International baccalaureate primary-year-program - Essay Example

?A critical review of the International Baccalaureate Primary-Year-Program examining its aims and purposes and analyzing the extent to which these are achieved in practice. Background My first very exposure to the curriculum of International Baccalaureate was at an information morning, when I was a part of a seminar held in a good infrastructure school in the suburbs of Mumbai, India. Currently, I have an experience in an IB school, teaching the PYP: thanks to my education. The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization, is a nonprofit institution which provides educational products to the international community. Founded in 1968 in Switzerland, IB's original mission was to provide curriculum to schools; catering for children of Western diplomats who traveled frequently. The idea was to keep the curriculum consistent between schools in order to serve the needs of these students as they moved from one country to another. Today, the organization administers three programs, which are available for purchase by interested schools. The three programs of the IB schools are as follows: Primary Years Program(PYP) founded in September 1997 caters 3 – 12 years Middle Years program(MYP) introduced in 1994 caters 11 – 16 years Diploma Program ( IBDP) introduced in 1969 caters to 16 – 19 years I chose the IB PYP board as I was impressed by the breadth of study, the potential for individual choice, the opportunity to develop and follow my passion as stated early on and the inclusion of CAS (creativity, action and service). With respect to this module and my experience, IB PYP has really taken full of my attention. I hope I will be able to instill my essence of thoughts on paper and do proper justice to this module without being too bias or critical. Key words: Curriculum, International Baccalaureate Primary year program(IB PYP). Introduction The International Baccalaureate Primary Year Program is one of the many educational programs of the International Baccalaureate (IB) system. The program caters for students who are 3 to 11 years of age. Its primary goal is to prepare the students for the middle year’s program of the IB system (IBO.org 2009). Like any IB program the primary year program was carried out in order to enhance the skills of young children to make them knowledgeable, caring and inquiring. The primary goal of the program was to produce young people who have intercultural understanding and respect so that they will be able to help create a better and peaceful world. This goal was to be achieved because the program was a transnational program that inculcated the cultures and background of several nations and people without any discrimination whatsoever. Another goal of the program is to produce students who understand the differences of other people. These students will be encouraged to become active, compassionate, and lifelong learners.  There are ten traits that the Primary years program (PYP) aims to enhance or develop and these are: Inquirers, Knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, Risk takers, balanced, and reflective. As said early on, the International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment. These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right. But how effective is the PYP? Have the aims and purposes of the PYP program really been achieved in practice? Are there theories or studies that support the efficacy of the PYP program? This essay evaluates and analyzes the aims and purposes of the PYP program and how likely these programs are achieved in practice. The PYP program As far as the aim of the PYP program, which is “to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect” is concerned, the PYP program is effective because it provides a teaching framework that would definitely satisfy the needs of students from a varied range of background and abilities. Unlike, other educational programs, PYP does not only focus on teaching concepts and student skills but it also aims to develop students’ action and attitudes. The PYP program aims to make students develop a positive attitude towards other people, the environment and learning. This way, positive attitude such as intercultural understanding and respect are built in learners. The program curriculum is framed according to six disciplinary themes, which are: who we are where we are in place and time how we express ourselves how the world works how we organize ourselves Sharing the planet (IBO.org 2009). As a huge difference between the PYP and regular school system, the themes of the PYP provide teachers a framework for teaching students explores and inquire that are not found in traditional methods of teaching. In order to ensuring that the themes are achieved by the close of a learner’s years of training, the themes have been interspersed into six subjects areas found in every IBO program. These six subject areas are: language social studies mathematics arts science Personal, social and physical education. The connection between the trans-disciplinary themes and subject areas are depicted in the figure below: As indicated in the discussion and illustrated in the diagram above, the PYP curriculum is interdisciplinary and it is carefully design to meet the needs of children 3 to 11 years of age. The curriculum also takes into account, the learner’s profile. The learner profile describes a list of attributes that promote academic rigor and the establishing of a personal value system leading to international-mindedness. Mention is made of the word ‘international-mindedness’ because the learner profile is structured in such a way that meets the general learning characteristics and attributes of learners of similar age group the world over. It is expected therefore that PYP teachers will assess and report on individual student development regarding each of these attributes. The learner’s profiles are: inquirers, thinkers, communicators, risk takers, knowledgeable, principled, caring, open-minded, balanced and reflective (IBO 2009). What is different about the PYP? • Children are actively engaged in in?depth exploration of issues and themes of universal significance. • The curriculum is designed to develop students who reflect a learner profile of attitudes and learning which will allow them to participate to better advantage in the world they will enter as adults. • The PYP classroom is student?centered, while teacher?directed. Students are encouraged and developed to be active learners and critical thinkers. • Students are encouraged to initiate socially responsible action based on their learning. Unlike the regular everyday classroom, the PYP focuses on the heart as well as the mind and addresses social, physical, emotional and cultural needs as well as academic ones. This means that the traditional academic subjects are not neglected but also valued as much as the program seeks to achieve its social, physical and emotional needs. In addition, there is an emphasis on the balance between the acquisition of essential knowledge and skills and the search for meaning and understanding. This means that neither does learners become overly dependent on teachers nor do teachers leave all the task of learning to learners. The program provides opportunity for learners to construct meaning, principally through concept?driven inquiry. The threads of children's learning are brought together in the trans-disciplinary program of inquiry, which in turn allows them to make connections with life outside the school. The PYP enables children to develop sensitivity to the experiences of others through the curriculum, the attributes listed in the student profile, the attitudes that are an explicit element of the program, and the expectation of socially responsible action as a result of the learning experience. As all these happen with the learner, the teacher also plays his role as a facilitator, who guides students through discovering the very basis of their academic experiences. Such duties of the teacher cannot be overlooked especially due to the fact that students at the PYP are very young and can hardly achieve any learning all on their own. Curriculum and its importance: Defining the word curriculum is no easy matter. Perhaps the most common definition derives from the word’s Latin root, which means ‘racecourse’. Indeed, for many students, the school curriculum is a race to be run, a series of obstacles or hurdles (subjects) to be passed. One useful starting point when studying what is curriculum is to consider three levels, namely the ‘planned curriculum’, the ‘enacted curriculum’ and the ‘experienced curriculum’ (Marsh and Willis, 2007). Oliva (1997) also points out that definitions of curriculum can be conceived in narrow or broad ways. He suggests that differences in the substance of definitions of curriculum are largely due to whether the emphasis is upon: • purposes of goals of the curriculum (for example a curriculum is to develop reflective thinking); • Contexts within which the curriculum is found (for example a curriculum is to develop the individual learner in all aspects of growth); or • Strategies used throughout the curriculum (for example a curriculum is to develop problem-solving processes). Longstreet and Shane (1993) refer to four major conceptions of curriculum: • Society-oriented curriculum: the purpose of schooling is to serve society; • Student-centred curriculum: the student is the crucial source of all curriculum; • Knowledge-centred curriculum: knowledge is the heart of curriculum; • Eclectic curriculum: various compromises are possible, including mindless eclecticism! The curriculum itself develops through the dynamic interaction of action and reflection. That is, the curriculum is not simply set of plans to be implemented, but rather is constituted through an active process in which planning, acting, evaluation are all reciprocally related and integrated in to the process(Grundy 1987:115). The meaning of this assertion by Grundy is that the curriculum is never complete if it remains a paper work. Curriculum actually becomes curriculum once all stakeholders; including teachers and students begin implementing its points. In some quarters of Education, it is argued that curriculum is the planned course of study. Curriculum is used to support the effort of the teacher in education and that it acts as a guideline that is systematically made to allow learner to understand concepts. From this contention, it becomes most appropriate therefore to define curriculum “the totality of learning experiences provided to students so that they can attain general skills and knowledge at a variety of learning sites”. Emphasis is on learning rather than teaching. All said and done, it is important to reiterate the fact that the curriculum is not isolated as there are important interactions between the curriculum and other key components. For instance, the objectives and the structure of the curriculum should be matched to the assessment procedures, and the required attitudes related to the role and abilities of teachers and students. The model of learning first, and application thereafter, should be replaced by one in which reflection on real life situations may be used as a mode of learning to overcome the disconnection between theory and practice. Analysis and Evaluation of the IB PYP For a comprehensive and conclusive analysis and evaluation of the IB PYP to be done as stated in the main topic of this essay, it is important that the aims of the whole program that have been discussed above are analyzed and evaluated to see how they have aided in ensuring effective learning among students. Because the aims are vast and broad, they have been sub-headed and analyzed and evaluated as give below.  Comparing the IB PYP Curriculum and the Traditional Method of Instructions The IB PYP curriculum allows the teacher to depart from the traditional method of instructions.  Traditional instruction is actually spoon-feeding the child; in this method the teacher really serves his role but does not allow the student to explore the world by itself. It in this method, the teacher lectures and the students get bored. In many public schools all around the world with traditional instruction, most of the class time is spent on the teacher lecturing and the student listening. This kind of lesson delivery is commonly referred to as teacher-centered approach to teaching. The students learn passively. Many researchers have criticized passive learning because it does not tap the various learning needs, styles and abilities of students in the classroom (Hendrickson 2006).  According to Hendrickson (2006), passive learning is inferior to instruction that utilize differentiated learning because the latter view children as having different sets of learning styles and abilities. In the IB PYP system, the teacher presents to students information, skills or concepts to learn. The teacher is the central figure in traditional instruction. He is the one who will present information, skills or concept. The teacher sets a measurable goal and expects the group to learn the skill or concept at a certain period of time.  Such a goal that is measurable and has time limits is said to be achievable. When the students have already mastered the topic, the teacher’s part as a primary figure in the lesson begins to decrease (Gredler 2001).  Before moving to the next lesson the teacher sees to it that each student had already mastered the topic (Hendrickson 2002).  Despite its attractiveness to teachers, traditional method is likely to produce a difficult system of learning as well as requires a situation that the teacher spends most of the time lecturing and the students watching and listening.   In the IB PYP curriculum, the flaws of the traditional method of teaching are eliminated. According to QuailRun.com (2010), Differentiation, constructivism and inquiry are the major philosophies that build teaching framework IB PYP. Because the IB PYP system emphasizes differentiated learning, the curriculum also applies the principles of differentiated instruction. This type of instruction highlights the influence of readiness, interest, intelligence and preference (learning styles) of students (Anderson, 2007). Differentiated instruction has its ground on the constructivists’ theories of learning. According to constructivism, learning is an active process where children uses sensory inputs and construct meaning out of these inputs. Children learn concepts from their experiences. In the traditional approach, the teacher provides everything, it is a type of spoon feeding that prevent children from exploring their environment (thus learning through experiences is prevented) (Kaplan 2000). Through the intermingling of the trans-disciplinary themes and six subject areas of the PYP curriculum, the aforementioned flaws are eradicated. The IB PYP Curriculum and Developmental Levels of Students The PYP trans-disciplinary themes and six subject areas are congruent with the principles of differentiated instruction. Such principles also have their foundation on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. Differentiated instructions view learning as a developmental process. For this reason, it needs to be taken step-by-step and not rushed through. Its view is based on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.  According to Piaget, children’s capacity to learn improves as they advance in developmental stages.  Piaget believed that children’s capacity to understand complex concepts is directly proportional to their age or developmental stages (Kaplan 2000). Children cannot be fed with information that they will automatically understand and use. In my class, students vary in age and abilities; some are delayed while others are advanced in their capacity to understand complex concepts. If I utilized traditional methods and expect that the class will learn at about the same rate, then some students will lag behind because they lack readiness and the intellectual competence.  Vygotsky is another psychologist whose theories are often mentioned in differentiated learning literatures. He also believed that children learn from their environment. He called this type of learning as social adaptation (Daniels 2007). Vygotsky stated that a child could not adapt to its environment if it is not physiologically ready. This is the primary reason why certain behaviors are only manifested at a particular developmental stage. Vygotsky’s theory suggested that the child’s ability to adapt to its environment vary, hence learning also needs to vary. This assertion was proved to be true in my personal class. This is because it was discovered that different students responded differently whenever different approaches were introduced. Whereas some students easily mastered concepts taught with say approach ‘A’, others were more comfortable if approach ‘B’ was used to teach the same concept. Ability to adapt is influenced by age, readiness, and construction of knowledge varies from one person to another. All of the theories mentioned above support the IB PYP curriculum indicating that the methods of the IB PYP and its efficacy have strong theoretical support.    The IB PYP Curriculum and Learner Diversity Touching on the division of the trans-disciplinary nature of The IB PYP curriculum into six subject areas, it can be said that the move indicates that the program acknowledges the vastness of childhood learning experiences. Experts favor educational curriculum that acknowledges the existence of various learning styles in the classroom. Tomlinson (2003) for example, stated that classroom are now filled with a wide array of students with varying degrees of learning readiness, with diverse interest and different ways of seeing and speaking of the world. Teachers are given the task to maximized learning for all students in such an environment at the same time. To be able to teach students effectively, teachers must take into account the various ways students differ from one another. This is where the dynamism of teachers comes into play as they are expected to meet the diverse needs of all students at a go. Teachers must offer instruction that would responds to this diverseness.  The learning profile emphasize in the IB PYP curriculum actually caters the diverseness of the classroom mentioned by Tomlinson (2003). The interrelated nature of the IB PYP approach allows teachers to respond to every learning style in the classroom hence allows the students to obtain the learners profile.  The IB PYP Curriculum ensuring Student-Centered Learning Pool (2000), opined that the IB PYP instruction which is based on differentiation and constructivism promotes quality learning. On the basis of my ongoing experience, the IB PYP curriculum is beneficial to the school system because: 1. It improves the quality of education 2. It emphasizes that learning styles among children vary. 3. It emphasize the otherness of people which prepares student to become culturally competent as adult. 4. Traditional methods cannot tap the learning styles of students, while differentiated instruction which is central to IB PYP can. 5. To serve kids, the school must cater the unique learning styles of students. Pool’s declaration is buttressed by Greenwhichschools.org (2010) who states that the essential element of the IB PYP curriculum is active learning. This is a process in which learners are actively engaged in the learning process, rather than passively absorbing lectures. This is to mean that active learning involves more than just absorbing lectures to include reading, writing, discussion, and engagement in solving problems, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. It is characterized by a high degree of interaction and hands on practical and experimentation. It is highly generative. This method encourages the learner to construct and produce knowledge in meaningful ways. Through their acquired interactive and generative learning, students teach others interactively and interact generatively with their teachers and peers. Proponents of this method hope that by rethinking education and giving a common set of outcomes, schools will be better prepared to meet the needs of all learners and the communities in which they live. This is because individuals construct knowledge through exploration and inquiry rather than receive it. Through the processes of experimentation, exploration, and the manipulation and testing of ideas in reality, learners actively create knowledge and meaning. Palloff and Pratt (2001) find community-building as an integral feature of active learning or constructivist pedagogies because interaction and feedback from other individuals assist in determining the accuracy and application of ideas. IB PYP Curriculum and All-Inclusive Learning The IB PYP curriculum is centralized, all-inclusive and diversifying, inculcating not only the needs of the student in the classroom environment but also spans to include the needs of the community at large. Community building is also central to IB PYP. The basis for ensuring this is that researchers have also suggested that the use of active learning techniques have a positive impact upon students' learning. They reveal that students prefer strategies that promote active learning rather than traditional lectures. Other studies evaluating the students' achievement have demonstrated that many strategies promoting active learning are comparable to lectures in promoting the mastery of content, but superior to lectures in upholding the development of students' skills in thinking and writing. (Hendrickson 2002)   Hyman (2002) suggested that the best way to implement active learning strategies in the classroom is to modify traditional lectures. Generating good and reasonable discussion in class is one of the ways of implementing active learning. Interactive discussions are common among subjects whose objectives are to promote long-term retention of information. This process aims to motivate students toward further learning or to allow them to apply information in new settings. Specifically, the new setting is the immediate community and neighborhood of learners. As students mature along the academic ladder, they transfer their learning directly to the community to ensuring that the needs and wants of the community are supplied via their academic contributions. One typical way the student influenced the society and community is the application of knowledge acquired through the use of information and communications technology tools that are used in teaching and learning at school at home to respond to basic needs at home. However, to be able to achieve this, the teacher should be knowledgeable of alternative techniques and strategies for questioning and discussion and must create a supportive intellectual and emotional environment that encourages students to take risks (Lowman 1984). Backing the IB PYP Curriculum with Theories In analyzing and evaluating an educational program such as the IB PYP, it is extremely important to compare and contrast the ideologies of the program to existing literatures and theories. This is because knowledge is a means rather than an end. Since a lot more researchers have already propounded theories on education, it is always important to consult of some these theories. The aims and purposes of the IB PYP curriculum are backed up by theories. The principles applied at the IB PYP were also supported by research and studies indicating that practice, the aim and purposes of the IB PYP is are really worth achieving. For example, schools that do not have the IB PYP program and employs the traditional method of teaching are said to be declining in quality. In the US, low math and science scores of American students in the local and international arena have brought disturbance to the government, policy makers and educators. Every now and then, research repeatedly shows that Americans students lag behind in international competitions and assessments. For almost a decade and half, American students consistently perform under international average in terms of mathematical and science ability.  Recent global studies regarding the academic performance of students around the world supported this idea. The Program for International Students Assessment (PISA) for example, found out that out of 41 nations, American Students ranked 24 in math and science literacy and 26th in problem solving capabilities. The PISA 2003 report concluded that US students are far below the international average in terms of math literacy and problem solving skills. According to Tsao (2004) there are three factors that affect students’ academic performance. These are intelligence, experiences in school, and experiences at home. With reference to the statistics given above, it seems unlikely that intelligence is the factor. There is no evidence that American children are less intelligent than children of other nations. It is therefore not far from the truth to say that the adherence to basic theories such as Piaget’s stages of development in giving students step-by-step introduction to lessons account for the high levels of success in IB PYP schools as compared to the traditional schooling system. Since such knowledge is given only in school, it can be said that experience in school is likely to be the culprit. Some people blamed low students’ performance to diversity. They reason out that the American students population is significantly diverse compared to other country and this diversity affects teaching instruction and learning capabilities.  This reason is valid especially in math. A great portion of the students’ populations has English as their second language.  Math is being taught in a language they do not fully understand. Majority of African Americans are not familiar with Standard English. The language barrier could have been a factor that impedes learning.  Korean, Japanese, and Chinese excelled in mathematics test because they study math principles using their own language. All these analysis confirm that if the basis of common educational theories were followed in the traditional educational system as they are followed in the IB PYP program, the problem of students’ poor performance would not have existed. However, the language barrier hypothesis may not be plausible in its entirety because even native English speakers perform poorly in mathematics assessment (Tsao 2004).  Ladson-Billings (2003) identified correctly the reason for low academic performance –inferior instruction. She claimed that instructions especially in middle school and high school were overwhelmingly teacher centered. The trend is to put emphasis on lecturing and textbook analysis rather than encouraging students to engaged in critical thinking and apply their knowledge in the real world. In the IB PYP curriculum is effective because it applies differentiation, constructivism and inquiry, which are all well acclaimed theories in education. It acknowledges the differences and otherness of students and the existence of learning styles. The IB PYP Curriculum and application of Learning Styles Researchers and profounder of theories acknowledge the reality of learning styles. Anthony Gregory for example, believed that two basic type of learning style exists. He called them preference. The two preferences are perceptual preference and ordering preference. Under the perceptual preference are abstract (reason and intuition) and concrete (the senses) under ordering preference are sequential and random (Sadker & Sadker 2000). A combination of these factors will result to four types of learners. Concrete sequential learners are those who prefer practical lessons and step-by-step instructions. Concrete random learners are those who prefer stimulus rich environment. Abstract sequential learners prefer abstract and highly verbal method of teaching and finally, abstract random learners are the type who focuses more on relationships and emotions. Another researcher, Hendrickson (2002), defined learning styles as the way a student picks up information and processed it in his brain to be remembered once the situation demands it.  There are also three main learning styles according to Hendrickson (2002): Visual, auditory, and Kinesthetic. Individuals who learn best from seeing and reading information have visual learning styles. Some individuals prefer to pick up information through listening; these individuals have auditory learning styles. Other individuals learn best from doing things. They enjoy acting out information and they are known to have kinesthetic learning styles. The vastness of learning styles in the classroom is also supported by empirical research. In a study conducted by Exley (2003), she investigated if differentiated learning approach would work on dyslexic children. She found out that dyslexic children learn best when their preferred learning styles are considered. The author found out that majority of the respondents favored a particular learning style which she identified as visual-spatial / kinesthetic learning style. According to the author, five of the respondents had improved their attainment in the mathematics and spelling tests while the other two, although without quantifiable results in the tests, did gain a fuller understanding of spelling patterns and mathematical concepts. She also added that the two students who appeared to make the least progress also have emotional and/or behavioral difficulties. The author concluded that all the students felt better about their learning and were beginning to transfer their new skills into the mainstream classroom at the time of the writing As teachers, under no circumstance should the learning style of some students be looked down upon as long it fetches results of ensuring that the learner understands concepts taught. Rather, teachers must do well to acquaint themselves with the different learning styles that exist in their various classrooms. Olenchak (2001) also tested differentiated instruction, but unlike Exley (2003), he tested it on gifted children. Olenchak observed that the children appeared to learn less when immersed in traditional classroom instruction but learned best when they were given personalized differentiation. Olenchak findings is another concrete evidence that acknowledgement of differentiated learning provides optimal means for accommodating the needs of talented students. The IB PYP position on the otherness and differences of students in the classroom is also supported by theories of intelligence. Howard Gardner, along time supporter and fan of the IB curriculum once stated: “The biggest mistake of past centuries in teaching has been to treat all children as if they were variants of the same individual and thus to feel justified in teaching them all the same subjects in the same way”(Checkly 1997 p 8)  He had identified eight types of intelligence, not all of which are identified in the school settings or can be measured by intelligence test yet Gardner believes that his “theory of multiple intelligences “more accurately captures the diverse nature of human capabilities (Checkly, 1997).   Gardner’s eight types of intelligence are: Logical /Mathematical-skills related to mathematical manipulation and discerning and solving logical problems Linguistic- Sensitivity to the meanings sound and rhythm of words. Bodily –Kinesthetic- Ability to excel physically and to handle objects skillfully. Musical- Ability to produce pitch and rhythm Spatial –Ability to form a mental model o the spatial world Interpersonal - Knowledge of one’s felling needs, strengths, and weaknesses Naturalist - Ability to discriminate among living things to classify plants, animals and minerals. These types of intelligence are also different modes of learning or learning styles.  Acquisition of knowledge among students depends on their mode of learning. My personal experience of change with the Programme International relations became very difficult and impossible due to racial, national and ethnic differences, People only related to only those they knew to be related to them racially. There was great hostility amongst people. In other words tribalism and apathy prevailed and dominated the atmosphere making group studies and tuition difficult. Group studies helps people to become exposed to new ideas, formulas and strategies of solving a particular problem. Also as these ideas are shared are shared verbally they stick in the minds of the students and make for easy recall in times of examinations or quizzes or even future use. But the PYP PROGRAMME helped to bring international understanding amongst the students and eventually made work easier This implies that international relations could be attained if the PYP programme was promoted vigorously and on wide scale. More people should be made to understand that international relations and corporations are indispensable and relevant for world growth since the whole of the world has now become a global village. Acceptance of people of different backgrounds is relevant and everyone in this world must learn how to better relate to people.  Conclusion As indicated in the analysis section, the IB PYP curriculum targets the vastness of the child learning styles and experience. The curriculum prepared children to accept the otherness of other children. The IB PYP curriculum also departs from traditional methods of instructions. Teaching an international program must allow for variety and difference in method, since diversity has been identified as an essential ingredient for the promotion of an international attitude (Hayden and Thompson, 1998), and this is as important in teaching methodology. To make the PYP happen in the classroom, the following should be counted on: Curriculum–In order to be more “whole-brained” in their orientation, schools need to give equal weight to the arts, creativity, and the skills of imagination and synthesis. Instruction–To foster a more whole-brained scholastic experience, teachers should use instruction techniques that connect with both sides of the brain. They can increase their classroom’s right-brain learning activities by incorporating more patterning, metaphors, analogies, role playing, visuals, and movement into their reading, calculation, and analytical activities. Assessment–For a more accurate whole-brained evaluation of student learning, educators must develop new forms of assessment that honor right-brained talents and skills. Rhetorically, the philosophy of the IBO ? the driving force of the curriculum, assessment and Pedagogy, is founded on a whole school philosophy of developing and promoting international mindedness in students. The IBO claims that the attributes of the IB learner profile define an internationally minded student ? someone with intercultural understanding and someone capable of making rational, critical and responsible decisions in the 21st century (IBO, 2002). In short, IB learners should strive to live and be the IB learner profile in order to be an internationally minded person. REFERENCES Anderson, F. 2007, ‘A Creek Source Book’. New York: Garland Publishing Inc. Checkley K 1997, ‘Multiple Intelligence’, retrieved May 3, 2011 Exley 2003, ‘A Special Gift Inspirations by Helen Exley’, Boston: Exley Giftbooks Gredler, M. E. (2001). Learning and instruction: Theory into practice (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Greenwhichschools.org 2010, ‘the IB PYP curriculum’, retrieved May 25, 2006 from www.greenwichschools.org/uploaded/faculty/nelyda.../Level1b.ppt Grundy, S. 1987, ‘Curriculum: product or praxis?’ Lewes: Falmer Press. Hendrikson L (2006) ‘Active learning ERIC’ Digest No. 17 Sep 84 ERIC Identifier: ED253468 retrieved January 21 2006 from http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-921/active.htm Hyman J. A. 2002, ‘Canine choroidal melanoma with metastases’, retrieved May 2, 2011 IBO.org, 2009, ‘International Baccalaureate (IB) Education, India’, retrieved May 1, 2011 Kaplan T 2000, ‘The Classroom World’ (2nd ed). Boston: McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., New York: Garland Publishing Inc. Ladson-Billings (2003, ‘Landing on the Wrong Note: The Price We Paid for Brown’, retrieved May 3, 2011 < http://edr.sagepub.com/content/33/7/3.extract> Lemke, M., et al  2004, International Outcomes of Learning in Mathematics Literacy and Problem Solving: PISA 2003 Results From the U.S. Perspective. (NCES   2005–003). Longstreet, W.S. and Shane, H.G. (1993) ‘Curriculum for a new millennium’, Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Lowman J. 1984. ‘Mastering the techniques of teaching’. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Marsh and Willis, 2007, ‘Curriculum: A Lesson to Accompany’, retrieved May 1, 2011 Olenchak, F. R. (2001). Lessons learned from gifted children about differentiation. The Teacher Educator 36 (3), pp185-198. Oliva, P. 1997, ‘The curriculum: Theoretical dimensions’, New York: Longman. Palloff and Pratt 2001, ‘Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom: The Realities of Online Teaching’, retrieved May 1, 2011 < http://www2.unca.edu/et/br051702.html> Pool, C. R. 2000, ‘Differentiation in the Classroom. Educational Leadership’ 58(1) p. 96.  Quailrun.com 2010, ‘IB PYP’ retrieved may 25 2010 from http://cmweb.pvschools.net/qresweb/IB_PYP.html Sadker, M.P. & Sadker, D.M. 2000, ‘Teachers, Schools, and Society. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Tomlinson, C. A. (2003). Differentiating instruction for academic diversity. In J. M. Cooper (Ed.), Classroom teaching skills, 7th ed (pp 149-180). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Tsao M 2004, ‘Childproof Consumer Electronics’, retrieved May 2 2011 Please indicate by giving page or section numbers where in your assignment you have answered the following questions. Once completed , please return with your final assignment. Essential questions relevant to the Curriculum Studies Unit Page No. Tutor Signature How have you demonstrated your understanding of the PYP/MYP/DP’s underpinning educational principles and how these are incorporated into the curricular structure to create meaningful learning experiences? 1 (All but last paragraph), 2 How have you demonstrated your ability to synthesize the essential elements of the PYP/MYP/DP? Last paragraph of page 3 and first paragraph of page 4 How have you demonstrated your ability to identify and critique the key areas of commonality and difference in the three IBO programs? 2 How have you demonstrated your ability to select and use a range of appropriate teaching and learning resources that support the achievements of PYP/MYP/DP learning outcomes? 11 (under The IB PYP Curriculum and Learner Diversity) Essential questions : Related to the Professional Learning Area of Enquiry How have you demonstrated your ability to undertake critical evaluation of planning, teaching and assessment activities and learning resources to assess their impact on student learning and where necessary revise PYP/MYP/DP practices? 7 (last paragraph) How have you demonstrated your ability to participate in and undertake critical evaluations of collaborative working practices intended to promote PYP/MYP/DP learning outcomes? 12 (under  The IB PYP Curriculum ensuring Student-Centered Learning How have you demonstrated your ability to participate in and evaluate the use of information and communication technologies to engage within the wider IB community to further develop PYP/MYP/DP learning outcomes? 14 Read More