Concepts

Key concepts

The MYP identifies 16 key concepts to be explored across the curriculum. These key concepts, shown in Table 2, represent understandings that reach beyond the eight MYP subject groups from which they are drawn.

Table 2

MYP key concepts

Teachers use key concepts from their own subject group(s)—as well as key concepts from other subject groups—to plan disciplinary and interdisciplinary units of work. Teachers identify one key concept that drives the unit’s development.

The following broad descriptions apply across subject groups, and MYP subject-group guides suggest further subject-specific understandings. These concepts are not only “key” in the sense of being important; they also provide a key—a way into a body of knowledge through structured and sustained inquiry. They place no limits on breadth of knowledge or on depth of understanding, and therefore provide access to every student, regardless of individual aptitudes and abilities.

Inquiry into MYP key concepts will further develop (and lead to debate on) the meaning of these significant ideas.

  • Aesthetics deals with the characteristics, creation, meaning and perception of beauty and taste. The study of aesthetics develops skills for the critical appreciation and analysis of art, culture and nature.

  • Change is a conversion, transformation or movement from one form, state or value to another. Inquiry into the concept of change involves understanding and evaluating causes, processes and consequences.

  • Communication is the exchange or transfer of signals, facts, ideas and symbols. It requires a sender, a message and an intended receiver. Communication involves the activity of conveying information or meaning. Effective communication requires a common “language” (which may be written, spoken or non-verbal).

  • Communities are groups that exist in proximity defined by space, time or relationship. Communities include, for example, groups of people sharing particular characteristics, beliefs or values as well as groups of interdependent organisms living together in a specific habitat.

  • Connections are links, bonds and relationships among people, objects, organisms or ideas.

  • Creativity is the process of generating novel ideas and considering existing ideas from new perspectives. Creativity includes the ability to recognize the value of ideas when developing innovative responses to problems; it may be evident in process as well as outcomes, products or solutions.

  • Culture encompasses a range of learned and shared beliefs, values, interests, attitudes, products, ways of knowing and patterns of behaviour created by human communities. The concept of culture is dynamic and organic.

  • Development is the act or process of growth, progress or evolution, sometimes through iterative improvements.

  • Form is the shape and underlying structure of an entity or piece of work, including its organization, essential nature and external appearance.

  • Global interactions, as a concept, focuses on the connections among individuals and communities, as well as their relationships with built and natural environments, from the perspective of the world as a whole.

  • Identity is the state or fact of being the same. It refers to the particular features that define individuals, groups, things, eras, places, symbols and styles. Identity can be observed, or it can be constructed, asserted and shaped by external and internal influences.

  • Logic is a method of reasoning and a system of principles used to build arguments and reach conclusions.

  • Perspective is the position from which we observe situations, objects, facts, ideas and opinions. Perspective may be associated with individuals, groups, cultures or disciplines. Different perspectives often lead to multiple representations and interpretations.

  • Relationships are the connections and associations between properties, objects, people and ideas—including the human community’s connections with the world in which we live. Any change in relationship brings consequences—some of which may occur on a small scale, while others may be far-reaching, affecting large networks and systems such as human societies and the planetary ecosystem.

  • Systems are sets of interacting or interdependent components. Systems provide structure and order in human, natural and built environments. Systems can be static or dynamic, simple or complex.

  • The intrinsically linked concept of time, place and space refers to the absolute or relative position of people, objects and ideas. Time, place and space focuses on how we construct and use our understanding of location (“where” and “when”).

Related concepts

Related concepts and their definitions are found in each MYP subject-group guide, along with examples of how they are used to develop MYP units. Teachers can develop additional related concepts to meet the needs of students and local or national curriculum requirements. For each unit, teachers identify one or more related concept(s) that extend(s) learning, lead(s) to deeper understanding, or offer(s) another perspective from which to understand the identified key concept(s).

Using key and related concepts

Since key and related concepts describe the most important ideas for teaching in the subject, teachers can use them as a framework for vertically articulating the curriculum. For example, teachers can begin by identifying the key and related concepts that will be addressed in each year of the programme, and then map the development of those concepts with respect to MYP subject-group objectives. Alternatively, teachers can begin by developing their understanding of subject-group objectives over the years of the programme, then identify key and related concepts for specific units.

When planning a unit of work and determining the conceptual understandings for students to explore through the unit, it is important to note the following.

  • Students need multiple opportunities to explore the concepts defined for each subject or discipline. Students should have meaningful inquiry into all of the key and related concepts for each relevant subject group at least once over the course of the MYP.

  • Over the course of the programme, students need to develop an understanding of the key and related concepts at increasing levels of sophistication and abstraction.

  • Summative assessments should offer students opportunities to reach the highest achievement levels with regard to their conceptual knowledge and understanding.

  • Related concepts can have different levels of abstraction and disciplinary specificity (Erickson 2008). In some cases, key concepts can function like related concepts. For example, in a unit entitled “Balance in complex organisms requires the effective interaction of systems”, the related concepts balance and interaction bring disciplinary depth to the key concept of systems—and also deepen understanding of the subject.

Global contexts

Teaching and learning in the MYP involves understanding concepts in context. Global contexts provide a common language for powerful contextual learning, identifying specific settings, events or circumstances that provide more concrete perspectives for teaching and learning. When teachers select a global context for learning, they are answering the following questions.

  • Why are we engaged in this inquiry?

  • Why are these concepts important?

  • Why is it important for me to understand?

  • Why do people care about this topic?

MYP global contexts, illustrated in figure 9, provide common points of entry for inquiries into what it means to be internationally minded, framing a curriculum that promotes multilingualism, intercultural understanding and global engagement. These contexts build on the powerful themes of global significance that structure teaching and learning in the PYP, creating relevance for adolescent learners.

Figure 9

MYP global contexts

These and other contexts for teaching and learning inspire explorations of our common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet. They invite reflection on local, national and global communities, as well as the real-life issues and concerns of 11- to 16-year-old students. For each MYP unit, teachers should identify one global context that establishes a focus for meaningful teaching and learning in a programme of international education. Over the course of their study, students should encounter all six global contexts.

Table 3 contains explanations of the MYP global contexts and some of the many explorations that they can inspire.

Table 3

Global contexts and explorations

The selected global context will inform the questions that teachers and students ask throughout the unit. However, many explorations of global contexts are closely related and, in the course of the unit, questions that relate to other global contexts may also be encouraged, developed and considered.

Inquiring into subject content through a global context enables students to develop a deeper understanding of both the subject and its application in the real world. Repeated cycles of inquiry, action and reflection can lead students from academic knowledge towards practical understanding, developing positive attitudes towards learning as well as a sense of personal and social responsibility.