IB Feedback on This Land is Whose Land

1.
Building Quality Curriculum
MYP curriculum planning feedback
(Interdisciplinary unit planner)
2019 - 2020
Name of school: Boerum Hill School For International Studies
Name of teachers: Hannah Ticoras, Sasha Fletcher, Mike Langley
Subject groups & specific discipline: Language and literature; Individuals and societies
MYP year level: MYP 2
Interdisciplinary unit title: This Land is Whose Land?

2. Key:
1 – Beginning/developing
2 – Using
3 – Sharing
N/A – Not Applicable
Interdisciplinary unit planner
elements
Feedback Reviewer comments
1 2 3
Approximate number of
structured teaching hours (total)
N/A
31 hours
Purpose of integration X
The purpose of integration is clearly and thoroughly
described as developing students’ “understanding of the
experiences of indigenous peoples from pre-colonization to
present day” through an inquiry into the perspectives
presented in primary and secondary historical and literary
sources.
A meaningful rationale is provided which clearly explains
how and why discipline-specific learning in language and
literature and discipline-specific learning in individuals and
societies are intended to come together to achieve the
identified integrated purpose.
The contributions from each participating discipline are
balanced and necessary for helping students develop a
deeper and more nuanced understanding of this important
topic.
Key concept(s) N/A Perspective
Related concept(s) N/A
Genre, point-of-view, character
Global context and specific
exploration
N/A
Personal cultural exploration
Exploration: social constructions of reality
Statement of inquiry X
“Through an exploration of different genres, characters, and
perspectives, dominant social constructions of reality can be
challenged.”
The provided statement of inquiry explicitly includes the key
concept “perspective”, the related concepts “genres” and
“character”, and the global context exploration “social
constructions of reality”.
The statement clearly describes an integrative
understanding that can foster student exploration of
multifaceted and transferable ideas and issues that are
relevant and important to both disciplines.
A student-friendly version of the statement is also provided
that accurately captures the essence of the original
statement.
Building Quality Curriculum School: Boerum Hill School For International Studies Unit title: This Land is Whose Land?

3. Inquiry questions X
There are five factual, five conceptual and one debatable
inquiry questions identified. These questions demonstrate a
clear understanding of the distinction between each question
type and the relationship between facts, concepts and
debates.
The questions are clearly framed and can foster deep
understandings that are relevant to both participating
disciplines. They can also promote inquiries which can help
students understand the connections between the
disciplines.
The inquiry questions clearly support deep interdisciplinary
understanding of the concepts and global context
exploration included in the statement of inquiry.
Interdisciplinary objectives N/A
In the interdisciplinary criteria section of the unit plan, the
following ​disciplinary​ criteria are listed: Language and
literature A i, ii; B i; C i, ii; D iii, iv; Individuals and societies
A i, ii; C i, ii; D i, ii, iv.
As a reminder, schools must address all strands of all four
objectives of interdisciplinary learning in each year of the
programme. In terms of this particular unit, it is important to
remember that:
"The four objectives for interdisciplinary learning work
together in a holistic process that envisions students
engaging all four criteria in every formal
interdisciplinary unit.
In practice, teachers may highlight specific objectives
for some units in order to develop students’ skills and
provide formative feedback for subsequent, more
complex units. Especially for students in MYP years
1–3, it may be appropriate to introduce criteria
separately to allow for a specific focus on one of the
objectives in a given unit. Teachers might scaffold the
approach to an objective so that their students can
reach the highest achievement levels in subsequent
units.
[However,] only when all four objectives are addressed
in a unit of work are all the aims of interdisciplinary
learning met. Working collaboratively, teachers should
design holistic summative assessment tasks
(performances of understanding), which address
multiple objectives whenever possible.”
- "Visualizing the interdisciplinary objectives" ​Fostering
interdisciplinary teaching and learning in the MYP​.
August 2014 (updated September 2017).
For further guidance, please see “Assessing interdisciplinary
units” ​Fostering interdisciplinary teaching and learning in the
MYP​. August 2014 (updated September 2017).
Building Quality Curriculum School: Boerum Hill School For International Studies Unit title: This Land is Whose Land?

4. Summative assessment task X
The summative task, creating an indigeneous museum
display, provides an opportunity for students to bring
disciplinary insights from language and literature and
individuals and societies together to demonstrate their
understanding of the statement of inquiry.
Further details are needed to describe how students will
demonstrate their understanding and their achievement in
each interdisciplinary criterion.
If a summative task is completed as a group, clarification is
needed to describe how individual student achievement is
identified and assessed.
Approaches to learning X
There are two approaches to learning skill indicators from
two skill categories identified in the unit plan however the
ways in which the skills are supported in the unit are not
explicitly identified.
This unit plan could be strengthened by providing clear and
detailed descriptions of the specific strategies that are used
to support students in mindfully developing and practising
the identified skill indicators. These details can describe how
the skills are aligned with the unit’s disciplinary and/or
interdisciplinary objectives, specific learning engagements,
and/or assessment task(s), and the specific skill strategies
that are explicitly taught and practised.
This degree of detail, describing the​ specific​ strategies that
will be explicitly taught and practised, will strengthen this
section of the unit plan, help teachers envision how much
time might be involved in the explicit teaching of the
identified skills, and inform the school’s approaches to
learning skills plan.
In the learning engagements and teaching strategies
sections of the unit plan, when and how these skill
strategies are taught can be described. In order to support
students in taking responsibility for their own learning it
may be helpful to explicitly teach a skill strategy first,
before providing independent practice opportunities that
can be tracked through self-assessment and/or peer
feedback.
Disciplinary grounding X
There appears to be potential for disciplinary grounding in
both subjects, and this potential may be realized in the
taught curriculum.
In the written curriculum, as described in this unit plan, this
potential needs further development and clarification in the
disciplinary content and learning process sections of the unit
plan. The written curriculum would be aided by the use of
the interdisciplinary unit planner which is critical to the
interdisciplinary unit planning process.
Building Quality Curriculum School: Boerum Hill School For International Studies Unit title: This Land is Whose Land?

5. During the disciplinary learning processes, the unit’s shared
inquiry questions could be used to drive learning that allows
students to explore the concepts and context included in the
statement of inquiry through the unique perspectives of each
subject. Students can be supported in explicitly connecting
and comparing the strengths and limitations of each
subject’s content​ ​as they inquire into a common topic, issue,
or problem.
Then, both participating disciplines could focus on the
synthesized, interdisciplinary learning process and complete
an integrated summative task. If interdisciplinary
understandings and tasks are incorporated throughout,
rather than after the disciplinary learning processes, these
interdisciplinary learning engagements need to be clearly
identified in the unit plan and during the implementation of
the unit.
-Subject 1: N/A
Language and literature
Subject-group objectives and
specific relevant strands N/A
The following MYP year 3 languages and literature
objectives are identified: A i, ii; B i; C i, ii; D iii, iv.
These objectives provide some foundation for disciplinary
grounding in this subject.
Related concepts N/A
Related concepts are not identified for language and
literature.
While identifying related concepts is not required, it is
encouraged in order to strengthen the disciplinary grounding
of the unit.
Content that specifies topics
and/or national/local standards N/A
As this interdisciplinary unit planner format includes only one
content section, this section is where the content in each
discipline can be clearly described, it would be beneficial to
organize each subject’s specific content in the categories
“Knowledge” (facts, topics, vocabulary, etc), “Concepts”
(disciplinary conceptual understandings), and “Skills”
(disciplinary skills)
Describing the content in this way can both inform the
learning process and the school’s vertical curriculum map in
language and literature.
Disciplinary learning
engagements and teaching
strategies
N/A
The format of this unit planner includes only one disciplinary
learning process section. In order to clearly describe the
learning process for each disciple an additional section is
needed. These sections need to be clearly distinguished in
order to clarify how disciplinary grounding is established in
each subject. Use of an interdisciplinary unit planner will
facilitate greater clarity in the interdisciplinary unit planning
process.
Building Quality Curriculum School: Boerum Hill School For International Studies Unit title: This Land is Whose Land?

6. This section can be developed by clearly describing the
disciplinary learning engagements and the sequence in
which teaching and learning occurs. It would also be
beneficial to ensure that inquiry-based learning methods are
included throughout the teaching and learning process.
Further details could include clear descriptions of:
● how students' prior learning in specific disciplinary
knowledge, concepts and/or skills needed in this
unit is assessed or utilized,
● how students develop in terms of each disciplinary
objective and when formative assessments on
student progress in the objectives occur,
● when and how the “big picture” inquiry questions are
explored from the unique perspective of this
discipline,
● (if applicable) when and how any discipline-specific
related concepts that are not included in the
statement of inquiry are explored,
● how the disciplinary learning engagements,
including the formative tasks, align with and build
towards the interdisciplinary learning engagements,
● when and how students explicitly evaluate the
benefits and limitations of exploring the topic and
statement of inquiry from the point of view of this
discipline,
● when the approaches to learning skills related to the
disciplinary objectives, learning activities and/or
summative task(s) are taught and/or practised.
These details would help to clarify how students will develop
the disciplinary knowledge, concepts and skills in language
and literature that will contribute to achievement in the
objectives and summative task, and lead towards a
disciplinary understanding of the statement of inquiry.
It may also be beneficial to consider ways in which the
learning engagements in language and literature could
provoke active inquiries through responsible action in
real-world situations which could increase student
engagement and provide more opportunities for
well-structured and authentic problem-solving.
-Subject 2: N/A
Individuals and societies
Subject-group objectives and
specific relevant strands N/A
The following MYP year 3 individuals and societies
objectives are identified: A i, ii; C i, ii; D i, ii, iv.
These objectives provide some foundation for disciplinary
grounding in this subject.
Related concepts N/A
Related concepts are not identified for language and
literature.
Building Quality Curriculum School: Boerum Hill School For International Studies Unit title: This Land is Whose Land?

7. As previously mentioned, while identifying related concepts
is not required, it is encouraged in order to strengthen the
disciplinary grounding of the unit.
Content that specifies topics
and/or national/local standards N/A
The format of this interdisciplinary unit planner includes only
one content section. An additional section is needed in order
to clearly describe the content in each discipline. It would be
beneficial to organize each subject’s specific content in the
categories “Knowledge” (facts, topics, vocabulary, etc),
“Concepts” (disciplinary conceptual understandings), and
“Skills” (disciplinary skills)
Describing the content in this way can both inform the
learning process and the school’s vertical curriculum map in
individuals and societies.
Disciplinary learning
engagements and teaching
strategies
N/A
The format of this unit planner includes only one disciplinary
learning process section. In order to clearly describe the
learning process for each disciple an additional section is
needed. These sections need to be clearly distinguished in
order to clarify how disciplinary grounding is established in
each subject. Use of an interdisciplinary unit planner will
facilitate greater clarity in the interdisciplinary unit planning
process.
This section can be developed by clearly describing the
disciplinary learning engagements and the sequence in
which teaching and learning occurs. It would also be
beneficial to ensure that inquiry-based learning methods are
included throughout the teaching and learning process.
Further details could include clear descriptions of:
● how students' prior learning in specific disciplinary
knowledge, concepts and/or skills needed in this
unit is assessed or utilized,
● how students develop in terms of each disciplinary
objective and when formative assessments on
student progress in the objectives occur,
● when and how the “big picture” inquiry questions are
explored from the unique perspective of this
discipline,
● (if applicable) when and how any discipline-specific
related concepts that are not included in the
statement of inquiry are explored,
● how the disciplinary learning engagements,
including the formative tasks, align with and build
towards the interdisciplinary learning engagements,
● when and how students explicitly evaluate the
benefits and limitations of exploring the topic and
statement of inquiry from the point of view of this
discipline,
● when the approaches to learning skills related to the
disciplinary objectives, learning activities and/or
summative task(s) are taught and/or practised.
Building Quality Curriculum School: Boerum Hill School For International Studies Unit title: This Land is Whose Land?

8. These details would help to clarify how students will develop
the disciplinary knowledge, concepts and skills in individuals
and societies that will contribute to achievement in the
objectives and summative task, and lead towards a
disciplinary understanding of the statement of inquiry.
It may also be beneficial to consider ways in which the
learning engagements in individuals and societies could
provoke active inquiries through responsible action in
real-world situations which could increase student
engagement and provide more opportunities for
well-structured and authentic problem-solving.
Interdisciplinary learning
experiences and teaching
strategies
X
The interdisciplinary learning experiences and teaching
strategies are described using a list of questions that are
similar to the inquiry questions listed in the unit planner. It
may be beneficial for students and teachers if the same
inquiry questions were used throughout the unit.
This section can be developed by clearly describing the
interdisciplinary learning engagements and the sequence in
which teaching and learning occurs.
Further details could include clear descriptions of:
● how students develop in terms of the
interdisciplinary objectives and when formative
assessments on student progress in those
objectives occur,
● when and how the “big picture” inquiry questions are
explored from a synthesized, interdisciplinary
perspective,
● when and how students reflect on the development
of their own interdisciplinary understanding,
● when and how students are provided with
opportunities to weigh the relative contribution of
each discipline by assessing the benefits and
limitations of disciplinary and interdisciplinary
knowledge as they consider the integrated purpose
of the unit,
● when any approaches to learning skills related to
the interdisciplinary objectives, learning activities
and/or summative task are taught and/or practised.
These details would help to clarify how students will develop
the interdisciplinary understanding and skills that will
contribute to achievement in the interdisciplinary objectives
and summative task, and lead towards an integrated
understanding of the statement of inquiry.
It may also be beneficial to consider ways in which the
interdisciplinary learning engagements could provoke active
inquiries through responsible action in real-world situations.
This could increase student engagement and provide more
Building Quality Curriculum School: Boerum Hill School For International Studies Unit title: This Land is Whose Land?

9. opportunities for well-structured and authentic
problem-solving.
Formative assessment X
Formative assessment is described through a list of
activities in which students will participate.
These tasks provide some opportunities for students to
receive explicit feedback from both participating subject
teachers on their strengths and growth areas.
They also provide teachers with some opportunities to
monitor evidence of student learning and make any needed
adjustments to the learning experiences and teaching
strategies in order to address student needs.
Adding detailed descriptions of the formative tasks will
strengthen this section and clearly show how these tasks
provide students with opportunities to refine the skills
necessary for the summative assessment.
Differentiation X
A brief list of two types of differentiation is provided.
This section of the unit plan might be further developed by
identifying all of the ​specific​ strategies used to differentiate
the unit’s content, learning process and assessment task.
Planning for differentiation in these three aspects of the unit
may provide further opportunities for supporting all students
and for addressing the individual learning needs and
language profiles in this particular unit and for this specific
cohort of students.
This degree of specificity and customization promotes a
careful and strategic approach which can benefit both
student learning and program development.
Some questions that may be helpful in planning for
differentiated teaching and learning could be:
● How could the disciplinary and interdisciplinary
content be differentiated to allow for multiple entry
points and levels?
● How could the disciplinary and interdisciplinary
learning engagements be expanded to
accommodate a wider variety of learning needs
and preferences?
● How could the assessment tasks be more
open-ended to allow for differentiated
demonstrations of learning?
● How could learning differences be used to
promote consideration of a range of perspectives
and skills?
● If applicable, how could the unit’s content,
process and product be differentiated to provide
support for student language profiles and specific
Building Quality Curriculum School: Boerum Hill School For International Studies Unit title: This Land is Whose Land?

10. individualized learning needs of this particular
group of students?
Resources X
Resources that support teaching and learning in this unit are
described as non-text texts, historical texts, and the exhibit
at the Museum of the American Indian.
These resources appear to provide some of the information
and learning environments necessary for achieving the unit’s
purpose.
Consideration of additional resources may further
strengthen this unit. Examples of additional types of
resources might include:
● Specific resources which provide differentiated
learning support and learning extension during the
disciplinary and interdisciplinary learning
processes,,
● Bibliographic references to print resources such as
books, magazines, posters, maps, etc,
● URL addresses for digital resources such as
websites, blogs, videos, apps,
● Names of guest speakers from the school or wider
community,
Reflections developed before,
during and after teaching
X
Reflections are included at each stage of the teaching
process. These reflections are valuable for building on the
strengths and noting opportunities for improvements as the
unit is further developed in the future.
It may be beneficial to consider additional aspects of the
written, taught and assessed curriculum in order to further
strengthen this unit.
In the prior-to-teaching section, information about the
collaborative planning process and the ways in which the
unit might develop other components of the MYP such as
the IB mission statement, the learner profile, international
mindedness and possible opportunities to link the unit with
student-led action and service learning can be reflected
upon. This section of the unit plan is also a place where
the unique makeup of the particular class of students can
be considered and where a description of how students’
prior learning is determined and incorporated into the unit
can be noted.
Further reflection during teaching might include notes
about any disciplinary or interdisciplinary skills that may
need strengthening, student questions and inquiries that
emerged and/or how well the learning activities promoted
student engagement and intrinsic motivation, and growth in
the selected objectives. It can also include reflections on
aspects of the unit that are working well, not working well
Building Quality Curriculum School: Boerum Hill School For International Studies Unit title: This Land is Whose Land?

11. and ideas for what could be improved when the unit is
taught again.
The after-teaching reflection can also include a summary
of what worked well, didn’t work well and what could be
improved when the unit is taught again. It may also be
beneficial to note how well the chosen disciplines provided
opportunities for integration and any information gleaned
from an analysis of assessment data. This may provide
critical information about any further adjustments that are
needed in the teaching and learning process and/or in the
formative and summative tasks. Reflection on the teachers’
personal responses, social-emotional learning and
professional growth over the course of the planning and
teaching of the unit could also reveal important elements in
the impact of the unit.
The questions for reflection in the “Reflection: Considering
the planning, process and impact of the inquiry” section in
MYP ​From principles into practice ​(May 2014, updated
September 2017) can provide guidance for thorough and
meaningful reflection at each phase of the teaching
process.
Building Quality Curriculum School: Boerum Hill School For International Studies Unit title: This Land is Whose Land?