IB Primary Years Programme

Happy Life World School, Madhurawada, Vizag appreciates and encourages a childhood that’s driven by curiosity and creativity.

What is the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP)?

The PYP is one of the four programmes offered by the International Baccalaureate and is designed for students from ages 3 to 12 years. The PYP prepares students to become active, caring, and lifelong learners who demonstrate respect for themselves and others and have the capacity to participate in the world around them. It focuses on developing the child’s curiosity, both within and beyond the classroom.

At Indus International School Bangalore, the curriculum is a balanced blend of five essential elements: concepts, knowledge, skills, attitude and action. The knowledge component is developed through inquiries into six transdisciplinary themes of global significance:

• Who we are


• Where we are in place and time


• How we express ourselves


• How the world works.


• How we organize ourselves


• How to share the planet

These themes are selected for their relevance in the real world. They are described as transdisciplinary because they focus on issues that go beyond classroom subjects, and also help teachers to develop a programme of inquiry.

The teachers at Indus International School Bangalore identify and develop significant ideas that require students to have a substantial level of involvement. This framework ensures that students examine each theme, participate in leadership training and broaden their horizon.

The learning they receive is supported and balanced by skills and knowledge from six subject areas: Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, PSPE (Personal, Social and Physical Education) and Arts which foster the child’s all-round development. The PYP aims to create a curriculum that is engaging, relevant, challenging, and significant for the learners between 3–12 years of age. The curriculum is transdisciplinary in that it focuses on issues that go beyond classroom learning.

On the whole, the PYP Curriculum is organised according to three main aspects:

• The written curriculum


• The taught curriculum


• The assessed curriculum

Written Curriculum

The written curriculum comprises five essential elements characteristic to a top-ranked IB school:

• Knowledge, which is disciplinary and transdisciplinary. The disciplinary aspect is represented by traditional subject areas (language, math, science, social studies, arts, PSPE).
• Concepts, which students explore through structured inquiry to develop a coherent and in-depth understanding which have relevance both within and beyond subject areas.
• Skills, which are the broad capabilities that students develop and apply during their classroom learning and in life.
• Attitude, which contributes to international-mindedness and the wellbeing of individuals and learning communities.
• Action, wherein successful inquiry leads to responsible, thoughtful and appropriate response.

Taught Curriculum

This approach provides students with the learning and space they need to develop ideas. It encourages them to question, consider and refine their understanding of the social and natural world by:

• Drawing in their prior knowledge


• Providing provocation through new experiences


• Providing opportunities for reflection and consolidation

Assessment

As a top-ranked IB school, every assessment does the following:

• Promote student learning


• Provide information about student learning


• Contribute to the successful implementation of the programme

Through assessments, teachers identify students’ knowledge, their understanding, their capabilities and their preferences at different stages in the teaching and learning process. This input also enables them to plan and adopt effective teaching methods. It is a thoughtful process that makes Indus International School one of the best schools in Bangalore.

At Indus International School Bangalore, learning is a continuous journey. The teachers, for their part, use a wide range of assessment strategies to collect information on each element of the written curriculum.

Transition into International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP)

In the final year of the PYP, students collaborate to carry out an extended, in-depth, collaborative project known as the PYP exhibition.

The PYP exhibition allows students to work their way through real-life issues or problems and share solutions with the school community. It also provides teachers with a powerful and authentic process to assess students' understanding.

The exhibition represents a unique and significant opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes developed through the PYP and an opportunity to celebrate their transition into the Middle Years Programme.

Key Facts

• The International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) was introduced in 1997.
• It followed the introduction of the Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the Diploma Programme (DP) – established respectively in 1994 and 1968.
• The PYP is taught to students of ages 3-12 years.
• As of 16th March 2017, there are 1,472 schools offering the PYP in 109 different countries worldwide.
• A global International Schools’ Assessment study that ran from 2009-2011 reported that PYP students outperformed Non-IB students in areas of mathematics, reading, and writing.
• A 2014 national study in Australia found that students in the PYP perform better than the national average in nationwide science tests

Origin

The PYP was developed over ten years through dedicated vision and effort from the former International Schools Curriculum Project (ISCP). The goal was a common curriculum for students in the 3-12 age group to provide continuity of learning and ensure international-mindedness on the part of learners. Since being introduced by the IB, the PYP continues to meet these initial aims of providing a curriculum that places Indus International School Bangalore as one of the top IB schools in the country.