International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end, the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

The IB offers high-quality programs of international education that share a powerful vision. An IB education:

• focuses on learners
• develops effective approaches to teaching and learning
• works within global contexts
• offers a curriculum that is broad and balanced, conceptual and connected

The MYP is designed for students aged 11 to 16. It encourages students to become creative, critical and reflective thinkers. The MYP emphasizes intellectual challenge, encouraging students to make connections between their studies in traditional subjects and the real world.

It fosters the development of skills for communication, intercultural understanding and global engagement-essential qualities for young people who are becoming global leaders.
The MYP is flexible enough to accommodate most national or local curriculum requirements.

• addresses intellectual, social, emotional and physical well-being
• provides students opportunities to develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills for the future
• ensures breadth and depth of understanding through study in eight subject groups
• requires the study of at least two languages. 
• empowers students to participate in service within the community
• helps to prepare students for further education, the workplace and a lifetime of learning

The MYP consists of eight subject groups: language acquisition, language and literature, individuals and societies, sciences, mathematics, arts, physical and health education, and design. Student study is supported by a minimum of 50 hours of instruction per subject group in each academic year. 

MYP projects provide students the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned in the MYP. In schools that include MYP years 5, all students must complete the personal project. As a programme that includes MYP year 3, students must complete the community project.

• The community project encourages students to explore their right and responsibility to implement service as action in the community. Students may complete the community project individually or in small groups.

The MYP aims to help students develop their personal understanding, their emerging sense of self and responsibility in their community. MYP teachers organize the curriculum with appropriate attention to:

• Teaching and learning in context. Students learn best when their learning experiences have context and are connected to their lives and the world that they have experienced. Using global contexts, MYP students explore human identity, global challenges and what it means to be internationally minded.
• Conceptual understanding. Concepts are big ideas that have relevance within specific disciplines and across subject areas. MYP students use concepts as a vehicle to inquire into issues and ideas of personal, local and global significance and examine knowledge holistically.
• Approaches to learning (ATL). A unifying thread throughout all MYP subject groups, approaches to learning provide the foundation for independent learning and encourage the application of their knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts. Developing and applying these skills help students learn how to learn.
• Service as action (community service). Action (learning by doing and experiencing) and service have always been shared values of the IB community. Students take action when they apply what they are learning in the classroom and beyond. IB learners strive to be caring members of the community who demonstrate a commitment to service-making a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment. Service as action is an integral part of the programme, especially in the MYP community project.
• Language and identity - MYP students are required to learn at least two languages. Learning to communicate in a variety of ways is fundamental to their development of intercultural understanding and crucial to their identity affirmation.

Any school, or group of schools, wishing to offer one or more IB programme must first be authorized to do so by the IB organization. The requirements are the same for all schools, and the procedure is designed to ensure that schools are well-prepared to implement the programme(s) successfully. All IB World Schools are required to participate in an ongoing process of review and development, using the same programme standards and practices. Services and support for schools. As part of its ongoing commitment to the development of a highly skilled global learning community, the IB provides a wide range of high-quality professional development opportunities to help new and experienced school leaders and educators understand, support and successfully deliver IB Programmes. To further support professional development, IB educator certificates and IB leadership certificates are offered for completing an IB recognized course of study offered by a network of higher education institutions. School leaders and educators can also serve as IB workshop leaders, school visitors, consultants, examiners, moderators or curriculum developers. Other ways to participate in the IB community include sharing good practices in the online IB Journal of Teaching Practice and through blogs and other social media networks. Other IB services include: access to curriculum materials and related publications, marketing support, networking opportunities, and assistance with university and government recognition. Assessment in the MYP: rigorous criteria, applied consistently worldwide MYP assessment standards are consistent around the world. In order to maintain the rigor for which the IB is renowned, the MYP assessment model is criterion-related. Teachers structure varied and valid assessment tasks so that students can demonstrate achievement according to objectives defined by the IB. Tasks are assessed against established criteria, not against the work of other students.

A good curriculum develops a range of student skills. The MYP encourages teachers to assess this acquired skill set, including how to succeed in written examinations. Typical MYP assessment tasks include open-ended, problem-solving activities and investigations, organized debates, tests and examinations, hands-on experimentation, analysis and reflection. MYP assessment is carried out by teachers, according to the criteria defined by the IB.

The IB Middle Years Programme, © International Baccalaureate Organization 2015
The full publication may be found at: https://www.ibo.org/globalassets/digital-tookit/brochures/myp-programme-brochure-en.pdf

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