International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) Subject Briefs Summary
The IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) is designed for students aged 11 to 16. It provides a comprehensive learning framework that emphasizes intellectual challenge and connects traditional subjects with real-world applications. The MYP aims to develop students who are inquiring, knowledgeable, caring, and ready to contribute to a more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
Key Aspects of the MYP:
- Focus on "Learning How to Learn": Through the systematic development of Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills, including communication, collaboration, organization, self-management, reflection, research, informational literacy, media literacy, creative and critical thinking, and transfer of learning.
- Intercultural Understanding and Global Engagement: Essential qualities fostered in young people today.
- Connected Curriculum: Interdisciplinary teaching and learning builds a curriculum that addresses developmental needs and prepares students for further academic study and life in an interconnected world. It uses concepts and contexts across eight subject groups for meaningful integration.
- Formal Qualification (Year 5): Students can earn the IB MYP certificate or course results through eAssessments. This requires:
- 2-hour on-screen examinations in Language and Literature, Individuals and Society, Sciences, Mathematics, and Interdisciplinary Learning.
- Submission of an ePortfolio in Language Acquisition and one of Design, Arts, or Physical and Health Education.
- Completion of a moderated personal project.
- Completion of school-based expectations for service as action (community service).
MYP Projects:
The MYP includes significant project-based learning experiences:
- Personal Project (Year 5): A student-centered, age-appropriate practical exploration (approx. 25 hours) where students consolidate learning, practice ATL skills, and connect classroom learning with personal experience. It is externally moderated and mandatory for the IB MYP certificate.
- Community Project (Year 3 or 4): Students who finish the MYP in year 3 or 4 must complete this project.
Global Contexts:
Students must identify a global context for their MYP projects to establish relevance and significance. These contexts direct learning towards independent inquiry:
- Identities and relationships
- Orientation in space and time
- Personal and cultural expression
- Scientific and technical innovation
- Globalization and sustainability
- Fairness and development
Assessment:
Each MYP subject has four equally weighted assessment criteria, each with eight possible achievement levels. Projects are assessed by supervisors and externally moderated by the IB to ensure international standards.
MYP Subject Groups (examples from the document):
- Arts: Students function as artists and learners, developing curiosity, creative problem-solving, and understanding of art's cultural contexts.
- Design: Challenges students to apply practical and creative-thinking skills to solve design problems using the design cycle, fostering awareness of design's impact.
- Individuals and Societies: Incorporates humanities and social sciences, encouraging respect for the world and equipping students with skills to inquire into historical, geographical, political, social, economic, and cultural factors.
- Language Acquisition: Develops proficiency in an additional language, fostering intercultural understanding and multiliteracy skills.
- Language and Literature: Equips students with linguistic, analytical, and communicative skills through a balanced study of genres and literary texts, including world literature.
- Mathematics: Focuses on number, algebra, geometry and trigonometry, and statistics and probability, promoting analytical reasoning and problem-solving skills applicable to real-life situations.
- Physical and Health Education: Empowers students to understand and appreciate physical activity, developing motivation for healthy choices and fostering positive social interaction.
- Sciences: Guides students to investigate issues through research, observation, and experimentation, exploring connections between science and everyday life, and fostering critical thinking.
- Interdisciplinary Learning: Encourages students to integrate knowledge and modes of thinking from two or more disciplines to create new understandings and solve complex problems.
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