Statement of Inquiry
(Concepts & Global Contexts)

From IB's From Principles Into Practice:

• Concepts are integral to the inquiry process and one of the essential elements of the IB

• A concept-driven curriculum promotes meaning and understanding and challenges students to engage authentically with significant ideas 

• A concept-driven curriculum challenges the memorization of isolated facts and the mastery of skills out of context 

• The exploration and re-exploration of concepts lead students towards an appreciation of ideas that transcend disciplinary boundaries as well as towards the essence of each subject area 

• In addition to the key concepts, each discipline has powerful related concepts that also support inquiry 

• The IB documents are written as conceptual understandings to provide a platform for knowledge and skills development – concepts before content 

• Concept-based teaching and learning offers a solution to the ‘crowded curriculum’ by linking students’ interests to essential understandings that are transferable across disciplines 

• The concepts are explicit at all stages of curriculum planning, in the statement of inquiry, the lines of inquiry, and provocations to inquire and assessment 

Key concepts are derived from the subject matter groups. Each key concept derived from your subject group should be focused on at least one time per year. 

• Language and Literature: Communication, Connections, Creativity, Perspective

• Language Acquisition: Communication, Connections, Creativity, Culture

• Individuals and Societies: Change, Global Interactions, Time, Place and Space, Systems

• Sciences: Change Relationships, Systems

• Mathematics:  Form, Logic, Relationships

• Arts: Aesthetics, Change, Communication, Identity 

• Physical and Health Education: Change, Communication, Development, Relationships

• Design: Communication, Communities, Development, Systems 

Related concepts are subject-specific concepts defined by MYP that allow students to extend learning, deepen understanding, or offer a new perspective. 

Each subject area has twelve (12) related concepts, but your team can add to this list to meet our local, state, or national requirements.  Your MYP subject guides contain definitions for related concepts as well as examples of how they are used to develop MYP units.

For each unit, select at least one related concept (2-3 recommended) for each unit.

In the MYP, learning contexts should be (or should model) authentic world settings, events, and circumstances.  Contexts for learning are chosen from global contexts to encourage international mindedness and global engagement.  

Teachers should select the global context that best suits the unit’s content with the goal to include as many different global contexts within the semester/year.  Over the course of the program, students will encounter all six global contexts. 

Teaching and learning in the MYP involves understanding concepts in context.  When teachers select a global context for learning, they are answering the questions:

• • Why are we engaged in this inquiry? Why are these concepts important? 

  • Why is it important for me (or my students) to understand?    Why do people care about this topic?

  • How does this concept and topic related to the real world?

For each unit,  write a statement that combines the key concept, related concepts, and global context to make a meaningful statement that serves as the overarching understanding of the entire unit.  

The statement of inquiry should:  

• Use active present tense verbs 

• Avoid proper and personal nouns

• Transcend the disciplines