North Beach Elementary School
Stephanie Labow-Guralnick
PYP Coordinator
IB BASICS
 It was established in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland.
 The IBO offers three programs of international education for students aged 319 years old:
*The Diploma Program at the high school level (grades 9-12).
*The Middle Years Program (MYP) (students 11-16 years old).
*The Primary Years Program (PYP) (for students 3-12 years old).
 There are 651,000 IB students and 2,390 authorized IB schools in 129 countries.
 Regardless of location, size, or make-up, an IB PYP school strives to develop an
internationally minded person.
 The mission of the IBO:
*To develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people.
*To create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
*To work with schools, governments, and international organizations to develop challenging programs
of
international education and rigorous assessment.
*To encourage students worldwide to become active, compassionate, and lifelong learners why
understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
An aim of the PYP is to create a transdisciplinary curriculum that is engaging,
relevant, challenging and significant for learners in the 3-12 age range. The PYP
definition of curriculum consists of three interrelated components that are
expressed in the form of the following three open-ended questions which compel
teachers to think deeply about their own practices with regard to student learning.
What do we want to learn?
The Written Curriculum
the expression of ideas, issues, and concepts on paper
How best will we learn?
The Taught Curriculum
application of best classroom practices
How will we know what we
have learned?
The Assessed Curriculum
application of effective assessments
The Written Curriculum
What do we want to learn?
-the expression of ideas, issues, and concepts on paper-
The Planner consists of five essential elements:
Knowledge: What do we want students to know about?
Concepts: What do want students to understand?
Skills: What do we want students to be able to do?
Attitudes: What do we want students to feel, value and demonstrate?
Action: How do we want students to act?
Knowledge:
What do we want students to know about?
Students inquire into, and learn about globally significant issues in the context of units
of inquiry, each of which addresses a central idea relevant to one of six
transdisciplinary themes that:
 have global significance
 offer students the opportunities to explore commonalities of human experience
 will be revisited from early childhood through grade 5.
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
Concepts:
What do want students to understand?
The eight key concepts, also expressed as key questions, help
teachers and students consider ways of thinking and learning
about the world, and act as a provocation to extend and deepen
student inquiries.
Form: What is it like?
Function: How does it work?
Causation: Why is it like it is?
Change: How is it changing?
Connection: How is it connected to other things?
Perspective: What are the points of view?
Reflection: How do we know?
Skills:
What do we want students to be able to do?
There are 5 sets of transdisciplinary skills acquired
in the process of structured inquiry. These are:
Thinking
Communication
Social
Accepting responsibility
Respecting others
Cooperating
Resolving conflict
Group decision-making
Adopting a variety of group roles
Research
Self-Management
Attitudes:
What do we want students to feel, value and demonstrate?
The twelve “Attitudes” are the daily expressions of the “Learner Profile” used by teachers in teaching
and by students in their learning. Attitude is an outward expression of an inner feeling.
“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”
--Winston Churchill
 Appreciation—Seeing and being thankful for the wonder and beauty of our world.
 Commitment—Being responsible for my learning, showing self-discipline, and perseverance. Sticking
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with a difficult task until it is completed.
Confidence—Knowing I can do it! Having courage to take risks, using what I have learned, and
making good choices.
Cooperation—Working with others and being willing to lead or follow as needed.
Creativity—Using my imagination while thinking and doing things.
Curiosity—I am curious about learning, the world, its people and cultures.
Empathy—Being able to put myself in someone else’s place in order to understand her or him.
Enthusiasm—Being excited about learning and life.
Independence—Thinking and acting on my own.
Integrity—Being fair and honest.
Respect—Showing that I can for others, our world, and myself.
Tolerance—Understanding, appreciating, and celebrating differences in each other.
Action:
How do we want students to act?
An explicit expectation of the PYP is
that successful inquiry will lead to
Responsible action, initiated by the
student as a result of the learning
process. Students are encouraged to
reflect, to make informed choices
and to take action that will help
Their peers, school staff, and the
wider community. This is how
students demonstrate a deeper
sense of learning, by applying their
knowledge to service and positive
action.
Taught Curriculum
How best will we learn?
-application of best classroom practices-
The taught curriculum is the written curriculum in action:
 The 6 transdisciplinary themes help teachers develop a Programme of Inquiries: in-depth
investigations into important ideas, identified by teachers, which are substantial and
require a high level of involvement on the part of the students
 These ideas require students to construct meaning from the world around them by
drawing on their prior knowledge, by providing provocation through new experiences
and by providing time and opportunity for reflection.
 Inquiry is the leading pedagogical approach. It is the process initiated by the students or
the teacher that moves the students from their current level of understanding to a new
and deeper level of understanding. Students are actively involved in their own learning
and take responsibility for that learning.
 Successful inquiry will lead to responsible action initiated by the students as a result of
the learning process.
 Teachers plan for this type of learning using the PYP planner which is designed to be
used collaboratively and structured around a central idea and lines of inquiry.
The Assessed Curriculum
How will we know what we have learned?
-application of effective assessments-
Assessment is central to the PYP goal of thoughtfully and effectively guiding
students through the five essential elements of learning: the acquisition of
knowledge, the understanding of concepts, the mastering of skills, the
development of attitudes and the decision to take action.
The PYP approach to assessment :
 recognizes the importance of assessing the process of inquiry
 recognizes the importance of assessing the products of inquiry
 aims to integrate and support both
This is done through :
 formative assessment which aims to promote learning by giving regular and
frequent feedback
 summative assessment which is the culmination of the teaching and learning
process which aims to give teachers and students a clear insight into students’
understanding of the central idea
What, then, is a PYP School? It is a school that, regardless of location, size or
constitution, strives towards developing an internationally minded person.
What is an internationally minded person? It is a person who demonstrates
the attributes of the
LEARNER PROFILE
• Inquirers—I am curious and know how to discover answers to many
of my questio n s . I love to learn!
• Thinkers—I use my thinking skills to make good choices and solve problems.
• Communicators—I understand and share ideas in more than one language.
• Risk Takers—I try new things, love to explore, and confidently share my experiences.
• Knowledgeable—I explore big ideas that are important. I know and can do a lot of important
things.
• Principled—I am fair and honest. I can make good decisions about what is right and wrong for
me.
• Caring—I am concerned about other people’s needs and feelings. I believe it is important to
help others.
• Open-Minded—I am comfortable with differences. I welcome and respect other people’s points
of views and ways of doing things.
• Balanced—I want to be healthy, it is important for me to balance the needs of my mind and
body.
• Reflective—I think about and discuss my learning, skills, and products.
Caring
Thinker
Form
Function
Causation
Change
Connection
Perspective
Responsibility
Reflection
Principled
International School:
culture, climate, students
example of adults,
curriculum, resources,
staffing, language, special
needs, reflection,extension
Learners
Constructing
Meaning
Curriculum: Everything for
which the school takes
responsibility
Knowledge
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
Social
Communication
Research
Thinking
SelfManagement
Subject disciplines
Language Math Arts
Social Studies
Science and Tech.
Pers. Soc. And Phys. Ed.
The Written Curriculum
Knowledgeable
Communicator
Learner Profile
Reflective
Concepts
OpenMinded
Inquirer
Balanced
Risk-Taker
Attitudes
Action
Appreciation
Commitment
Confidence
Co-operation
Creativity
Curiosity
Empathy
Enthusiasm
Independence
Integrity
Respect
Tolerance
Choose
Act
Reflect
Effective
Teaching
Practices
Inquiry
Constructivism
Collaborative
Planning
Collaborative
Reflection
Taught
Curriculum
Assessment
by
Self
Peers
Teachers
Formative
Summative
Formal
Informal
Public
Criteria
Assessed
Curriculum
QUESTIONS