Dear Village Family,
On January 24th, IB schools celebrated the International Day of Education as part of UNESCO. This year's theme of "learning for lasting peace" goes hand in hand with IB's mission to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring individuals and to foster a more peaceful world through education.
For us as a Village, our mission is daily lived through CREATION Life and the IB as we build students in God's love and international excellence. As we approach the last 12 weeks of our school year, we want to deepen our walk together on this learning journey by providing more information on your student's framework for development.
Programme of Inquiry
The Programme of Inquiry (POI) is a central component of the PYP and serves as a roadmap for the curriculum. It outlines the essential elements of the PYP, including the knowledge, skills, concepts, and attitudes that students should develop.
The POI is a dynamic document regularly reviewed and revised to ensure it remains relevant and responsive to the needs of the students and the school community. It provides a framework for a transdisciplinary, inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning in the PYP.
Attached is our PYP POI, allowing you a deeper insight into our learning approach within each classroom.
Scope and Sequences
In the context of the IB PYP, the scope and sequence aligns the POI with national standards and international strands for development. A scope and sequence document helps our team plan and structure their teaching, ensuring that all necessary content is covered and presented logically and developmentally appropriately. It also helps assess students' progress and understanding, providing a framework for curriculum alignment and coherence.
Attached is our English Language and Mathematics Scope and Sequences for each grade level in the PYP.
Inquiry
In the context of the IB PYP, inquiry is a central and fundamental concept that underlies the entire curriculum. Inquiry-based learning is an approach where students actively engage in the learning process by posing questions, exploring, investigating, and constructing meaning. Inquiry-based learning in the PYP fosters a love of learning, critical thinking skills, and a deep understanding of concepts. It aligns with the broader goal of developing internationally-minded individuals prepared to engage with the world around them.
Conceptual learning
Conceptual learning refers to acquiring, understanding, and organizing knowledge at a conceptual level rather than simply memorizing facts or procedures. It involves grasping the underlying principles, relationships, and patterns that govern a subject or domain. This type of learning focuses on developing a deep understanding of the fundamental concepts, allowing individuals to apply their knowledge to various situations and problem-solving.
An Example of How this all works together
So, what does this mean for your child? Let me share an example. Our 2nd-grade students are inquiring about the central idea of materials consisting of matter that can be processed or changed for specific purposes as part of the theme How the world works. The students developed a new line of inquiry during their studies: who created God? This line of study was part of the scientific process based on NGSS standards for students to explore and understand the form of matter. From this one question, the students extended their study by creating three groups and working together over the weekend to create plays on how the world was created and their research on who created God. As part of their research, they sought out teachers across the school who could provide resources and ways they could learn about this incredible question. Last week, the students presented their plays to our MYP team, sharing their research, recounting the creation story, and connecting their plays to Genesis and how God uses matter to make us matter.
Student-lead inquiry. God-inspired learning. Research to organization to action. A joy to behold.
Thank you for walking this journey with us. It is a blessing to learn together in God's great world.