IB Middle Years Program

 

 

The Middle Years Programme (MYP): preparing students to be successful in school and to be active, lifelong learner .The MYP is designed for students aged 11 to 16. It provides a framework of learning which 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 to the real world. It fosters the development of skills for communication, intercultural understanding and global engagement, qualities that are essential for life in the 21st century.

IB Learner profile

The IB learner profile represents 10 attributes valued by IB World Schools. We believe these attributes, and others like them, can help individuals and groups become responsible members of local, national and global communities.

• Inquirers: We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning throughout life.
• Knowledgeable: We develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring knowledge across a range of disciplines. We engage with issues and ideas that have local and global significance.
• Thinkers: We use critical and creative thinking skills to analyze and take responsible action on complex problems. We exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions.
• Communicators: We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups.
• Principled: We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.
• Open-Minded: We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the experience.
• Caring: We show empathy, compassion and respect. We have a commitment to service, and we act to make a positive difference in the lives of others and in the world around us.
• Risk-Takers: We approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; we work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.
• Balanced: We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives—intellectual, physical, and emotional—to achieve wellbeing for ourselves and others. We recognize our interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live.
• Reflective: We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experience. We work to understand our strengths and weaknesses in order to support our learning and personal development.

IBMYP:  The MYP is open to any student aged 11 to 16 and is a challenging framework that encourages students to make practical connections between their studies and the real world. The MYP aims to develop active learners and internationally minded young people who can empathize with others and pursue lives of purpose and meaning. This five-year program empowers students to inquire into a wide range of issues and ideas of significance locally, nationally and globally. The result is young people who are creative, critical and reflective thinkers. The MYP curriculum framework comprises eight subject groups, providing a broad and balanced education for early adolescents. The curriculum requires at least 50 hours of teaching time for each subject group, in each year of the program. In the final two years of the program, carefully-defined subject group flexibility allows students to meet local requirements and personal learning goals. In the final year of the program, optional MYP eAssessment provides IB validated grades based on examinations and course work. Students who undertake external assessment are eligible for MYP course results and the IB MYP Certificate.

IB programme models highlight important shared features of an IB education.

• Developing the attributes of the learner profile
• Approaches to teaching and approaches to learning
• Age-appropriate culminating experiences
• An organized and aligned structure of subject groups or disciplines
• Development of international-mindedness as a primary aim and context for learning In the programme model for the MYP, the first ring around the student at the center describes the features of the programme that help students develop disciplinary (and interdisciplinary) understanding.

*Approaches to learning (ATL)—demonstrating a commitment to approaches to learning as a key component of the MYP for developing skills for learning *Approaches to teaching: emphasizing MYP pedagogy, including collaborative learning through inquiry *Concepts: highlighting a concept-driven curriculum *Global contexts: showing how learning best takes place in context.

*Inquiry-based learning may result in student-initiated action, which may involve service within the community.

*The MYP culminates in the personal project (for students in MYP year 5) or the community project (for students in MYP 4).

*The MYP organizes teaching and learning through eight subject groups:

1. language and literature
2. Language acquisition
3. Individuals and societies,
4. Sciences
5. Mathematics
6. Arts
7. Physical and health education
8. Design.

*In many cases, discrete or integrated disciplines may be taught and assessed within a subject group: for example, history or geography within the individuals and societies subject group; biology, chemistry or physics within the sciences subject group. *The distinction between subject groups blurs to indicate the interdisciplinary nature of the MYP. The subject groups are connected through global contexts and key concepts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do we want to learn?

The written curriculum is a formal, comprehensive, school-wide set of documents written by the school that describes what will be taught in each subject to each age group. The MYP presents schools with a framework within which schools are expected to develop their own written curriculum, whether this includes external requirements or not. It is acknowledged that many schools will not have autonomy in deciding subject content. The development of learner profile attributes, conceptual understanding, incorporation of global contexts and approaches to learning (ATL) skills is a school-based process. Curriculum development centers on four major elements.

• Key and related concepts
• Global contexts
• ATL skills
• Subject-group objectives from: these elements, documents such as subject overviews and unit planners will be developed through vertical and horizontal planning. In the written curriculum, MYP teachers can plan for service activities arising from inquiry that will be engaging and relevant to students

 How best we will learn?

Learners have beliefs about how the world works that are based on their experiences and prior knowledge. Those beliefs, models or constructs are revisited and revised in the light of new experiences and further learning. As students try to create meaning in their lives and the world around them, they will continually construct, test, confirm or revise their personal models of how the world works and their personal values. Consequently, the taught curriculum in a school should emphasize the construction of meaning so that students’ learning will be purposeful. When planning to teach a subject as part of the MYP, it is important to ascertain students’ prior knowledge, and to provide experiences through the curriculum that give students opportunities to test and revise their models, to make connections between their previous and current perceptions, and that give them the opportunity to construct their own meaning. The MYP encourages teachers to provide opportunities for students to build meaning and refine understanding through structured inquiry. As the learning process involves communication and collaboration, this inquiry may take many forms, with students working on their own or collaboratively with partners or larger groups, within the classroom or beyond. The structuring of new experiences by teachers, and the support teachers give to students’ ideas about new experiences, are fundamental to students’ conceptual development. The MYP encourages conceptual development that applies across and beyond subject groups

How best have we learnt?

MYP assessment gives teachers and students reliable and valid information on student learning. Integrated with the written and taught curriculum, the assessed curriculum is considered throughout the processes involved in planning for learning. Assessment in the MYP is largely an internal (school based) process. Teachers in IB World Schools develop, administer and provide feedback on assessment tasks that meet the programme requirements (including mandatory assessment criteria).

The IB validates student achievement on the personal project through a process of external moderation. Optional MYP eAssessments provide students with additional opportunities to demonstrate their learning and receive IB-validated grades. The MYP provides teachers with examples of the development of a range of authentic and targeted assessment strategies and tools that are focused on learning. Such strategies are communicated through subject-group guides, teacher support materials and workshop materials. These strategies and tools can be used to design assessment tasks that bring balance and integrity to the curriculum. Table 1 summarizes the purpose and inquiry focus of the written, taught and assessed curriculum in the MYP.

What is assessment?

At Soodeh International Educational Complex we believe that “assessment” should promote student learning, provide information about student learning and contribute to the efficacy of the program. We believe that Assessment is integral to all teaching and learning processes. The following outlines why we assess work at the Soodeh International Educational Complex:

• To inform teaching and learning: to review, revise and improve our future planning and instruction in order to provide more learning opportunities · To build a profile of student understanding by providing evidence concerning the strengths and weaknesses of the individual student.
• To provide positive motivation and reinforcement for students who strive to reach their personal best.
• To assess student performance in relation to the general and specific learning outcomes of the program.
• To provide evidence of teaching effectiveness and methodology in meeting the needs of the individual student.
• Support continuity and progression throughout the school.

What is the MYP perspective on assessment? Students at Soodeh International Educational Complex are assessed in a variety of ways, including:

• Compositions—musical, physical, artistic
• Creation of solutions or products in response to problems
• Essays
• Examinations
• Questionnaires
• Investigations
• Research
• Performances
• Presentations—verbal (oral or written), graphic (through various media)

MYP assessment requires teachers to assess the prescribed subject-group objectives using the assessment criteria for each subject group in each year of the programme. In order to provide students with opportunities to achieve the highest level, MYP teachers develop rigorous tasks that embrace a variety of assessment strategies. MYP assessment requires teachers to assess the prescribed subject group objectives using the assessment criteria for each subject group in each year of the programme. In order to provide the students with opportunities to achieve the highest level, MYP teachers develop rigorous tasks that embrace a variety of assessment strategies. Assessment of student understanding at the end of a course is based on the whole course and not individual components of it. Students must be able to recall, adapt and apply knowledge and skills to new questions and contexts. Students need to understand assessment expectations, standards and practices, which teachers can introduce early and naturally in teaching, as well as in class and homework activities. The MYP approach to assessment recognizes the importance of assessing not only the products, but also the process of learning. Generally, there should be at least one example for each achievement level in an assessment rubric. The criteria for each subject are as shown below:

A B C D Language and Literature: Analyzing, Organizing, Producing text and using language

Language Acquisition: Comprehending spoken and visual text, Comprehending written and visual text, Communicating and Using language

Individuals and Societies: Knowing and Understanding, Investigating, Communicating and Thinking critically

Sciences: Knowing and Understanding, Inquiring and designing Processing and evaluating, Reflecting on the aspects of science

Mathematics: Knowing and Understanding, Investigating Patterns, Communicating, and applying mathematics in the real world contexts

Arts: Knowing and Understanding, Developing skills, Thinking creatively and Responding

Physical and Health Education: Knowing and Understanding, Planning for performance, Applying and performing, Reflecting and improving performance Design: Inquiring and analyzing, Developing ideas, Creating the solution Evaluating MYP Projects: Planning, Applying skills and Reflecting

What types of assessment do we use?

At Soodeh International Educational Complex the goal is for our students to demonstrate that learning has taken place by showing what they understand and how they are applying that understanding to real life and the world around them. Authentic learning cannot always be demonstrated through traditional tests or exams. The IB views assessment as needing to be authentic, essential, rich, engaging, and feasible – it should incorporate students in the process of evaluating their learning. “Formative” assessment is interwoven into the daily lessons and learning – this ongoing process of “checking in” between teachers and students, helps both teachers and students find out what they already know, in order to plan for the next stage of learning.

Formative assessment and teaching are directly linked; effective learning cannot take place without one or the other.

Summative assessment takes place at the end of the teaching and learning process – this is the time that students have the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding and application of what has been learned at the end of each unit. Therefore: a. Summative assessments should have both a written and a spoken component. b. Each strand of the objectives are used and assessed at least twice a year. c. Each summative assessment should have its own assessment tool (e.g. rubric) attach to it. d. It is discouraged for the summative assessments to be group assessment. It is better they are individual assessment. e. Summative assessment tasks should be done entirely in the class. f. Summative assessment should be challenging and designed according to the level of the students and the curriculum. E.g. a well-designed exam will result in a class average mark of  B. Any average above B shows that the summative assessment has been too easy for the students.

What are the steps of assessment?

1. Assess: discover what is learned; first, you define outcomes (knowledge, skills, attitudes) and design the strategy i.e. what will you hear and see the student do that will convince you that they have learned.
2. Record: select and collect data; here you decide about the tool you will use to record the assessment, criteria for success, and present to students prior to task. We believe that it is necessary to make sure the students know in advance the exact criteria, based on which they will be assessed.
3. Report: communicate the result of assessment to inform others, including students, colleagues and parents.

How do we assess? Teachers employ a variety of strategies to form the basis of a comprehensive approach to assessment and represent the school’s commitment to provide a balanced view of each of its students. These assessment strategies include: Interdisciplinary, Disciplinary, grounding, Synthesizing and applying, Communicating and reflecting

1. Observations 2. Performance assessments 3. Process-focused assessments 4. Selected Responses 5. Open-ended tasks 6. Portfolio assessment
2. Observations

All students are observed often and regularly, with the teacher taking a focus varying from wide angle (for example, focusing on the whole class) to close up (for example, focusing on one student or one activity), and from nonparticipant to participant. Observation of: • Individual behaviors • Student interactions • General class behaviors • Reading skills (individual, both silent and aloud; partnered; group) • Logical thinking skills • Lateral thinking skills (e.g. in brainstorming sessions) • Study skills • Listening skills • Response to instructions • Student application of what has been learnt

2. Performance Assessments

The assessment of goal-directed tasks with established criteria. They provide authentic and significant challenges and problems. In these tasks, there are numerous approaches to the problem and rarely only one correct response. They are usually multimodal and require the use of many skills. Audio, video and narrative records are often useful for this kind of assessment. • Role-play • Presentation • Demonstration • Problem-solving • Response to challenges 3. Process-focused Assessments Students are observed often and regularly, and the observations are recorded by noting the typical as well as non-typical behaviors, collecting multiple observations to enhance reliability, and synthesizing evidence from different contexts to increase validity. A system of note taking and record keeping is created that minimizes writing and recording time. Checklists, inventories and narrative descriptions (such as learning logs) are common methods of collecting these observations. Assessment of: • Research effectiveness • Project work • Interdisciplinary skills • Typical and non-typical behaviors • Behaviors over time (i.e. multiple observations) • Behaviors in different contexts, with synthesis of evidence

4. Selected Responses Single occasion, one-dimensional exercises. Tests, oral questioning and quizzes are the most familiar examples of this form of assessment.
5. Open-ended Tasks Situations in which students are presented with a stimulus and asked to communicate an original response. The answer might be a brief written answer, a drawing, a diagram or a solution. The work, with the assessment criteria attached, could be included in a portfolio. Schools can register for optional eAssessment in all other elements of the programme – with students earning a formal, internationally-recognised certificate if they meet the success criteria.

MYP eAssessment: MYP eAssessment is a reliable, globally consistent and highly innovative assessment model that helps achieve greater student outcomes and provides greater quality assurance and recognition for International Baccalaureate® (IB) World Schools.

Once a school registers for eAssessment in the MYP, the IB will be able to assess students’ work in two ways:

• ePortfolios of coursework, including a compulsory ePortfolio for the personal project.
• On-screen examinations, with each exam lasting two hours.

The graphic below shows how these two types of assessment are divided across the MYP’s different subject groups. To ensure that on-screen examinations are rich and authentic, media and interactive functions are used to engage students

. On-screen tools include: · Drag and drop; cut and paste; copy and paste · Play, pause and replay video and animations · Interaction with animations and simulations · The ability to plot graphs and draw lines and pictures · On-screen (graphing) calculator(s).

Personal Project: The MYP personal project is a student-centred and age-appropriate practical exploration in which students consolidate their learning throughout the programme. This long-term project is designed as an independent learning experience of approximately 25 hours. The personal project formally assesses students’ ATL skills for self-management, research, communication, critical and creative thinking, and collaboration. The personal project encourages students to practice and strengthen their ATL skills, to connect classroom learning engagements with personal experience, and to develop their own interests for lifelong learning. Students who finish the MYP in year 3 or 4 must complete the MYP community project. MYP year 5 students must successfully complete the externally moderated personal project to be eligible for IB MYP course results and the IB MYP certificate. Students participating in MYP years 3, 4 and 5 may engage in both projects.

The aims of the MYP projects are to encourage and enable students to:

• participate in a sustained, self-directed inquiry within a global context
• generate creative new insights and develop deeper understandings through in-depth investigation
• demonstrate the skills, attitudes and knowledge required to complete a project over an extended period of time
• communicate effectively in a variety of situations
• demonstrate responsible action through, or as a result of, learning
• appreciate the process of learning and take pride in their accomplishments. Students must identify a global context for their MYP projects to establish their relevance and significance. The following global contexts direct learning towards independent inquiry.
• Identities and relationships
• Orientation in space and time
• Personal and cultural expression
• Scientific and technical innovation
• Globalization and sustainability
• Fairness and development.

MYP projects involve students in a wide range of student-planned learning activities that extend knowledge and understanding, and develop important academic and personal skills.

Project components: Students address personal project objectives through:

• The process they follow
• The product or outcome they create
• The report or presentation they make that explains what they have done and learned.

Students document their thinking, research process and development of their initial ideas by developing an outline of a challenging but manageable goal. Example goals include the development of original works of art, models, business plans, campaigns, blueprints, investigative studies, scientific experiments, performances, fieldwork, and narrative essays, courses of study or learning engagements, films, computer programmes, and many other forms of work. Students document their project work in the process journal. This learning strategy helps students record and learn from their work, and it promotes academic honesty. As a record of progress, journals can take many forms and can be recorded in a variety of media. They represent an evolving record of plans, ideas and accomplishments. The process journal provides a repository for essential reflections on learning and formative feedback on students’ work. Extracts from the journal, which demonstrate achievement in all criteria, are submitted as appendices of the report or presentation at the conclusion of the project.

The personal project report explains the project process in a concise and succinct form. The report contains a formal bibliography and a statement of academic honesty. Reporting: Report Cards, Parent-Teacher Meetings There are four reports per year. Each report serves to give parents the full picture of their student’s learning during the year. School communicates assessment data to parents in a variety of ways using a clear process, and at frequent intervals. The following ways of reporting to parents are currently used and have proved effective. Report cards—in which all teachers contribute assessment data from their subject, and which may or may not include grades.

Parent conferences in which teachers communicate assessment data to parents openly and transparently, possibly supported by examples of each student’s work.

Monitoring and Evaluation of Education

Monitoring and evaluation of education is done in various forms at all levels and departments.

Conducting classroom observations:

• Twice a year based on a schedule
• Randomly on a continuous basis
• Twice a year by the principal
• Randomly on a continuous basis by the principal
• Twice a year based on a schedule by the education coordinator/IB Program Coordinator
• Randomly on a continuous basis by the education coordinator/IB Program Coordinator
• Twice a year based on a schedule by the heads of different subject group departments
• Randomly on a continuous basis by the heads of different subject group departments

Conducting continuous formative and summative assessments using different strategies, considering individuals’ background and prior knowledge.

Conducting  comprehensive achievement tests twice a year by the educational team, head of departments, and teaching staff.  Holding reflective meetings after all types of evaluations and assessments in order to inform teaching and learning.

School Day/ School Hours

School days are from Saturday through Wednesday.

School Times: 7:30 am to 13:00pm