Teaching in the IB programmes:

  • is inquiry-based
  • is concept-driven
  • is linked to real life through global contexts
  • is exploratory
  • is differentiated
  • is intertwined with assessment

Inquiry is the process initiated by students or the teacher which takes students from their current level of understanding to a new and deeper level of understanding.

As part of the inquiry process, our focus is more on the fact that the student starts from a certain point of knowledge and less on the instructor’s role as the only source of knowledge.  Instructors provide students with learning experiences that are based on their prior knowledge, giving them the opportunity and time to reflect upon and consolidate this knowledge.  By exploring concepts in truly global contexts, more meaningful and lifelong learning is achieved.

Students are invited to inquire into matters of personal and global interest by:

  • formulating questions
  • designing their own inquiry pathways
  • evaluating the available strategies and tools to support the inquiry
  • conducting research, experiments, observations, analyses
  • drawing conclusions

The goal is to actively construct meaning by creating correlations between prior knowledge and new information or experiences derived from exploring new content.

The conceptual approach to learning in the MYP

Learning in the MYP is based on concepts.  These are abstract ideas that are inherent in all subjects, promote a deep and multifaceted understanding of knowledge, bridge prior knowledge with new knowledge as well as different areas of study with one another, and enhance the interdisciplinary, timeless and intercultural approach to learning.

In the MYP, one encounters Key Concepts and Related Concepts. Key Concepts are common, powerful, and abstract ideas that guide all subjects by organizing them and ensuring interconnectivity between them. Related Concepts promote higher levels of thinking in students and help them connect facts, topics and themes through conceptual understanding.

Interdisciplinarity

Interdisciplinarity is at the core of the MYP. Through the interdisciplinary approach to concepts, students combine different areas of knowledge, methods and concepts  employing appropriate communication, research, and thinking skills to explain a phenomenon, solve a problem, create a product or raise new concerns in a way that would not be possible within a single discipline. The ultimate goal of an interdisciplinary experience is a holistic approach to learning.