Hillside uses the International Baccalaureate’s Primary Years Programme (PYP) as its curriculum framework and has been an authorised IB World School since January 2013. The school completed its first evaluation visit from the IBO in November 2018.
What is the PYP Curriculum Framework?
The curriculum framework is made up of three pillars:
The Learner
We all have AGENCY, the capacity to act intentionally. Recognising and supporting agencies in the PYP will create a culture of mutual respect, acknowledging the rights and responsibilities of students, schools and the wider learning community, enabling students to take ownership of their learning and teachers of their teaching.
The EARLY LEARNER includes young students from 3-6 years. The PYP highlights the importance of planning uninterrupted time for play, building strong relationships, creating and maintaining responsive learning spaces and engaging in symbolic exploration and expression.
LEARNER PROFILE Attributes will be reinforced and brought to life throughout the learning community.
ACTION will still draw on inspiration and innovation in the PYP. We will be encouraging students to explore different demonstrations of action as participation, advocacy, social justice, entrepreneurship and lifestyle choices.
Learning and Teaching
Teachers will collaboratively develop a PROGRAMME OF INQUIRY (POI), and decide the most appropriate time frames and duration for each Unit of Inquiry (UOI). Teachers will integrate subject knowledge and CONCEPTS into each unit to deepen transdisciplinary learning and develop transdisciplinary skills or APPROACHES TO LEARNING (ATL).
The knowledge component is developed through inquiries into six transdisciplinary themes of global significance, supported and balanced by six subject areas.
| Transdisciplinary Themes | Subject Areas |
|
Who We Are Where We Are in Place and Time How We Express Ourselves How We Organise Ourselves How the World Works Sharing the Planet |
Language (English and Chinese) Mathematics Science Social Studies Personal, Social & Physical Education Arts (Performing and Visual Arts) |
ASSESSMENT will embody a more holistic design, incorporating both a reflective and forward-looking approach. Teachers understand the importance of keeping parents informed about their child’s progress in their learning and development journey. Communication is key, and we have various ways to ensure regular updates and meaningful interactions. Teachers keep parents informed through various channels as we firmly commit to creating a strong two-way home-school partnership that nurtures the children’s growth and development.
Diversity in schools provides an opportunity to support student agency, affirm cultural identity and develop international-mindedness through LANGUAGE. Teachers will build a positive culture of language learning through multiliteracies, multilingualism and translanguaging.
Teachers support students in understanding and committing to academic integrity, which means being honest, taking responsible ownership of their own learning, and acknowledging the ideas of others.
Learning Community
In building A COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS, we will focus on inclusion and well-being to foster positive and trusting relationships, self-efficacy and agency across our school community.
Teachers will support the integration of INTERNATIONAL MINDEDNESS through action, agency, language, the learner profile and the shared responsibilities of the learning community.
LEADERSHIP will explore different ways to draw on a range of capabilities to innovate and encourage agency in a PYP school. Students, teachers and all members of the learning community take on formal and informal leadership roles, to discover new ways to reach shared aspirations together.
TECHNOLOGY will involve immersing students in the interplay between learning technology, learning about technology and learning through technology.
Teachers and students will co-create flexible, inviting and intentional LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS essential for supporting agency, physical and emotional well-being, and inquiry-based learning.
This diagram shows how all of these elements fit together to develop the curriculum framework.
Information on this page was taken in part from: “PYP: From Principle to Practice” 2018. For further information, please visit: www.ibo.org
Programme of Inquiry
Please find our current Programme of Inquiry (POI) below. This is a working document that our teachers are constantly reflecting on based on the children’s learning interests and needs; therefore, it will be updated throughout each Unit of Inquiry (UOI).
The PYP POI is a matrix made up of six Transdisciplinary Themes, and each theme is accompanied by an extended description that explains what children will be inquiring into under this theme. It is used as a tool to ensure the balance of the Units of Inquiry (UOI) under each theme.
Each of the UOI has a central idea. Each central idea will support children’s understanding of that particular transdisciplinary theme and challenge and extend their prior knowledge. The central idea is driven by key concepts that help to develop conceptual understanding and extend critical thinking. Each unit will contain lines of inquiry that clarify the central idea and define the scope of the inquiry.
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IB Learner Profile |
At the heart of our curriculum is the ‘Learner Profile’. This is a long-term, holistic vision of education that underpins our work and puts the child at the centre of everything we do. The Learner Profile is shared between all ESF Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary schools and we aim to develop each attribute in every child. The PYP Learner Profile is a set of values and characteristics which we encourage children to think about and develop. Staff and our helpers in school role model and teach these attributes through stories and circle times. They influence our approach to learning and our interactions with others. These are our Hillside definitions of the Learner Profile Attributes:
|
Inquirer |
I wonder about things and ask questions to learn new things. |
|
Knowledgeable |
I know a lot about myself and the world around me. |
|
Thinker |
I solve problems and connect the things I know. |
|
Communicator |
I share my ideas with others and I listen carefully. |
|
Principled |
I am a good friend and I do the right thing. |
|
Open-minded |
I listen to others and accept other people’s ideas. |
|
Caring |
I am kind to others and care about the world we live in. |
|
Courageous |
I try new things and am not afraid to have a go. |
|
Balanced |
I work and play hard and take care of myself. |
|
Reflective |
I think about my own learning and how I can make changes. |
What do we want the children to learn?
- The reading process.
- A love of reading.
- The writing process.
- A love of writing.
- The effective use of language as a valuable life skill.
- The internal structures of languages.
- The complexity of languages.
- That effectively communicating is the most important aspect of language.
- How can we help our children?
Research shows that parents who read to their children, listen to their children and talk with their children, give them a head start in life.
Parents and teachers have an important part to play in language development because children model themselves on those around them; therefore we need to provide good role models.
Children should be encouraged to ask questions and ‘wonder’ thus enabling them to learn new concepts and skills.
By providing opportunities to read, write, talk and play with language, whatever their age, we help them grow in self-confidence and they become willing to be risk takers. Being a risk taker is vital to language growth; making mistakes and learning from them should be seen as positive.
Information on this page was taken in part from: “Making the PYP Happen” 2007. For further information, please visit: www.ibo.org
Languages
