IB Primary Years Programme (PYP)
The PYP is the official curriculum framework and teaching methodology of the International Baccalaureate (IB) developed to meet the needs of children in the Primary Years of schooling (ages 3-12). It is a transdisciplinary programme of international education designed to foster the development of the whole child. It emphasizes learning through active inquiry and aims to develop the whole child to meet the competencies and attitudes outlined in the Learner Profile. The driving force behind the PYP is the aim to develop international mindedness students who exhibit the attributes of the IB Learner Profile.
The Learner Profile a set of ideals that can inspire, motivate and focus the work of IB schools and teachers, uniting them in a common purpose and providing a long-term vision of education. Students are provided with opportunities to develop the following values of the Learner Profile:
| Inquirers |
Communicators |
Knowledgeable |
| Caring |
Balanced |
Thinkers |
| Risk-takers |
Principled |
Open-minded |
| Reflective |
|
|
The PYP curriculum combines the best research and practice from a range of national systems with a wealth of knowledge and experience from international schools to create a relevant and engaging educational framework for all children.
The PYP Curriculum Framework
The PYP curriculum framework consists of five essential elements: concepts, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and action. The knowledge component is developed through inquiries into six transdisciplinary themes of global significance, supported and balanced by six subject areas as illustrated by the hexagon. At the heart of the programme’s philosophy is a commitment to structured, purposeful inquiry as the leading vehicle for learning.
Six Transdisciplinary Themes
The six transdisciplinary themes of global significance provide the framework for exploration and study:
- Who we are
- How we express ourselves
- Where we are in place and time
- How the world works
- How we organize ourselves
- Sharing the planet
Teachers are guided by these six transdisciplinary themes as they design units of inquiry that both transcend and articulate conventional subject boundaries. The programme is illustrated by the hexagon with the six transdisciplinary themes surrounding six subject areas:
| Language |
Mathematics |
Personal, Social and Physical Education |
| Social Studies |
Arts |
Science and Technolog |
The themes and subject areas outlined inside the hexagon form one of the essential elements of the programme, the knowledge element. Appearing in the centre of the hexagon are the other four other essential elements (concepts, skills, attitudes, action) of the programme. All five essential elements are imbedded in the written, taught and assessed curriculum.
The curriculum framework is further structured around three interrelated questions:
- What do we want to learn? The written curriculum
- How best will we learn? The taught curriculum
- How will we know what we have learned? The learned curriculum
The Programme of Inquiry
The Programme of Inquiry is a matrix overview of the Units of Inquiry that is taught in each grade level. Each of the transdisciplinary theme is to be covered in-depth within a 4 to 6 weeks time frame and all six transdisciplinary themes must be addressed each year in each grade level, except Early Years (3-5 year olds). The Programme of Inquiry allows for transdisciplinary planning, teaching, assessing and a balanced inclusion of the subject areas. The Units of Inquiry under the six transdisciplinary themes run vertically through the matrix.
Units of Inquiry
Each academic year, Early Years explore four units of inquiry, subsequent Grade Levels explore six units of inquiry. Each unit of inquiry has a central idea - a powerful statement or enduring understanding that encapsulates the essence of the unit. Students then engage in carefully planned front loading activities, which allow students to connect to previous knowledge, be interested and extend their thinking. As the PYP is a transdisciplinary programme, the subjects of Social Studies, Science and PSPE are fully imbedded in the units of inquiry. Meaningful connections are made through the conceptual lense of other subject areas such as the Arts, Language and Maths to ensure students have an enduring understanding of what they are learning.
Student questions or inquiries are recorded at this stage and displayed around the classroom for the class to inquire into individually or as a group later on in the unit. The central idea and inquiry points planned by the teachers are common to each class in a grade level and help to keep the unit focused. The unit then develops with varied class activities that allow students to explore the essential understanding through guest speakers, field trips, books, internet, experiments, role plays, DVD’s, artefacts, local resources, computer software, class discussions, interviews, etc. Teacher questions further drive inquiry and the unit is brought to an end by a common summative assessment where students are required to demonstrate their understanding of the central idea. Summative assessments are often performance based in Upper Elementary and challenge students to apply knowledge and skills to new contexts.
Programme Summary
Early Years 1
Early Years 2
PYR/Grade 1
Grade 2/3
Grade 4/5