Embedding Key Concepts at GCSD: PYP, MYP, and DP

At Greenburgh Central School District (GCSD), Key Concepts provide the intellectual framework that helps students make sense of complex ideas and connect learning across disciplines. These concepts are central to the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP) and continue to guide students’ thinking in subject-specific ways in the Diploma Programme (DP).

PYP Key Concepts (Grades K–6)

The PYP identifies eight Key Concepts that shape inquiry and deepen understanding:

1. Form: What is it like?

2. Function: How does it work?

3. Causation: Why is it like it is?

4. Change: How is it changing?

5. Connection: How is it connected to other things?

6. Perspective: What are the points of view?

7. Responsibility: What is our responsibility?

8. Reflection: How do we know?
   
   

In the PYP, these concepts are woven into every Unit of Inquiry, ensuring that students think critically and explore multiple dimensions of a topic. For example, in a unit on ecosystems:

• Form: Students identify the characteristics of different habitats.

• Function: They examine how each part of the ecosystem works.

• Responsibility: They reflect on their role in protecting the environment.

These concepts help students develop a conceptual lens that goes beyond memorizing facts, encouraging them to ask deep, transferable questions.

MYP Key Concepts (Grades 7–10)

The MYP features sixteen Key Concepts, expanding on the PYP framework to foster deeper interdisciplinary understanding:

• Aesthetics

• Change

• Communication

• Communities

• Connections

• Creativity

• Culture

• Development

• Form

• Global Interactions

• Identity

• Logic

• Perspective

• Relationships

• Systems

• Time, Place, and Space

Each subject area emphasizes certain concepts that align with its disciplinary focus. For example:

• In Sciences, students explore concepts like Change, Systems, and Relationships through investigations of natural phenomena.

• In Individuals and Societies, concepts like Culture, Development, and Global Interactions frame historical and contemporary studies.

• In the Arts, Aesthetics, Creativity, and Communication guide exploration and critique of artistic works.

Teachers design statement of inquiry and unit questions around these Key Concepts, helping students make connections across disciplines and real-world contexts.

Conceptual Understanding in the DP (Grades 11–12)

While the DP does not have a formal set of Key Concepts like the PYP and MYP, conceptual understanding remains central to instruction. In the DP, concepts are discipline-specific, and teachers explicitly draw connections between:

• Core concepts in subjects (e.g., Economics: scarcity, efficiency, sustainability; Biology: evolution, homeostasis).

• Global themes and real-world applications (e.g., in Literature, students explore universal themes such as identity, power, and culture through global texts).

For instance:

• In Theory of Knowledge (TOK), students engage with fundamental concepts like truth, justification, and bias, encouraging them to critically examine how knowledge is constructed and evaluated.

• In History, concepts like Cause and Effect, Perspective, and Continuity and Change guide students in analyzing historical events and historiography.

DP teachers embed conceptual questions into assessments and discussions, ensuring that students are not just learning content but are analyzing, synthesizing, and applying key ideas at a high level of rigor.

Through intentional planning and instruction, GCSD ensures that Key Concepts serve as the foundation for inquiry, critical thinking, and global understanding across all IB programmes, empowering students to become thoughtful, reflective, and knowledgeable learners.