Middle Years Programme (MYP)

The MYP is designed for students aged 11 to 16. It provides a framework of learning that encourages students to become creative, critical and reflective thinkers. The MYP emphasizes intellectual challenge, encouraging students to make connections between their studies in their 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 builds upon the knowledge, skills and attitudes developed in the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) and prepares students to meet the academic challenges of the IB Diploma Programme (DP).

The MYP

• addresses holistically students’ intellectual, social, emotional and physical well-being

• provides students opportunities to develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills they need in order to manage complexity and take responsible action for the future

• ensures breadth and depth of understanding through study in eight subject groups

• requires the study of at least two languages (language of instruction and additional language of choice) to support students in understanding their own cultures and those of others

• empowers students to participate in service within the community

• helps to prepare students for further education, the workplace and a lifetime of learning.

MIDDLE YEARS PROGRAMME (MYP) CURRICULUM MODEL

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

• 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. The global contexts used include: Fairness and development, identities and relationships, orientation in space and time, personal and cultural expression, scientific and technical innovation, globalization and sustainability.

• 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. The16 key concepts addressed in the different subjects of the MYP include:

• Aesthetics
• Change
• Communication
• Communities
• Connections
• Creativity
• Culture
• Development
• Form
• Global interactions
• Identity
• Logic
• Perspective
• Relationships
• Systems
• Time, place & space

• 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. In the MYP, these skills are classified into five categories: thinking, self-management, research, communication and social (collaboration) skills.

• Service as Action 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.

• 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. In the MYP at ISU, language and literature courses are available in English, Korean and Mongolian. The language acquisition courses offered at ISU are French and Mandarin.

MYP Personal Project In Grade 10, all students must complete the MYP Personal Project. Students develop a personal project independently, producing a truly personal and creative piece of work that stands as a summative review of their ability to conduct independent research and project development.

MYP Criterion Assessment

In order to be a goal-setter and to track personal growth, students and parents should focus their attention on the 1-8 criterion scores.

Any movement from one criterion level to another, like a 2 to a 3, reflects a significant improvement in skills or abilities, as demonstrated on the course rubrics. However, this mathematically might not be apparent if only focusing on the final 1-7 score. For example, a student could move from score of a 4 up to a score of a 5 in 2 criteria and still have the same final level of a 4 overall (see “Grade Descriptors for grade boundaries).

Throughout the semester, parents and students will be able to see attainment in each criterion by utilizing the ManageBac software.

Determining Term Grades:

At the conclusion of each semester, a teacher will look over all of the assessment data that has been gathered and will determine the written descriptor on the rubric that best describes the student’s overall performance. This score is up to the professional judgment of the teacher, incorporating all formative and summative data they have gathered and the conditions surrounding each assessment. Any anomalies, like a student scoring a consistent 6 in a criterion and then scoring a 2 on a final exam, will be looked at closely to try and determine the cause of the anomaly. These are often discounted. It is important that students recognize that the opposite situation is also true by the same logic-if there is an uncharacteristically high grade and the teacher has not been able to see the in-class process that led to the score, it will generally be treated as an anomaly. This is why it is so important that students involve their teacher and clearly demonstrate their learning throughout the learning process--not just in the end.

Most recent evidence will be looked at closely to recognize new learning and student growth. No averaging of grades is ever performed. This means that a student is generally rewarded for learning and not penalized for what they did not know at the onset.

In order to ensure that teachers are well prepared to utilize the MYP rubrics and to ensure that grades are both accurate and reliable, ISU requires teachers across grades and departments to “moderate” or standardize both assessments and term grades. In addition, teachers attend MYP training, either online or in person, and the school is required to send “monitoring of assessment” samples to double-check consistency at the international level. ISU will also have the choice of whether to undergo the grade 10 international exams commencing with the 2020-2021 school year.

Educational Conversations:

In order to ensure that our entire community remains focused on growth-mindedness and the process of improving together, all conversations should focus on the criterion and ATL scores. Conversations should focus on ways to improve learning.

If a student believes that their work has shown the evidence required to achieve a higher criterion level, they should utilize the rubric and should visually demonstrate where they feel the descriptors have been reached. Combining logic rather than emotion with a respectful conversation will always result in greater learning and is the appropriate way to handle such a situation. The formula looks like this:

• Criterion level being discussed
• Evidence of achievement
• Analysis of why this meets the level described.

However, if the teacher does not agree with the evidence presented, the student/parent should respect their decision and expertise and should immediately move to questions about how to get to the next level.

MYP Grade Boundaries:

MYP schools must focus students on the 4 criteria in each subject throughout the program so that the focus is always on growth and never on a final grade. At the conclusion of a semester or grading period, ISU reflects criterion levels to a 1-7 IB grade. See table below:

Service Learning Requirement Grades 6-10

All students, grades 6-10, must become involved in a meaningful service project during the course of the year. Students should find areas of serving our community in an extra-curricular way each year. The minimum service requirement is involvement in ONE PROJECT in each grade. This service should be reflected on a site, document, or portfolio of the student's choosing and will be monitored during each of the reporting periods. Failure to complete the service requirement will be treated seriously, as this represents a failure to meet both the IB and ISU missions.