THE
IB MIDDLE YEARS PROGRAM (MYP)
The
IB Middle Years Program (MYP), for students aged 11 to 16, provides a framework
of academic challenge that encourages students to embrace and understand the
connections between traditional subjects and the real world, and become
critical and reflective thinkers. In order for this to happen, we believe that
students need to:
- Have access to a curriculum that is
broad enough to cater for a range of backgrounds and abilities, but at the same
time has sufficient depth to be academically challenging;
- Reflect on their learning in order to
grow as learners;
- Communicate effectively in a range of
situations, media and languages;
- Be involved in community service,
including local and international communities;
- Have a healthy balance of academic,
social and emotional activities;
- Be able to utilize the latest
technology to facilitate their learning.
The MYP
consists of eight subject groups integrated through five areas of interaction
that provide a framework for learning within and across the subjects. Students
are required to study:
Language A (Usually the
school’s language of instruction; English at YIS)
Language B (A modern foreign
language learned at school)
Technology (The nature,
processes and impact of technology)
Humanities (History and
Geography)
Physical Education (Health, active
lifestyles, optimal fitness, social skills and reflection)
Sciences (General Science,
Biology, Chemistry and Physics)
Arts (Art/Design,
Drama, Music)
Mathematics
The
overall philosophy of the program is expressed through three fundamental
concepts that support and strengthen all areas of the curriculum: intercultural
awareness, holistic learning and communication.
Teachers
organize the curriculum through the following five areas of interaction:
- Approaches to learning is concerned with developing the intellectual discipline,
attitudes, strategies and skills that will result in critical, coherent and
independent thought and the capacity for problem solving and decision-making.
- Community
and service starts
in the classroom and extends beyond it, requiring students to participate in
the communities in which they live. The emphasis is on developing community
awareness and concern, a sense of responsibility, and the skills and attitudes
needed to make an effective contribution to society.
- Human
ingenuity allows
students to focus on the evolution, processes and products of human creativity.
It considers their impact on society and on the mind. Students learn to
appreciate the human capacity to influence, transform, enjoy and improve the
quality of life. This area of interaction encourages students to explore the
relationships between science, aesthetics, technology and ethics.
- Environments aims to make students aware of their
interdependence with the environment so that they become aware of their
responsibility, and may take positive, responsible action for maintaining an
environment fit for the future.
- Health
and social education
prepares students for a physically and mentally healthy life, aware of
potential hazards and able to make informed choices. It develops in students a
sense of responsibility for their own
In the
final year of the program, students also engage in the Personal Project, which
allows them to demonstrate the understandings and skills they have developed
throughout the MYP.
