IB Middle Years Program (MYP)

The MYP: A unique approach, relevant for a global society that prepares students to be successful in school, and to be active life-long learners.

What is the Middle Years Program (MYP)?

The MYP at Southwest is designed for 9th and 10th grade students. 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 traditional 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 at Southwest builds upon the knowledge, skills and attitudes developed in years K-8 to prepare students to meet the academic challenges of the IB Diploma Programme (DP), Advanced Placement (AP) courses and other higher-level course offerings.

Why the IB Middle Years Program (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

The Curriculum

The MYP consists of eight subject groups: 

• Language acquisition 

• Language and literature

• Individuals and societies

• Sciences

• Mathematics

• Arts

• Physical and health education

• Design

The subject areas aim to help students develop their personal understanding, their emerging sense of self and responsibility in their community.

 MYP teachers organize and develop the curriculum with attention to: 

Teaching and learning in context. Global contexts provide shared starting points for inquiry into what it means to be internationally minded, framing a curriculum that promotes multilingualism, intercultural understanding and global engagement. Students learn best when their learning experiences have context and are connected to their lives and the world that they have experienced. 

Conceptual understanding. Key and related concepts are big ideas, which form the basis of teaching and learning in the MYP. They ensure breadth and depth in the curriculum and promote learning within and across traditional disciplines. MYP students use concepts as a vehicle to inquire into issues and ideas of personal, local and global significance and examine knowledge holistically. 

Learning how to learn. Approaches to teaching and learning, a unifying thread throughout all MYP subject groups, are skills which help students manage their own learning. The focus of  approaches to learning in the MYP is on helping students to develop the self-knowledge and skills they need to enjoy a lifetime of learning. They provide a foundation for success in further education and the world beyond the classroom.

Action and service. Essential components of the MYP, action and service sets out clear learning outcomes that grow from students’ participation in local and global communities (community service). MYP projects are informed by respected models of service learning and provide stepping stones toward the Diploma Program’s core requirements for Creativity, Action and Service (CAS).