THE OVERSEAS SCHOOL OF COLOMBO

TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Revised Oct-09

MYP fundamental concepts From the document: “MYP: From Principles into Practice”

Adolescents are confronted with a vast and often bewildering array of choices. The MYP is designed to

provide students with the values and opportunities that will enable them to develop sound judgment. From

its beginning, the MYP has been guided by three fundamental concepts that are rooted in the IB mission

statement. These three fundamental concepts are:

• holistic learning—representing the notion that all knowledge is interrelated and that the curriculum

should cater to the development of the whole person, the attributes of which are described by the IB

learner profile

• intercultural awareness—representing the notion that school communities should encourage and

promote international-mindedness by engaging with and exploring other cultures, a key feature of

international education as reflected in the attributes of the IB learner profile

• communication—representing the notion that schools should encourage open and effective

communication, important skills that contribute to international understanding as exemplified by the

attributes of the IB learner profile.

The IB learner profile and the MYP fundamental concepts provide schools with guidance on their school

policies and practices as they implement and develop the programme.

Holistic learning The MYP emphasizes the disciplined study of subjects which the programme has arranged in eight groups,

but requires an approach to teaching and learning that embraces and extends these subjects. The MYP

provides a framework for developing links between the subject groups and between the subjects and

real-world issues so that students will learn to see knowledge as an interrelated whole. This is one aspect of

holistic learning.

Through the contexts for learning provided by the MYP’s areas of interaction (see the section ―The

areas of interaction‖ in this guide), students can come to realize that most real-world problems require

insights gained from a variety of disciplines. Students develop skills of inquiry and come to understand the

similarities and differences between different approaches to human knowledge. The framework allows

students to apply disciplinary knowledge to different contexts. The areas of interaction serve to emphasize

the relationships between the subject groups and provide a global view of situations and issues.

Whereas traditional curriculum frameworks have usually described the curriculum in terms of a body of

knowledge only, the MYP views the curriculum as meeting the needs of the whole person. This other aspect

of holistic learning is exemplified in the provision of objectives not just for knowledge alone. The MYP

places great emphasis on:

• the understanding of concepts

• the mastery of skills

• the development of attitudes that can lead to considered and appropriate action.

Through acknowledging and attempting to meet the diverse needs of the student—physical, social,

intellectual, aesthetic and cultural—schools ensure that learning in the MYP is significant, provocative,

relevant, engaging and challenging.

Intercultural awareness A principle central to the MYP is that students should develop international-mindedness. They should be

encouraged to consider issues from multiple perspectives. IB World Schools are varied: some have many

nationalities within the student population and the teaching staff, others represent a more homogeneous

community. Whatever the school, opportunities will exist to develop students’ attitudes, knowledge,

concepts and skills as they learn about their own and others’ social, national and ethnic cultures. In this way,

intercultural awareness can build understanding and respect.

THE OVERSEAS SCHOOL OF COLOMBO

TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Revised Oct-09

Developing intercultural awareness concerns the whole school community. This will involve examining

the school’s organizational structure, the climate within the school, the relationships developed with the

community outside, the subject-specific content and the contexts within which teaching takes place. Schools

constantly need to evaluate and improve upon policies and procedures in order to facilitate the involvement

of students, teachers, administrators and parents in practical activities leading to intercultural awareness.

Schools are expected to engage in critical self-reflection and to adapt school culture where necessary: staff

must be encouraged to share the vision of intercultural awareness and to exemplify appropriate behaviour.

Communication The MYP stresses the fundamental importance of communication, verbal and non-verbal, in realizing the

aims of the programme. A good command of expression in all its forms is fundamental to learning. In

most MYP subject groups, communication is both an objective and an assessment criterion, as it supports

understanding and allows student reflection and expression.

The IB learner profile describes a ―communicator‖ as someone who can understand and express ideas

and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of

communication. Students are required to learn at least two languages in the MYP and are encouraged to

learn more in many circumstances. Mother tongue maintenance and development is considered essential,

and must be supported through school language policy documents. Further details on the importance of

this can be found in the IB publication Learning in a language other than mother tongue in IB programmes.

Language is integral to exploring and sustaining personal development, cultural identity and intercultural

understanding. As well as being the major medium of social communication, it is tightly linked to cognitive

growth as it is the means by which meaning and knowledge is negotiated and constructed. All MYP teachers

are therefore seen as language teachers.

The IB mission statement expresses the IB’s overall purpose as an organization, promoting and developing

programmes of international education. This mission, with which all IB World Schools must align their own

mission statements, has over time given rise to the MYP fundamental concepts and the IB learner profile.

The IB learner profile is a statement of the IB beliefs and values. The learner profile describes the kind of

student who exemplifies the spirit of the MYP, the kind of student who is engaged in establishing a personal

set of values, and who will be developing international-mindedness. The IB believes that all members of the

learning community should be striving towards these attributes.

The MYP fundamental concepts describe the learning environment in which the student is operating and

provide schools with guidance on developing their school culture. These fundamental concepts of holistic

learning, intercultural awareness and communication underscore the IB’s commitment to:

- educating the whole child

- providing a broad and balanced educational experience

- understanding and respecting all cultures and valuing multiple forms of expression.

MYP requirements

Schools must:

• align their own mission statement with that of the IB

• reflect the learner profile in the implementation and development of the programme

• provide ongoing professional development opportunities for teachers to further their

understanding of the principles of the programme

• develop aspects of the learning environment through the fundamental concepts, following

the requirements of each, by:

–– supporting the development of the mother tongue for all students enrolled in the school

–– providing opportunities for all students to learn further languages including, if possible, the language of the host country

THE OVERSEAS SCHOOL OF COLOMBO

TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Revised Oct-09

–– developing a language policy and procedures that provide language support and promote a stimulating learning

environment for students who do not speak the language of instruction at a level adequate to participate fully in class and other school

activities

–– embedding in the curriculum examples drawn from a variety of cultural, social, religious and national perspectives, as well

as implementing activities and practices that celebrate a range of cultural identities

–– allowing students to consider dif ferent perspectives so that they develop an understanding of what is common as well as

what is different

–– helping students develop their own cultural identity and an understanding of their present environment through the study of the

traditional subjects and the areas of interaction

–– ensuring time for staff to identify and teach the skills and knowledge necessary for students to appreciate different points of view

–– using the areas of interaction within and across the academic disciplines, with the result that students come to see learning as an

interrelated whole

–– using the areas of interaction to foster disciplinary and interdisciplinary links through considering the diverse needs (physical, social,

intellectual, aesthetic, cultural) of the whole person and ensuring that teachers communicate and coordinate learning activities across

and within academic disciplines when planning the curriculum.