The International Baccalaureate® aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

International-mindedness is a view of the world in which people see themselves connected to the global community and assume a sense of responsibility towards its members.

The learner profile and approaches to learning provide the dispositions and foundational skills for the development and demonstration of international-mindedness.

Laying the foundation

Experiences during the early years lay the foundation for all future learning. A rapid rate of development during the early years occurs in the physical, emotional, social and cognitive domains. The brain and body develop faster than at any other point in a child’s life. Social development also takes shape in these early years as children are naturally inclined to explore, to discover, to play and to make connections between self, others and their entire surroundings. Through these interactions, children form their perception of themselves and others in the world.

Supporting children cognitively, socially, emotionally and physically requires that all members of the learning community value these early years in their own right, as a time in which play is the primary driver for inquiry. Through play, young children develop approaches to learning and connect with key domains of their development.

• Receptive and cognitive abilities (for example, listening, remembering, thinking, analysing, generating theories, the control of attention and working memory)

• Representational abilities (for example, using symbolic systems—such as oral and written language, drawing and mathematical symbols—to construct and represent meaning)

• Relational abilities (for example, the ability to play with peers, sharing and taking turns, and respecting others)

The PYP transdisciplinary framework is highly relevant for all learners during this period. It offers authentic opportunities to focus on the key developmental abilities that are acquired during this crucial time and that support young students to be self-regulating learners. 

Early learning and development

Young children’s development proceeds in a complex, and often non-linear, trajectory where individual children follow different pathways simultaneously. Teachers create learning environments and experiences that are both adaptable and appropriate to young students, and they understand the important influence of their sociocultural contexts. 

The role of the teacher

In the PYP early years, teachers take on many roles and identities.  Through these flexible lenses teachers plan, facilitate and scaffold, as well as reflecting on students’ learning and their own teaching. This includes

• facilitator

• researcher

• participant

• provocateur                                       

• navigator                                         

• observer

• documenter

• reflective practitioner.

OWIS MYP program aims to meet the educational needs of students between 11 to 16 years that provides a framework of learning, which 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. 

The MYP aims to help the students develop their personal understanding of their emerging sense of self-responsibility in their community. The curriculum is organized with appropriate attention to 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 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.  Approaches to learning (ATL). A unifying thread throughout all MYP subject groups’ approaches to learning provides the foundation for independent learning and encourages the application of their knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts. Developing and applying these skills help students learn how to learn. 

Service as action (Community service), Action( learning by doing and experiencing) 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 program, especially in the community project. 

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. 

MYP curriculum builds upon the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of PYP and prepares the students to meet the academic challenges of DP. It fosters the development of skills for communication understanding and global engagement qualities that are essential for life in the 21st century. 

The MYP program achieves the following :

• Global thinking

• International mindedness starts with a foundation in their own language and culture

• A positive attitude to learning, demonstrating high levels of engagement, creativity, resourcefulness and active participation in their communities

• An ability to make connections between subjects and real-world issues. 

• Highly developed communication skills to encourage inquiry, understanding language acquisition, and allowing for student reflection and expression.

• Provide learning in a broad base of disciplines

• Promote the principle of concurrency of learning

• Encourage the use of a variety of teaching and learning methodologies

Personal Project :

The personal project is an integral part of the MYP program. Students learn to manage and direct their own inquiry and further develop the skills they have learned through the MYP. Under a teacher’s supervision, each student leads the process of developing the personal project. The assessment stands as a summative review of students ability to conduct independent work using the areas of interaction as context for their learning.

Service as Action:

Service as Action is an integral part of the Middle year Program at OWIS. Action and service have always been shared values of the IB COMMUNITY. The students strive to be caring members of the global community, thereby demonstrating a personal commitment to service and making a positive difference in the lives of others and the environment. 

Assessment in the MYP : 

MYP assessment standards are consistent around the world. In order to maintain the rigor for which the IB is renowned, the MYP assessment model is criterion–related. Teachers structure varied and valid assessment tasks so that students can demonstrate achievement according to objectives denied by the IB. tasks are assessed against established criteria, not against the work of other students. A good curriculum develops a range of student skills. The middle-year program encourages teachers to assess this acquired skill set, including how to succeed in written examinations. Typical MYP assessment  tasks include open-ended , problem solving activities and investigation, organized debates, tests and examinations, hands on experimentation  analysis and reflection.

Best-fit approach and mark bands 

Assessment criteria must be used in conjunction with the relevant specific-subject interpretations as these interpretations articulate how the generic assessment criteria are understood and applied to each subject. 

Levels of performance are described using multiple indicators per level. In many cases the indicators occur together throughout the essay, but not always. Also, not all indicators are always present. This means that a student can demonstrate performances that fit into different levels. To accommodate this, the IB assessment models use mark bands and advise examiners and teachers to use a best-fit approach in deciding the appropriate mark for a particular criterion. From various assessment trials we know that introducing mark bands and using the best-fit model is not always self-evident, and guidance is needed to help with their applications. 

Mark Bands (Task specific Clarification)

Highest achieving level is 7

Level 1-2

Level 3-4

Level 5-6

Level 7-8

Approaches to Learning, Literacy and Life Skills

Rationale: The art of learning through different tools and skills are carefully developed by the IBO. NEP’20 also recommends greater focus on skill based learning. 

Learning Skills

The four 21st century Learning Skills are:

Critical thinking: Finding solutions to problems

Creativity: Thinking outside the box

Collaboration: Working with others

Communication: Talking to others

Literacy skills

The three 21st Century Literacy Skills are:

• Information literacy: Understanding facts, figures, statistics, and data

• Media literacy: Understanding the methods and outlets in which information is published

• Technology literacy: Understanding the machines that make the Information Age possible

Life skills

The five 21st Century Life Skills are:

• Flexibility: Flexibility is the expression of someone’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

• Leadership: Motivating a team to accomplish a goal

• Initiative: Starting projects, strategies, and plans on one’s own

• Productivity: Maintaining efficiency in an age of distractions

• Social skills: Meeting and networking with others for mutual benefit

Credits:

The above text is taken from:

https://www.aeseducation.com/blog/what-are-21st-century-skills