AN IBPYP QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE

KEY CONCEPTS: What do we want the students to understand?

Teach and use the key concepts to help students understand deeply using open ended questioning.

The Key Concepts

Form Change Responsibility
What is it like? How is it changing? What is our responsibility?
Function Connection Reflection
How does it work? How is it connected to other things? How do we know?
Causation Perspective
Why is it like it is? What are the points of view?
THE WRITTEN CURRICULUM…WHAT DO WE WANT STUDENTS TO LEARN?

KNOWLEDGE: What do we want the students to know?

The PYP program of inquiry organizing themes: Who we are, Where we are in place and time, How we express
ourselves, How the world works, How we organize ourselves, Sharing the planet.

TRANSDISCIPLINARY SKILLS: What do we want the students to be able to do?

The Transdisciplinary Skills
Social Skills accepting responsibility, respecting others, cooperating, resolving conflict, group
decision making, adopting a variety of group roles
Research skills formulating questions, observing, planning, collecting data, recording data, organizing
data, interpreting data, presenting research findings
Thinking skills acquisition of knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation,
dialectical thought (different points of view), metacognition (awareness and analysis of
how one thinks and learns)
Communication skills listening, speaking, reading, writing, presenting, non-verbal communication
Self-management skills gross motor skills, fine motor skills, spatial awareness, organization, time
management, safety, healthy lifestyle, codes of behavior, informed choices

ATTITUDES: What do we want the students to show?

Teach, integrate, and reinforce the attitudes.
What do we want the students to show?
Appreciation Cooperation Empathy Integrity
Commitment Creativity Enthusiasm Respect
Confidence Curiosity Independence Tolerance

ACTION: How do we want the students to act?

Create a climate and expectation for action in connection to a unit of study.
LEARN SOMETHING
CHOOSE
REFLECT ON THE LEARNING
REFLECT ACT

DO SOMETHING
 STRUCTURED INQUIRY
Follow the unit of inquiry planners and extend the use of structured inquiry into other content areas
HOW BEST WILL STUDENTS LEARN?

when possible. Students are invited to ask questions in order to make connections with prior knowledge,
THE TAUGHT CURRICULUM…

acquire new knowledge and increase their depth of understanding. Teachers ask higher order questions
through the PYP key concept questions to integrate rigor through inquiry.

CENTRAL IDEA
The Big Idea of each unit of inquiry establishes the focus for daily planning, class activities, student-driven
investigations, discussions and assessments. The central idea should be prominently displayed in the
classroom at all times during the unit.

TEAM COLLABORATIVE PLANNING

Use common team planning time for the creation and evolution of the unit of inquiry planners, daily lesson
plans, common assessments and other inquiry-based learning activities that engage students in meaningful and
relevant learning. Reflect on the instruction as a team.

STUDENT PERFORMANCE
THE LEARNED CURRICULUM…HOW WILL
WE KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED?

Use student learning performance to guide teaching and planning.

ASSESSMENT
Assess through “on the spot” checks for understanding, formative and summative assessments
 Planning, teaching, and assessing are interconnected processes.
 Use a range of assessment strategies, recording, and reporting strategies.
 Involve students (self-assessment), parents, and colleagues in the assessment procedures.
 Involve students in shared reflection during and at the end of each unit.
 Collect data through: observations, performance assessments, process-focused assessments, selected
responses, open-ended tasks, portfolios
 Analyze learning through: rubrics, benchmarks, holistic scoring, analytical scoring

THE RESULTS: INTERNATIONALLY-MINDED STUDENTS

INTERNATIONALISM: THE PYP PERSPECTIVE

The PYP program develops students who are “inquiring knowledgeable, and caring, young people who help
create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect”. Through a rigorous,
relevant, and engaging curriculum students acquire the knowledge, the skills and attitudes that prepare them to
be active, compassionate lifelong learners in a global society.

Teach, integrate, and reinforce the student profile.

The Learner Profile Traits
Caring Knowledgeable Reflective Balanced
Communicator Open-minded Risk-taker
Inquirer Principled Thinker

Post the IB Attitudes and the Learner Profile Traits prominently in the classroom. After explicitly
teaching what the traits and attitudes mean, refer to them often highlighting students, literary characters,
people in the news, etc. as people who exemplify these traits.