Welcome
Bula & welcome to the Middle Years Programme (MYP). From Year 6 (11 years of age) to Year 10 (16 years of age), we navigate students through their pre-teen and teenage years to become caring individuals actively engaged in their learning.
What is the Middle Years Programme (MYP)?
The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme is a challenging and exhilarating voyage for highly motivated students within a rigorous and exciting framework of studies. The MYP Programme at ISS is crafted by our teachers with our local context and global responsibilities in mind. It promotes a holistic approach to education aiming to:
- provide students of different linguistic, cultural and educational backgrounds with the intellectual, social and critical perspectives necessary for the adult world that lies ahead.
- foster the acquisition of knowledge and skills in traditional academic disciplines.
- promote cultural tolerance and understanding.
- enable students to move between countries without affecting their education.
- encourage international awareness and understanding through a common academic experience.
The focus of the programme is in education of the whole student, encouraging and facilitating the development of individuals who are able to act responsibly in all aspects of life within an increasingly complex global society. To that end, its educational philosophy is based on the combination of the principles of inquiry-based learning, academic rigour and critical thinking.
The IB Middle Years Programme (IB MYP) framework has at its core the approaches to teaching and learning which is a concept-based approach to learning, deeply anchored in contextual learning. Key concepts provide broad, organising ideas and usually work across disciplines. Related concepts are grounded in disciplines and provide focus to subject specific content. These are taught in global contexts which allows a variety of perspectives to be taught. Essentially students are asked to reach beyond the facts in this approach to learning.
Key Concepts
- Aesthetics
- Change
- Communication
- Communities
- Connections
- Creativity
- Culture
- Development
- Form
- Global interactions
- Identity
- Logic
- Perspective
- Relationships,
- Time, place and space
- Systems
Global Contexts
- Identities and relationships
- Orientation in space and time
- Personal and cultural expression
- Scientific and technical innovation
- Globalisation and sustainability
- Fairness and development
Interdisciplinary Units
Each year students complete an interdisciplinary unit which encompasses two or more disciplines. This enables students to make effective connections between disciplines, places learning into context, and reflects real world problem-solving.
Service as Action
This is a fundamental part of the course. It provides a balance to the academic demands by requiring students to be responsible and productive citizens. Through their classroom learning students identify need and possible actions that they can take to make the world a better place, then in their classes, they will implement change and develop their ideas to make a difference.
Approaches to Learning
In order for students to make connections and conduct purposeful inquiry the IB MYP incorporates Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills through all teaching and learning experiences. These include:
Critical-thinking skills: analysing and evaluating issues and ideas
Creative-thinking skills: generating novel ideas and considering new perspectives
Transfer skills: using skills and knowledge in multiple contexts
Reflection/metacognitive skills: (re)considering the process of learning
Information-literacy skills: formulating and planning, data gathering and recording, synthesising and interpreting, evaluating and communicating
Media-literacy skills: interacting with media to use and create ideas and information
Ethical use of media/information: understanding and applying social and ethical technology
Exchanging-information skills: listening, interpreting, speaking
Literacy skills: reading, writing and using language to gather and communicate information
ICT skills: using technology to gather, investigate and communicate information
Interpersonal relationships and collaboration skills: using self-control, managing setbacks, supporting peers
Developing social-emotional intelligence
Organisation skills: managing time and tasks effectively
States of mind: mindfulness, perseverance, emotional management, self-motivation, resilience
Projects
The Community Project
In year 8, students experience the Community Project. In groups, they are asked to identify a need in the school or local community that they can engage with and act upon, demonstrating initiative and responsibility. Students are challenged to demonstrate their social and collaborative skills as they work together in this exciting and rewarding project.
The Personal Project
In the final year of the programme, students have the opportunity to demonstrate their learning and skills through a Personal Project. Selecting a topic that they are passionate about, they embark on a journey of inquiry, action and reflection that results in a demonstration of their learning (a product) and a written report. Students are inspired to challenge themselves, and receive guidance from a Coordinator and teacher-Supervisor throughout the process. The results are exciting and interesting, and are celebrated each year with an Exhibition.
We look forward to navigating through your learning journey with us and to celebrating your successes.