. How do we know about what we learn? (evaluated curriculum)
The PYP and Language:
The need to communicate is instinctive. The development of language is the basis for this need, further advancing our effectiveness in thinking and understanding. It is believed that language teaching in the PYP should take place in a way that appeals to the past experience, needs and interests of students, rather than according to a predetermined, prescriptive model.
The PYP and Maths:
The mathematics used as part of everyday life must be taught in realistic contexts which students recognise. In doing so, an environment is created for students to discover more about their own personal experience, insights and knowledge.
The PYP, Science and Technology:
In the PYP, science and technology are regarded as tools for the discovery of biological, chemical and physical aspects of the natural world and the relationships between these. Science encourages the learners of the world to become more conscious of their environment and the rules governing it. It encourages curiosity and creativity, which help students to understand the world. By using these tools, students develop a sense of responsibility for their actions, to themselves, others and the planet.
The PYP and Social Sciences:
In the PYP, social information leads students to learn more about themselves, others and our place in a society that is increasingly global. It gives them the opportunity to think about and examine human behaviour in realistic, objective and sensitive ways. For this reason, experience with social studies opens the door to basic questions about life and learning.
The PYP and Art:
Art is an integral part of the PYP. It is a powerful form of communication in which learners make discoveries about themselves and make sense of these, helping them to understand the world around them. Art provides students with a variety of opportunities and ways to respond to their experience and address historical, cultural and social aspects of their lives and surroundings. Learning about art is the basis for the development of the whole child. It encourages creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and social interaction.
The PYP and Physical Education:
In the PYP, personal, social and physical education is about the well-being of the individual. This contributes to the understanding of others, to developing and maintaining relationships with them, and also to an active, healthy lifestyle. As life-long learners, we try to make meaning in our lives and the world we live in. We do it by exploring concepts and by observing what we understand. Life-long learners demonstrate a positive attitude toward learning, develop positive strategies for critical and creative thinking, understand questions, participate in enquiry, connect with and reflect new learning and skills in practice and different contexts. To become successful learners, what students need is to feel strong as they learn, to know the value of learning, and to take responsibility for it, to be flexible and to gain independence.