• We have completed our IB consultation, where an IB representative helps the school introduce and implement the MYP. We are now submitting our final authorization paperwork with evidence of our successful implementation of all components of the program. Once submitted, IB will visit the school to ensure implementation. 

• All 9th & 10th students are MYP students- students do not need to apply to participate in the MYP! 

• As part of the MYP implementation, we are working to align all 9th and 10th grade courses with MYP.

• The MYP experience culminates in a personal project, an opportunity to explore an area of personal interest over an extended period while developing essential skills for IB courses in 11th and 12th grade. 

• SVHS offers a unique interdisciplinary program, the Think Big Program, to support 10th graders on their MYP personal project through art-based experiences and field trips. 

Concepts: A focus on Concept-based Inquiry 

Concept-based teaching, instead of only teaching students subject specific knowledge, helps students see larger concepts, or big ideas, that transcend a subject and might be applicable in more than one subject. For example, a unit on the human body can be framed under the larger concept of relationships. The concept of relationships can then be critically applied to another Biology unit on ecosystems, to a health class discussing healthy relationships, and to an English class discussing relationships in a novel. Covering both subject-specific topics while connecting them to larger concepts helps students retain the important real world ideas they will need in the future, as well as make connections between what they are learning in different classes. They also help foster students' ability to transfer ideas and skills from one subject to another. 

Inquiry is a way of approaching lesson planning and delivery with a view that a teacher’s role is a facilitator of students’ journeys, rather than simply a provider of answers. Inquiry is based on the belief that all students bring something to the classroom and that teachers should respect and acknowledge that knowledge. Teachers should encourage students to make their thinking visible in order to address misconceptions and that the power dynamic in the classroom should be collaborative exploration between the student & teacher. 

Inquiry looks like:

• Having students analyze a graph, chart, picture, or excerpt before teacher instruction

• Asking kids to come back to the stimulus with more information and annotating it

• Teacher then sharing their annotations to check for understanding

• Encouraging student generated questions after the lesson

Concept-based inquiry means that students are learning through exploration and investigation driven by their own curiosity and personal experiences both in and out of the classroom. Inquiry Content is connected across units, other courses and subjects, and to the real-world through big ideas or concepts. Combining inquiry with concepts allows students to develop a deep understanding of content, while also encouraging transfer and connections beyond day to day lessons or units.  

Skills: Development of the Approaches to Learning & IB Learner Profile attributes

The Approaches to Learning (ATL), shown in the graphic above, are are deliberate strategies and attitudes that permeate the teaching and learning environment. In the MYP, teaching and learning focuses on the developing and reflecting on both academic and socioemotional skills. ATL supports the IB belief and mission that a large influence on a student’s education is not only WHAT they learn, but also HOW they learn. By interweaving ATL skills into content instruction, students develop a deeper understanding that allows for concept connections. 

We believe...

• ATL skills can be learned and taught, improved with practice, and developed incrementally.

• They provide a common language that students and teachers can use to reflect on and articulate, throughout the process of learning.

• In order to develop ATL skills that facilitate effective and efficient learning, students need models, clear expectations, developmental benchmarks (or targets), and multiple opportunities to practice.