Imyc teachers manual_implemenation_file_2016_v2

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IMYC Implementation File
Exit
Point
Entry
Point
Knowledge
Harvest
The
Big Idea
Assessment
for
Learning
Reﬂective
Journaling
Learning
Activities

I M Y C I M P L E M E N T A T I O N F I L EI M Y C I M P L E M E N T A T I O N F I L E
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Contents
Welcome to the International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC) 2
What is the IMYC? 4
Teaching with the IMYC
■■ Introduction
■■ Where does good learning come from, and why is a curriculum
important?
■■ Helpful information and tools
4
4
5
9
Learning with the IMYC
■■ Introduction
■■ The IMYC Learning Goals
■■ Personal dispositions: what kind of students are we helping
to develop?
■■ International Mindedness
■■ What does it mean to be internationally minded?
■■ What is an International School?
■■ What is an International Curricullum?
■■ The IMYC types of learning: Knowledge, Skills and Understanding
■■ The IMYC Learning Structure and Process of Learning
■■ Assessment in the IMYC
■■ The IMYC Assessment for Learning Programme
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11
13
14
14
15
16
17
18
20
21
Getting started: Implementing the IMYC
■■ Introduction
■■ What are the implications for stakeholders?
■■ What do leaders and teachers need to know?
22
22
23
23
Implementation timeline
■■ Begin with the end in mind: the IMYC Self-Review Process
■■ The stages of implementation
28
28
29
Appendix A: The IMYC Learning goals 31
Appendix B: Research into Learning
■■ References
52
57
Appendix C: Five Key Needs of the Adolescent Brain 58

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Welcome to the International Middle Years
Curriculum
Welcome to the International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC), a unique curriculum for
students aged 11–14 years. Designed around the very particular needs of the adolescent
brain, it helps to improve learning in three ways: academically, personally and internationally.
As a teacher of Maths and Science in secondary schools and a parent of three boys (who
have all safely survived their adolescent years, albeit not without the usual challenges
and triumphs), I have always been aware that the ages 11–14 can be a very taxing and
challenging time for students, teachers and parents alike. Students may exhibit such radical
changes in behaviour and personality that we hardly recognise them! They may look for
sensation, take dangerous risks, value the opinions of their peers above those of an adult’s,
and disengage from learning and school.
Not only do we believe that this period is a crucial stage in every student’s learning journey,
we would go as far as to agree with the words of BJ Casey, Neuroscientist at Weill Cornell
Medical College: “We’re so used to seeing adolescence as a problem. But the more we learn
about what really makes this period unique, the more adolescence starts to seem like a
highly functional, even adaptive period”. Jay Giedd, famous for his neuroimaging study of the
developing brain, states that “the adolescent brain is not a ‘broken or defective adult brain’; it
is exquisitely formed … to have different features compared to children and adults”.
Through the IMYC, we to try to support these unique learning needs whilst students strive to
make sense of their secondary school environment, themselves, and their changing needs and
emotions, as well as keep up with the academic challenges of secondary education. We hear
the most heart-warming stories from schools that use the IMYC, and we remain convinced
that the IMYC will change the way that your students learn, prepare them well for the more
formal stages of Secondary School, and keep them engaged in learning.
Enjoy using it, and please share your stories and your experiences with us.
Isabel du Toit
Head of IMYC

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What is the International Middle Years
Curriculum (IMYC)?
The International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC) is a curriculum aimed at 11–14-year-old
students, designed around the needs of the maturing adolescent brain. The IMYC inspires
students during a time when many, overwhelmed by the combination of the transition from
primary to secondary education and the changes in their bodies and brains, can become
disengaged in their learning.
Neurological research tells us that the brain is synthesising and specialising during
adolescence. Consequently, middle years students need particular support organising and
connecting their thinking and learning. This ‘fine tuning’ of the brain requires young people to
make connections and make meaning of their learning like never before – in a ‘use it or lose
it’ fashion. They engage most in learning when they can see the relevance of what they are
learning about, and when they are actively involved in the process. The IMYC takes this into
account and specifically addresses each of these learning needs.
We recommend that you visit our website (www.greatlearning.com/imyc and IMYC Members’
Lounge) as often as possible. Ensure that you really make use of the ‘My Fieldwork’ page in
order to tailor it specifically to your needs. The Members’ Lounge also gives you opportunities
to meet and collaborate with other schools. Furthermore, as we are continually improving
the IMYC–updating this Teachers’ Implementation File, adding and updating unit tasks, and
sharing new information and ideas – it is worth checking up on any developments regularly.
The IMYC endeavours to provide you with all of the practical help that you need in order
to implement a truly learning-focused curriculum in your school, support the needs of the
students of this very interesting, yet challenging, age group, and facilitate collaborative
planning, Assessment for Learning, and improving learning in the classroom.
We wish you well in your use and implementation of the IMYC, and we welcome you to the
IMYC’s worldwide learning community.
The Self-Review and Accreditation documents, which can also be found the Members’ Lounge,
are very useful documents for schools that wish to implement the IMYC to its full power and
potential, and we encourage you to use it to track your implementation progress and success
from the very beginning, even if you do not intend to ever apply for a formal Accreditation.
The Implementation Guide for the Assessment for Learning Programme is another very useful
document available on the Members’ Lounge, and we recommend that you study it in detail
in order to fully understand the IMYC view on assessment and the support that we provide to
teachers, as well as what we expect teachers and schools to add to the materials themselves.

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Teaching with the IMYC
Introduction
We believe that the purpose of teaching is to facilitate student learning in appropriate ways
and that, whenever possible, this process should also be enjoyable for teachers.
Teachers are likely to be more successful in helping students learn if they work closely with
colleagues, parents and other members of each student’s community. The emotional, physical
and social changes facing students at this age require particular nurturing and patience from
all of the adults in their lives. Therefore, the more that adults work together, the more that
they will be able to help students through this unique stage of their development.
We believe that teachers should spend more time on thinking about and planning how to
help individual students learn than on writing whole-school curricula. We have therefore
developed examples of learning activities that teachers can use to help students to reach
the Learning Goals identified in the IMYC. These activities – which have been developed
by outstanding teachers, all experts in their fields – allow teachers to add their own
interpretations whilst still enabling them to spend their precious time on doing what they
enjoy and were trained for.
As a teacher, you have a chance to make a difference to every student’s learning. You are,
and always will be, one of the most important influences in the lives of the students that
you teach. That is why teaching is so important and so challenging. Do a good job and you
will have had a positive influence on the next generation – what an exciting challenge (and
responsibility) we have!
What does this mean? It means that you are in a position to help your students – not only
to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding for your subject, but also determine
whether the students that you teach will enjoy their learning or see their time in school as
just as something to get through. It means that you have the chance to help them to develop
their own identity whilst recognising that they live in a global community, as well as to
increase the range of personal attributes that they will take with them into their later lives.
At the very least, this means helping your students to see:
■■ How they can get along and how they can disagree in a constructive manner
■■ How they can be proud of their own national heritage and culture and, at the same time, be
deeply respectful of the heritage and culture of others
■■ How they can begin to deepen their awareness and appreciation of the idea of the ‘other’
■■ How they can live both independently and interdependently within and across cultures and
countries
The IMYC was designed to aid teachers in improving student learning, and it is structured
around supporting five key needs of the adolescent brain.

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The curriculum begins with a set of standards or learning outcomes, called the Learning
Goals, which clearly define what students should know or be capable of at this important
period of their development. These form the foundation/skeleton of the IMYC, describing and
summarising everything that we have found our international network of educators to agree
that students should know, be able to do, and understand, in every subject covered by the
IMYC. The IMYC contains Learning Goals and tasks for the following subjects:
■■ Art
■■ ICT and Computing
■■ English Language Arts (creative listening, speaking, writing and drama tasks for English)
■■ Geography
■■ History
■■ Music
■■ Physical Education
■■ Science (Biology, Chemistry and Physics)
■■ Technology
As well as Learning Goals (though no specific tasks) for:
■■ Mathematics
■■ Additional Language (for Modern Foreign Languages)
Where does good learning come from, and why is a curriculum
important?
Students learn what they learn from all kinds of places, people and experiences. Some of this
learning is accidental; it just happens.
Accidental learning takes place in schools as well as everywhere else. There are so many
opportunities, both during breaks and recess and in the ‘busyness’ of the whole daily
experience. However, schools are also places that are specifically set up to encourage and
facilitate learning. A school is not really a school unless a great deal of deliberate learning
takes place. Deliberate, planned learning is what schools are for, and that is the challenge
facing all of us in the profession, including you and your colleagues.
You are responsible for that deliberate learning. That is why you are so important. You are
more important than the resources that you have, the buildings that you are in, the quality of
your principal, head teacher or superintendent and, dare we say it, more important than your
curriculum.
However, a curriculum is one of your most important support systems. The IMYC has been
written to help you be the best teacher that you can be and, even more importantly, to help
your students to receive the best 21st-century education possible.

6
The IMYC contains many elements that are common to all good curricula. In preparing the
IMYC, we set out to make those elements as accessible and as trouble-free to teachers as
possible, without compromising on the primary goal of improving learning.
As a teacher using the IMYC, you will need to be aware of the differences in the way that
knowledge, skills and understanding are learned, taught and assessed (please see the
Assessment for Learning Implementation File for more details). In order to facilitate optimum
learning improvement, you will need to create multiple opportunities for students to practise
skills throughout the three-year period of the IMYC, as well as provide sufficient time in the
classroom for students to reflect on their learning.
However, the IMYC also has some elements that, taken together, set it apart. These elements
are:
■■ Rigorous and clearly articulated Learning Goals (see above)
Because knowledge, skills, and understanding in all subjects are learned differently, taught
differently, and assessed or evaluated differently, students, teachers, and others need as
much clarity as possible if activities are to be learning-focused.
■■ International Mindedness
We live in an interconnected and global world. The IMYC has the strongly-held view that
the development of International-Mindedness is as important as Mathematics, Language
Arts, History, Music, or any other subject. From the outset, we built into the IMYC rigorous
opportunities for students to become aware of the parts of a bigger world that exist both
independently of each other and interdependently with each other.
■■ Independence and interdependence
As we developed the curriculum, the ideas of independence and interdependence have
become important beyond International Mindedness. Consequently, the curriculum is now
designed to ensure that students work both independently and, in groups of varying sizes,
interdependently. Moreover, although students of the IMYC still study individual subjects
independently, subject areas are often interlinked in a specific unit through the Big Idea.
■■ Engaging students aged 11–14
The International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC) is specifically designed to support the
needs of the developing adolescent in ways that will improve the learning of 11–14-year-
old-year-olds. The IMYC has studied – and continues to study – the latest neuroscientific
research on how the adolescent brain learns; this facet of the curriculum is described in
the appendix to the Self-Review and Accreditation Document. The appendix includes a
resources section that, though it is by no means exhaustive, seeks to share the main easily-
accessible studies that were used to reach our conclusions.
There are many changes that students aged 9–14 typically go through:
−− Physical growth spurts
−− The onset of puberty
−− Change in the way their brains are wired (specialisation)
−− Struggle for identity at home, at school and elsewhere

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−− Stronger identification and affiliation with their peers
−− Increased risk-taking and sensation-seeking
−− Search for meaning
A curriculum that is focused on helping students aged 11–14 engage with learning in new
ways clearly needs to respond to this group’s unique nature. This is an important part of
differentiated learning.
The IMYC units of work
For each of the three years of middle/secondary schooling, the IMYC provides ten units of
work with learning activities for nine different subjects, each structured around a conceptual
idea called the ‘Big Idea’. In total, this adds up to 30 units of work. For example, the first unit
in M1 (designed for 11–12-year-olds) is based around the theme of ‘Adaptability’ and the Big
Idea that will be used to interlink all learning in this unit is: “Adaptability is demonstrated by
the ability to cope, alter or change with new circumstances or environments”.
Based on the average teaching time available for each subject per week, collected from 20
schools that helped us to develop the first units, each unit was designed to be completed
over the course of approximately six weeks.
Consequently, for every year group, schools should choose approximately six units that
they want to use from the ten available to them. In the IMYC, we call these year groups M1
(typically 11–12-year-olds), M2 (12–13-year-olds) and M3 (13–14-year-olds) in order to
avoid any confusion between the different grading systems used in different countries.
Interlinking learning through the Big Idea
In recent years, neuroscientific research has informed us that the brain learns by making
connections between brain cells/neurons. ; Accordingly, the formation of a constellation of
neurons related to a particular concept or idea is sometimes referred to by neuroscientists
and psychologists as a ‘chunk’ of information.
Neuroscientists say that the brain learns ‘associatively’, meaning that it is constantly looking
for patterns in order to link new information to previous learning. (See the appendix to the
Self-Review document for more information and references)
In primary schools, teachers often find these links for students and regularly highlight any
links between the learning in different subjects. However, secondary teaching and learning is
often organised into departments, resulting in students having the responsibility of finding
their own links. The IMYC aims to help students to develop the habit of identifying these
links through an abstract concept called the ‘Big Idea’. This helps students to interlink their
learning during the six-week period and to develop multiple perspectives of concepts and
ideas.
The IMYC writers linked the knowledge, skills and understanding Learning Goals for their
subjects to the Big Idea that they felt was most appropriate and natural, covering all of the
subject Learning Goals in the ten units available for each year group. This helps students to
link or associate subject learning and concepts easily to the Big Idea, making retrieval easier.

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ADDITIONAL
LANGUAGE
MATHS
HISTORY
GEOGRAPHY
D&T
When people
work together
they can
achieve a
common goal
SCIENCE
MUSIC
ART
ENGLISH
ICT
This structure requires all teachers to support the students in finding links to the Big Idea,
even if the subject does not have specific tasks in the IMYC resources.
The following are some examples of the Big Ideas from which teachers and schools can
choose:
■■ Balance (11–12-year-olds): “Things are more stable when different elements are in the
correct or best possible proportions”
■■ Resilience (12–13-year-olds): “Success over time requires persistence”
■■ Challenge (13–14-year-olds): “Facing up to, or overcoming, problems and barriers increases
possibilities in our lives”

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Helpful information and tools
Mind maps
The IMYC created a collection of mind maps (see the Members’ Lounge on the ‘Planning’ tab)
in order to illustrate simply and usefully which learning goals will be covered in each unit in
order to facilitate collaborative planning between teachers from different faculties. There are
30 mind maps in all, each of which provides a coherent outline of each unit. It identifies:
■■ The Big Idea
■■ Explaining the Theme: the subjects that will make a specific contribution to the unit and
their interpretation of the Big Idea
■■ The subject-specific Learning Goals
■■ The kind of learning that students will engage in for each subject, so that they learn the
specific Learning Goals and address the Theme and the Big Idea
The online IMYC Route Planner
All members of the IMYC have access to the online Route Planner on the Member’s Lounge.
The Route Planner makes planning easy and efficient by providing a ‘drag and drop’ system
that quickly organises the coverage in each unit over a full year.
Assessment for Learning Programme
Assessment of learning is important, as it helps teachers to find out whether and to what
extent students have learned of the recommended material. The Assessment for Learning
Programme contains detailed information and guidance on assessment in the IMYC.
Other information
Mathematics and the IMYC: You may have noticed that the IMYC units do not provide specific
opportunities for students to learn Mathematics. However, the units do give students the
chance to put some of their Mathematics into practice.
There is a simple reason for this. In talking to teachers and schools during the planning
phase of the IMYC, most told us that they had already invested heavily in a Mathematics
scheme or programme of work that worked well enough in their school. Therefore, it was
pointless producing Units of Work that contained material teachers were unlikely to use.
Nevertheless, the Mathematics Learning Goals are important because, in addition to all of
their other uses, schools can also use them as a checklist against which they can monitor the
effective coverage provided by their separate scheme.
We recommend that teachers still support students to link the content to the Big Idea, as
well as to take part in the Entry and Exit Points. This will emphasise the need for students
to notice connections in their learning in all subjects, not just the ones that happen to have
related tasks in the IMYC.

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Modern Foreign languages and the IMYC:
As with Mathematics, the IMYC identified certain learning goals that were also common to
the learning of a foreign language (see the Additional Language Learning goals). In this case,
however, because of the sheer scope of all the different languages learned across the IMYC
network, it was not practical to develop language-specific tasks. Similar to the above, we
recommend that teachers still support students to find links between the content of their
language-learning and the Big Idea, as well as to take part in the Entry and Exit Points.
English Language Arts and the IMYC
The IMYC approach to English Language Arts is specifically designed around Learning Goals
that identify the developmental aspects of Language Arts. These relate to students’ ability
to use their speaking, listening and writing as a means of communication and their reading
as a means of research and pleasure. Consequently, the tasks were not developed to cover
formal grammatical rules. When designing the tasks for English Language Arts for a unit,
we specifically reduced the time needed to complete the set tasks in order to leave time for
teachers to include their own tasks on grammar.

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Learning with the IMYC
Introduction
Learning with the IMYC is structured through six-week units, based around the concept of the
‘Big Idea’. An example is: “Things are more stable when different elements are in the correct
or best possible proportions”.
■■ Students study nine different subject disciplines in their subject classes, which include
subject-specific assessment. Importantly, they link the learning in their different subjects
through the Big Idea, considering what they are learning from a personal and global
perspective.
■■ They reflect regularly by responding to structured questions. This process is called
‘Reflective Journaling’, or just ‘Journaling’, and it is designed to help students to formulate
and develop a personal and conceptual understanding of the subject knowledge and skills
that they’re learning about, based around the Big Idea.
■■ At the end of each six week unit, as part of the Exit Point, students then work individually
or in small groups to present a piece of work to their classmates, parents or whole school.
This will usually be in the form of a Media Project that reflects their own thinking on the
Big Idea. This provides students with the opportunity to express themselves through a
creative medium, as well as to practise and improve their presentation and technological
skills.
■■ Students in IMYC schools all over the world are producing powerful, thought-provoking
and creative media projects, inspired by a Big Idea, on such topics as the Everglades, art in
Chicago, cyberbullying and global warming.
The IMYC Learning Goals
The way that the IMYC defines the Learning Goals (or the learning that we think students
need) may differ from the way that other curricula define their goals in some very important
ways. This is due to the fact that we hold the following beliefs:
■■ There should be a distinction between goals for knowledge, skills and understanding
■■ Learning must respond to the current and future personal needs of students. For example:
the particular needs of the adolescent brain, their future career needs, and the needs of the
varied societies and cultural groups in which they are likely to play a part.
■■ Learning needs to be proactive, in the sense that students must actively engage with their
learning. For students aged 11–14, this means that learning which is relevant to the future
must be placed in a context that is meaningful and connected to their present lives, and
that is relevant to their particular stage of development.
■■ Students need to share the responsibility for their learning with their teachers, parents and
caregivers. The proportion of responsibility that each stakeholder bears will depend on the

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age and characteristics of the student. Nevertheless, learning must be constructed in such
a way that, by the end of the middle years (11–14), students feel increasingly confident
about taking responsibility for their own rigorous learning.
■■ You will find that in the Assessment for Learning Programme, for example, we provide
students with rubrics outlined in appropriate language, in order to facilitate them take
ownership and responsibility for their learning.
■■ The IMYC has a simple but comprehensive learning structure. Everything is based on
clearly-defined Learning Goals that lay out the subjects, personal and international
knowledge, skills, and understandings that students need at different stages of their early
secondary or middle years education.
The IMYC
Learning Goals
Personal Learning Goals
The personal goals refer to
those individual qualities and
dispositions we believe students will
find essential in the 21st century.
There are eight IMYC personal
dispositions: enquiry, resilience, morality,
communication, thoughtfulness,
co-operation, respect and adaptability.
Opportunities to experience and practice
these very specific
dispositions built into the
learning tasks within each
unit of work.
Subject Learning Goals
The subject goals cover the
knowledge, skills and understanding that
students should learn in Language Arts,
Science, History, Geography, ICT & Computing,
Technology, Music, Art, PE. Tasks that enable
students to reach these learning goals are
built into the units of work supporting
students to link their learning through the Big
Idea and allowing students to talk about their
learning through multiple perspectives.
International Learning Goals
The IMYC is unique in defining learning
goals that help students move towards
an increasingly sophisticated national,
international, global and intercultural
perspectives on the world around them,
whilst developing the capacity to take
action and make a difference.
The IMYC Learning Goals are defined for each subject that contributes to one or more of the
IMYC units. The IMYC states explicitly which of the Learning Goals will be covered in each
subject section of each unit. One of the features of the IMYC is that activities have been
designed to support only those Learning Goals that can effectively be linked to the Big Idea
for the unit.

13
By using the Learning Goals, teachers will know the broad learning outcomes for their subject
within each unit. They will be able to check if the Learning Goals that they ‘need’ to include
are being covered within your school’s choice of units. The Route Planner (available in the
IMYC Members’ Lounge) will do this automatically, and each teacher will then be able to
make their own decisions about how they will cover any that are outstanding.
Every IMYC Learning Goal is a speciﬁc statement of what students should ‘know’,‘be able to
do’, or develop an ‘understanding’ of, for specific subject disciplines, International Mindedness
and personal dispositions.
See the Members’ Lounge for a full list of all the IMYC Learning Goals.
■■ Subject Learning Goals: The IMYC contains Learning Goals for each subject of the
curriculum. When defining the subject Learning Goals, we looked at curricula from many
different countries around the world. The Learning Goals of the IMYC are broadly in line
with most of those curricula of the appropriate subject discipline.
■■ Personal Goals: The IMYC has eight personal dispositions (attributes or skills): adaptability,
communication, cooperation, enquiry, morality, resilience, respect and thoughtfulness.
Efforts towards developing these personal qualities and learning dispositions should be
reﬂected in the whole curriculum and in all other aspects of school life.
■■ International Goals: The IMYC has written a set of international goals, which teachers are
encouraged to develop consistently and at every opportunity. See the Members’ Lounge
for the document,‘Global issues addressed in IMYC units’, for a summary of global issues
covered by tasks in the IMYC.
Personal dispositions: what kind of students are we helping to
develop?
All of the learning that students experience in a school defines, in some way, the kind of
person that that school is helping to develop. Schools that ask their students to sit in rows,
mainly listen to their teachers, and do not allow them to make any decisions of their own, will
inevitably develop a different kind of person to one developed in schools that take a different
view of teaching and learning.
The IMYC believes that 21st century students are most likely to succeed if they:
■■ Have learned appropriate knowledge, engaged practically in learning appropriate subject
and life skills, and have been able to reflect in ways that enable them to develop their
understanding of key issues and ideas
■■ Are able to see the connections between the different kinds of learning in which they
engage and the subject discipline of that learning, and are able to see that the world exists
independently and interdependently at the same time
■■ Know what it is to learn rigorously, habitually reflecting on their learning and embracing
the struggle to improve
■■ Are engaged and excited by their learning – dare we say that they enjoy their learning? –
so that they want to continue to be learners throughout their lives

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■■ Are able to appreciate the views and ideas of others – in their own group, in the wider
society in which they live, and across the world
■■ Have and develop a number of key personal attributes and skills (dispositions) that enable
them to respond to the world that they live in
Throughout their study of the IMYC, and all other aspects of their lives, students learn the
personal and social skills that they need in order to develop into healthy and productive
citizens of the world.
Students learn about the personal qualities of:
■■ Enquiry
■■ Adaptability
■■ Resilience
■■ Morality
■■ Communication
■■ Thoughtfulness
■■ Cooperation
■■ Respect
Efforts towards achieving these goals should be reflected in the whole curriculum and in all
other aspects of school life. To a large extent, they are assumed in the subject goals, so these
Personal Goals are, in effect, largely a summary of the personal outcomes of student learning.
By their nature, Personal Goals are not age-specific. They apply to students – and adults – of
all ages.
International Mindedness
As the principle of International Mindedness forms such an integral part of making the IMYC
a truly international curriculum, we feel it warrants its own section in the file.
What does it mean to be internationally minded?
In an interconnected global society, it is often claimed that one of the personal dispositions
that students need to survive in a changing world is to be ‘internationally minded’, usually for
the following reasons:
■■ Future jobs are increasingly likely to be found away from one’s home country
■■ The companies that students will work for may well be driven by cultures other than one’s
own culture
■■ Whether for travel, work or leisure, we will all increasingly come across different cultures
■■ Most of the world’s major problems are only going to be solved through international
cooperation

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All of the above points make for a compelling argument.
However, what is International Mindedness, and what does it mean for students, teachers, and
curriculum makers?
At the simplest level, we might say that it is about being at ease with people from other
cultures and with cultures different from our own. In fact, this may well do as a working
definition.
There are complexities, of course, and much of the discussion focuses around the level at
which we can describe someone as being ‘at ease’:
■■ Is it the ability or willingness to live alongside, but not integrate?
■■ Is it only when we are able to fully integrate into another culture?
■■ Is it only when one can fully empathise with people from different cultures?
There is also the issue of how crucial language-learning is to the development of
International Mindedness:
■■ Is it possible for me to ‘get’ cultures different from my own if I don’t speak the language
that plays a large part in revealing that culture?
■■ If it is important, what level of language proficiency do I need to have?
Howard Gardner has said that the process of human development is “a continuing decline
in egocentricity”. In other words, we develop from the tiny baby crying in the pram to the
‘terrible twos’, when we clearly demonstrate our awareness of the ‘other’, through parallel play
with children of our own age to our first ‘real’ friendship, and so on.
Gardner’s developmental ideas help us to see that International Mindedness – dealing as it
does with all of the differences within our own cultures magnified by the context of other
cultures – is somewhere towards the end of the process of our declining egocentricity.
It also helps us to realise that most 11–14 year-olds can only be at a relatively early stage of
International Mindedness although, importantly, they are still on the pathway of a growing
sense of the ‘other’ and a declining sense of their own egocentricity. However, it is worth
remembering that, as they struggle to make meaning for the first time, it often seems as
though a rising sense of their own egocentricity comes back into play for a whilst.
It is this growth of International Mindedness and decline of egocentricity that we need to
think about developing in schools. We need to think about helping our students to start by
working from the differences between individuals, families and other groupings familiar to
each student, and then about how to use these experiences to help them to come to terms
with the broader and more profound differences and similarities between their culture and
those of others who live in a world that is quite different (but no worse) to their own.
What is an International School?
Conventionally, a common answer to this question has been along the lines of “a school with
different nationalities” or “a school that is not situated in its ‘home’ country”. These answers
make a sort of sense on a superficial level. However, they don’t go deep enough. It is more

16
helpful to think about ‘internationally-minded’ schools, i.e. schools which build into the fabric
of their work opportunities for their students to experience different points of view and
different cultural approaches on an increasingly larger scale. Internationally-minded schools
encourage a growing critical awareness that enables students to increasingly see themselves
and others as ‘similar, different, but equal’.
This ‘similar, different, but equal’ approach is anything but woolly. It requires getting under
the skin of our similarities and differences and appreciating that we may be similarly or
differently ‘wrong’ as well as ‘right’.
Schools that are able to do this have their own characteristics. They demonstrate many
of the Personal Goals of the IMYC in their own daily practice. They are respectful, moral,
communicative, collaborative, and more. They work to create a culture in which ‘similar,
different, but equal’ is at the heart of everything that they do.
What is an International Curriculum?
In the IMYC, we have always claimed that we have done everything we can to embed
opportunities for students to develop International Mindedness into the curriculum. In
practice, this means that:
■■ Your students will work on their own, in pairs, in groups, and with the whole class, so that
they experience a different range of perspectives and intrapersonal and interpersonal
experiences on a regular basis.
■■ Your students will always learn through the immediate experience of their own culture
and environment, but not exclusively so. The IMYC provides many opportunities for your
students to look at issues through the lens of cultures and environments that are not their
own.
■■ The IMYC provides opportunities through its website and the Members’ Lounge for your
students to engage with students from other cultures around the world during their work.
■■ Your students are asked to think reflectively throughout the IMYC in order to foster their
developing understanding. These reflections are fostered not only through the journaling
that students do in each subject section but, critically, through the Exit Points in which your
students work collaboratively to represent their understanding of the Big Idea. Many of the
Big Ideas are themselves important elements of developing International Mindedness.
■■ Your students will be taught in a way that allows them to develop the personal qualities of
enquiry, adaptability, resilience, morality, communication, thoughtfulness, cooperation and
respect. These qualities should be reflected not only in the whole curriculum, but also in all
other aspects of school life.
The IMYC believes that International Mindedness is so crucial to the 21st century and the
personal and collective roles that our students will play out as they live their own lives that
we have given it the same prominence as we give Mathematics, Language Arts, and the other
subjects. We look forward to working with you and learning from you as we continue to create
opportunities for your students to develop further.

17
The IMYC types of learning: Knowledge, Skills and Understanding
The IMYC Learning Goals – academic, personal and international – form the foundation/
skeleton that the IMYC tasks were developed around. In order to fully understand the
Learning Goals, it is important to know that the IMYC believes that there are three types of
learning: knowledge, skills and understanding. Each has their own distinct characteristics
that impact on how they are planned for, learned, taught, assessed and reported on. We
believe that differentiating between them is crucial to the development of students’ learning,
and we therefore separate them in the Learning Goals. Therefore, the implications of these
differences are far-reaching and deserve proper consideration:
1. Knowledge: In the IMYC, ‘Knowledge’ refers to factual information. Knowledge is relatively
straightforward to teach and assess (through quizzes, tests, multiple choice, etc.), even if it
is not always that easy to recall. Knowledge is continually changing and expanding, which
creates a challenge for schools that have to choose what knowledge students should
know and learn in a restricted period of time. The knowledge content of the IMYC units
can be adapted to the requirements of any national curriculum.
2. Skills: In the IMYC, ‘Skills’ refer to things that students are able to do. Skills have to be
learned practically and need time to be practiced. The good news about skills is that
the more you practise them, the better you get! Skills are also transferable and tend to
be more stable than knowledge in almost all school subjects. For example, although
the equipment that scientists use may have changed over the past 200 years, the skills
needed remain largely the same. As we learn skills, we make a progression and, for
the IMYC, this progression takes the student from Beginning, through Developing, to
Mastering. Note that even ‘Mastering’ is not ‘mastery’. The reason that concert pianists and
professional golfers, for example, keep practising is that there is not an end point to the
development of skills.
3. Understanding: The IMYC agrees with the definition used in the famous book
Understanding by Design (Wiggens and McTighe, 2005) and sees understanding as “the
creation of a coherent schema through a combination of the acquisition of knowledge, the
practice and continual development of skills, and extended time for reflection”. It is often
experienced as a ‘aha’ moment – the moment in learning that we all strive for – but it
goes far beyond that, as learning always keeps on developing. None of us ever ‘gets there’,
so you cannot teach or control understanding. The IMYC unit tasks include journaling
questions that structure the students’ reflection on their learning and aim to support
developing understanding by linking back to the Big Idea. This creates the opportunity
for students to develop both subject and personal understanding. The Exit Point/Media
Project allows students to demonstrate their understanding and share the personal
meaning that they have made of their learning.
We believe knowledge, skills, and understanding act as a ‘wholearchy’, rather than a hierarchy,
with each different type of learning including and transcending the other. However, each does
have its own distinct characteristics, and it can be very powerful to ‘signpost’ to students what
kind of learning they are experiencing and what the implications of this are in the classroom.

18
The IMYC Learning Structure or Process of Learning
Exit
Point
Entry
Point
Knowledge
Harvest
The
Big Idea
Assessment
for
Learning
Reﬂective
Journaling
Learning
Activities
The structure of an IMYC unit
All of the 30 units have a consistent structure according to the IMYC process of learning. It is
important that learners do not just experience the structure and process of the IMYC, but also
that they understand why they are learning in this way. The subject tasks in each unit have
the following elements in common:
■■ The Big Idea forms the basis of the unit and is the concept that all learning will be linked
to
■■ The Entry Point is an introductory activity for students in each unit of work, providing an
exciting introduction to the work that is to follow. Entry Points can typically last from one
hour to a full day, depending on the activity and the school. In order to set the scene for
interlinking learning through the Big Idea, Entry Points should ideally be done with the
whole year group. Preferably, teachers will plan for Entry Points together, in order both to
develop the habit of collaborative planning and to foster a creative environment for the
following weeks that will be spent on the unit. (See the Members’ Lounge for examples of
Entry Points that schools have used)
■■ The Knowledge Harvest is the first formal learning activity in the IMYC Learning Cycle. The
purpose of the Knowledge Harvest is to give students an opportunity to share and display
what they already know about the Learning Goals within each subject section, the skills
that might be learned, and the deepening understanding that they may already be bringing
with them. Each subject teacher will conduct a Knowledge Harvest specific to their class,
set in the context of their own subject.
The Knowledge Harvest can be done in any variety of ways. For example: through class
discussion with the teacher, through discussion between groups of students and feedback
to the teacher and class, through knowledge tests or simple skills-based activities, etc.

19
The results of the Knowledge Harvest can be recorded in many different manual or
electronic forms, for example as a mind map, so that students can visibly see their learning
growing as they move through the unit. The Knowledge Harvest will happen in each class
as the first formal learning activity, and it is typically the first task for a subject.
■■ Subject tasks: Each unit of work has subject-specific tasks that teachers can use and adapt
to facilitate the students’ learning in order to reach the specific unit’s subject Learning
Goals. These tasks are designed around a ‘concept’ in the subject and are not designed to
be ‘lesson plans’ or to take the same time to finish. For example, Task 1, which is normally
a Knowledge Harvest, can take just one period (or even half of one) to complete, whilst
a task designed around practising a skill or discovering something could take more than
one period. Teachers that design their own tasks for their subject for whatever reason
should ideally follow the same task structure and teaching practice. Additionally, each IMYC
subject task has research activities and recording activities:
−− Research Activities: Research activities will always precede recording activities.
During research activities, students use a variety of methods and work in different
group sizes to research a topic, find out information, or practise certain skills.
The structure was designed to allow students to be exposed to enquiry-based
learning and take responsibility for their own learning.
−− Recording Activities: During the recording activities, students interpret the
learning that they have had and have the opportunity to demonstrate, share and
explain their learning in different ways
■■ Reflective Journaling: As above. The IMYC sees understanding as the “creation of a coherent
schema through a combination of the acquisition of knowledge, the practice and continual
development of skills, and extended time for reflection”
In every unit, the last activity for a subject contains a set of journaling questions that
formally support student reflection. These are merely examples of questions that can be
used and should be adjusted to the language proficiency of your students. Some of the
questions may be around personal dispositions, whilst others will foster International
Mindedness by encouraging students to consider the perspectives of themselves, their
families and others throughout different activities. When adapting the questions, teachers
should follow the structure of questions about:
−− Subject concepts
−− Links to the Big Idea
−− Making personal meaning of their learning (dispositions and International
Mindedness)
Throughout each unit, students participate in daily or weekly journal writing. The primary
purpose of journal writing is to provide some initial reflection time for students to consider
the unit’s Theme and Big Idea through directive and orienting questions driven by the
activities in each unit.
Journaling can be done as class activity, as homework, or during homeroom or advisory
times, and it may help students to organise their Exit Point project.

20
■■ Exit Point: This is a key element in developing understanding over the three years. Each
of the IMYC units is written to be completed in about six weeks. During the sixth week,
teachers and students come together for an extended period of time in a ﬁnal formal
opportunity for students to demonstrate the understanding that they have developed
through a combined project, often called a Media Project. Over the six IMYC units within a
year, students will conceive, design and produce six Exit Point projects.
The hard work is in the thinking and planning that is at the heart of the Exit Point. They
could be involved in:
■■ Reviewing and reﬂecting on their personal learning in subjects, on meaning made during
the six weeks, and on links to the Big Idea
■■ Deciding how they can represent that meaning within the context of the particular
Media Project being attempted. The Media Project doesn’t necessarily have to be modern
media like Videos, Podcasts, Web Documents or PowerPoint Presentations. It could be
debates, dramas, extensive writing projects, magazine articles, cartoons, or many more.
As long as it is an engaging hands-on opportunity for students to demonstrate their
learning and deeper understanding in:
−− Subject concepts
−− Connecting subject learning through the Big Idea
−− Making personal meaning of their learning
−− Creating their individual or group project and publishing it, where appropriate.
As each student will experience their learning in a unique way, this activity will
be individual to the understanding each learner gained on a personal level, even
if the project is developed in a group. Often it will be generated by the ideas and
deeper understanding that is cultivated through the weekly journaling.
Assessment in the IMYC
We believe that students don’t always learn what we planned for them to learn, so it is
crucially important for us to figure out and gather evidence of their learning. The goal of
assessment should always be to help students to improve their learning, which is why we
focus on Assessment for Learning. This is true whether the teacher assesses knowledge
or skills, or evaluates understanding. Gaining knowledge, skills and understanding are all
different learning experiences, so we believe that they should be taught differently and
assessed differently.
■■ The IMYC does not provide examples of knowledge assessment (tests or exams) as it
was designed to be a flexible curriculum, allowing teachers to adapt both content and
assessment practices to suit their school, country and students. It is expected that schools
will define and implement their own knowledge assessment tools, but still assess for
learning, rather than for reporting.
■■ The IMYC supports skills tracking and assessment through the IMYC Assessment for
Learning (AfL) Programme. Please refer to the AfL Implementation File and the different

21
resources (rubrics and learning advice) for subjects in the ‘Assess’ tab on the Members’
Lounge for more details.
■■ The IMYC supports students to develop their understanding through the process of
‘Reflective Journaling’ and to demonstrate their understanding through the Exit Point.
Please see the AfL Implementation File for more information about how to do this. It will
require careful planning to make sure that students’ understanding progresses during the
six-week period of learning – whilst avoiding falling into the trap of assessing students’
skills – and never moving on to the evaluating understanding developed. Proper systems
for giving feedback – whether it is coming from teachers, peers or parents – need to be
developed by every school. There are some examples of ways schools have used these to
ensure rigorous feedback on the ‘Teach’ tab on the Members’ Lounge.
The IMYC Assessment for Learning Programme
The IMYC AfL Programme helps to track students’ skills over time, enables and encourages
peer assessment, and provides tools and guidance to help you to improve your students
learning, rather than simply recording their skill level.
Please see the AfL Implementation file for resources and more information.

22
Getting Started: Implementing the IMYC
Introduction
In the following section, we will give some advice to leaders and teachers as to how to
implement the IMYC successfully in your school. As more and more schools become IMYC
members, we are developing more knowledge and understanding of the issues connected
with introducing the IMYC into your school.
This section of the file looks at some of those issues and offers advice based on the many
conversations and in-school experiences we have had with member schools.
Implementation of a new curriculum is a major change for many schools, and the planning
process and the leading and managing of change are essential ingredients for success. The
model below shows the six stages of implementation:
1. Discover the issues
2. Address the issues
3. Plan professional learning and development opportunities
4. Implement
5. Gather feedback
6. Analyse feedback
7. Begin a refined implementation process
Discover the
curriculum
issues in your
schools
Address the
issues
Plan
professional
learning and
development
opportunities
Implement
Begin again to
deepen the
process
Analyse
feedback
Gather
feedback

23
What are the implications for stakeholders?
What will stay the same?
1. School structure: The IMYC was designed to be used with a ‘normal’ secondary school
structure, i.e. subject-specific teaching and learning, allocating the same amount of time
to each subject as in a more traditional curriculum.
2. Subject teaching: Teachers are still responsible for ensuring that the students know
what they should know, are able to do what is expected, and understand the necessary
subject concepts and principles that they will need for the next phase of their learning.
This includes making sure that they learned what we planned for them to learn. The
IMYC supports teachers with the AfL Programme to track subject skills for every year
and over the three years.
3. Reporting to parents and stakeholders: The IMYC does not involve itself in how schools
choose to report to parents on their child’s progress, as different countries expect
different kinds of reporting. We encourage schools to use all assessment for improving
students’ learning (subject, personal and international) and the AfL Programme enables
schools to report on skills progression in their preferred way.
What may need some adjustment?
1. Time for teacher collaboration: The IMYC encourages schools to set apart time
specifically for teacher collaboration and planning. For example, enough time to plan
together for Entry and Exit Points should be built into your schedule, and teachers
should agree on how they will use and implement Reflective Journaling.
2. Time for students to take part in activities around Entry Points, to reflect on and
make personal meaning of their learning, and to plan and present their Exit Points:
Many schools make use of pre-existing group activities in the timetable, for example
assemblies, tutor times, etc.
What do leaders and teachers need to know?
Advice for school leaders
■■ Make sure that you understand the principles that the IMYC is built on and that you
agree with them. This is especially important regarding the belief that improving student
learning should be the main goal or – as it is called in the Looking for Learning Toolkit –
the ‘hedgehog concept’ of the school. This means that improving student learning is the
principle around which we make all our decisions and drives all our actions.
■■ Appoint an ‘IMYC Curriculum Leader’ that will drive the implementation of the IMYC. It is
important that this person is empowered to implement the necessary changes, as well as
to have the capacity to support teachers with aspects of these changes.
■■ Be aware of the change in mindset that some teachers may experience in planning for
student learning, i.e. planning from a learning goal and not from content.

24
■■ Ensure rigour. Use supporting tools, like the Route Planner, to ensure that learning is
sufficient and appropriate for all students. .
■■ Allow enough time for rigorous planning. It is essential that teachers have the opportunity
to plan collaboratively. Our experience is that it can be a very creative process when a
whole group of teachers plan together for Entry and Exit Points, and it also shares the
responsibility between them.
■■ Invest in professional learning days at the school. We recommend allowing at least two
days to support all teachers in understanding the principles, goals, and philosophies
behind the design of the IMYC, and why it is structured in a particular way.
■■ Provide time for students to plan and present their Media Projects to an audience, take part
in the Entry Points, and reflect on their learning.
The IMYC has developed systems and tools that will support the successful implementation
of the IMYC, of which this document is the first. Other very important documents and tools
are:
■■ The IMYC Self-Review Process: The IMYC Self-Review Process is now available for all
member schools to help with improving learning in their school. It has been written
in close collaboration with IMYC schools, and will help schools to embed the nine key
principles of the IMYC– the ‘Bottom Line Nine’. We believe that they are the nine non-
negotiables that underpin the successful implementation of the IMYC. The IMYC Self-
Review Process should become a school improvement tool from the beginning of the IMYC
implementation, as this will ensure that the IMYC is much more than just a curriculum. It is
a philosophy, pedagogy, and process that can help learners, teachers and the community to
continually focus on improving learning
■■ The IMYC Members’ Lounge: This is where schools can find everything that they need,
including the IMYC Learning Goals, the subject tasks, Assessment for Learning rubrics, and
the Route Planner for subject planning.
■■ The AfL Implementation File: This file is available on the Members’ Lounge and clearly sets
out IMYC views on assessment and associated resources.
Specific Advice for the IMYC Curriculum Leader:
1. Take responsibility for leading the IMYC: Make sure that you lead and support teachers
to plan in a rigorous way in order to ensure full subject coverage, support the needs
of the adolescent brain, take responsibility for the students’ learning (subject, personal
and international), and assess students’ learning.
2. Choose your units: Decide how many units you plan to use over a year, and choose the
ones you want to use for every year group. Our experience is that it is a good idea to
involve teachers in this process. Once the units and the order have been agreed, the
IMYC Curriculum Leader should ‘publish’ the route plan that the school will use. This
then becomes a ‘fixed’ plan for the year. We don’t recommend changing units through
the year as it may undermine rigorous planning.
3. Spend time with all teachers: Support them with planning and implementation.

25
Advice for teachers
1. Plan the learning for your subject for the whole year
We recommend that teachers plan for the IMYC on a yearly basis for each age group, and
then plan for each unit in more detail after that. We have designed a simple flow-diagram
to illustrate the process, which includes the necessary steps to ensure coverage in a specific
subject, planning opportunities for assessment, and the planning of activities to help students
to achieve the relevant Learning Goals.
Subject Planning for the IMYC
Plan for the whole year
Repeat the process
until you have allocated
all the IMYC Learning
Goals to a Big Idea
Make a note
Remind yourself to
adjust the tasks in the
unit to reach this goal
Choose your six units
for the year group
Draw a report
Which IMYC Learning
Goals are not covered?
Choose the Big Idea
that links easily to the
IMYC Learning Goals
not covered
Repeat for your
country’s national
curriculum
Now plan for assessment
How will I know that
students learned what I
planned for them to learn?
Plan for a unit
Make sure you cover the
goals you planned for
Adjust the unit tasks or
create new ones
Remember to link to
the Big Idea and help
students reﬂect on their
learning
Help the students learn

26
When referring to the diagram:
■■ Decide on the units that you will be using over the year for the relevant stage (M1, M2 or
M3) using the IMYC Route Planner. This will provide an overview of when and where the
different IMYC Learning Goals are and are not covered. For the Learning Goals that are not
covered by your choice of units, study the Big Ideas and identify which of these naturally
link to the missing Learning Goals.
■■ Add any missing Learning Goals to the subject goals covered in that particular unit, and
make a note to develop or adjust tasks to reach this goal
■■ Cross-reference the IMYC Learning Goals with your national or local requirements. Any
learning goals that are not covered can be added to the most appropriate units in the same
ways as above. This will provide you with a detailed annual plan of which Learning Goals
will be covered and in which unit over the year.
■■ Plan for your range of different assessments, identifying the opportunities within different
units for you to make sure the students have learned what you had planned for them to
learn
2. Plan for Assessment: how do we know that the students have learned what we planned for
them to learn?
Once you have identified the different Learning Goals for your subject, it is important to
plan for assessment over the whole year. The IMYC believes that knowledge, skills and
understanding are very different learning experiences, or learning types, and should therefore
be planned for, taught, learned, assessed and reported on differently. Assessment needs to be
balanced but rigorous in order to ensure that the students have learned what we intended.

27
The diagram below illustrates the processes that you may want to follow to ensure this happens.
Plan learning and
identify the
Learning Goals
that you will
assess.
Knowledge (K).
Skills (S).
Understanding (U).
KNOWLEDGE
Plan when exams
and tests will be
set for your
subject to assess
the knowledge
Learning Goals
covered in the
SKILLS
Plan for skills
practice and
opportunities to
assess and track
progress in each
key skill using the
IMYC AfL rubrics.
UNDERSTANDING
Plan to evaluate
Exit Points. How
will you evaluate
personal
understanding
linked to the Big
Idea?
KNOWLEDGE
Record, track and
report
‘performance’ in
line with your
school systems.
The IMYC Online
Assessment
Tracking Tool,
developed in
partnership with
Classroom Monitor,
will also be able to
SKILLS
Record, track and
report student
progress across
beginning,
developing and
mastering through
M1–M3 using the
IMYC Online
Assessment
Tracking Tool,
developed in
partnership with
SKILLS
Create scoring
rubrics for task
speciﬁc activities.
Track and report
with school based
system or the IMYC
Online Assessment
Tracking Tool,
developed in
partnership with
Classroom Monitor.
UNDERSTANDING
Peer and teacher
feedback. Used to
inform discussion
with students and
parents of the
students’ personal
understanding
gained.
3. Plan your first unit (lesson planning)
Having ensured that students will have the opportunity to achieve all of the Learning Goals
and outcomes that you have identified, and having considered how you will know whether
the students have learned what you planned for them to learn, it is time to plan the activities
that will facilitate these.
Use the tasks provided in the IMYC units as they are, or adapt them to the country or school’s
needs. Teachers may have to write one or two tasks that will cover some of the country’s
specific statutory learning goals or standards.

28
Implementation timeline
Begin with the end in mind: the IMYC Self-Review Process
The end of implementing the IMYC– or at least, the first end – is probably about three years
away. We developed the IMYC Self-Review Process in order to give schools clear direction
of the aims of the IMYC. After three years of successful IMYC implementation, we should be
seeing the following:
■■ Students’ learning will have improved, their personal qualities developed, and their
international awareness and understanding will be greater than it might have been
otherwise
■■ Teachers will be using a variety of classroom strategies, alongside the latest research into
learning, to optimise the conditions for learning in their classrooms
■■ The IMYC will have become embedded in the school. It will be the focus of much teacher
talk, parent interaction, and pride. It will represent ‘the way that we do things around here’;
the culture and ethos of the school.
■■ Parents and board members will have a high degree of confidence in the support the IMYC
provides to teachers and leaders
However, getting there takes time and planning.
We advise schools to use the IMYC Self-Review Process – available to download from
the IMYC Members’ Lounge – as soon as they start implementing the IMYC. This gives all
stakeholders – whether learners, teachers, leaders or members of the community– a view of
the final vision. It helps schools to embed and develop the curriculum across nine key areas
of the IMYC (the ‘Bottom Line Nine’).
Michael Fullan’s three key lessons of change
The Canadian educator and writer, Michael Fullan, is a well-known expert on leading and
managing change in education. His seminal book, Leading in a Culture of Change (Fullan,
2001), has been used by schools all over the world to help them to lead the complexities of
major change in their schools. It is worth keeping three of his lessons in mind throughout
the implementation process, as they are likely to prepare you well for leading change, even
through the frustrating times.

29
They are:
■■ Expect an implementation dip
However much people want something to happen, the difficulty of introducing something
new compared to what we were familiar with can, at some point, cause a downturn. The
trick is to work through the downturn towards the point when things start to improve.
Grumbles in the early stages are not an indication of failure – they are normal reactions to
change.
■■ If something can be misunderstood, it will be
If students construct their own knowledge and understandings, then so do teachers,
leaders, learners and the community. Keep in mind that everything new has to compete
with everything that has gone before it. It is unlikely that colleagues and others are
going to understand everything first – or even second time – however well-planned your
message.
■■ Ready... Fire ...Aim
Fullan reminds us that the traditional Ready ... Aim ... Fire is fine when issues are simple.
But when issues are complex, change is only possible by continual reference to a feedback
loop of information, followed by refocusing.
In practice, as Fullan advises, be as ready as you can, and then begin. Don’t wait until you
have crossed every ‘t’ and dotted every ‘i’. It will never happen. Begin, get feedback, refocus,
and begin again further down the track. Or, as Samuel Beckett the playwright once put it:
“try, fail, try again, fail better”.
The IMYC Self-Review Process can be a great help as a tool to be used in this feedback
loop. By encouraging all stakeholders in the schools to reflect on where they are currently
(‘Beginning’,‘Developing’ or ‘Mastering’) across the nine key criteria of the IMYC (the ‘Bottom
Line Nine’), it can help them to decide together on which areas they need to concentrate
on as a school. It has been used by many schools as a tool for them to plan their short-,
medium- and long-term school improvement plans successfully.
The stages of implementation
1. Before implementation
■■ Make sure that all of the stakeholders in the school – teachers, leaders, parents, students,
etc,– are provided with information about the IMYC, including the philosophy behind it and
its practical implementation.
■■ Allow enough time for teachers to do rigorous and collaborative planning.
■■ Invest in professional learning days at the school. We recommend at least two days to
support all teachers in understanding the principles, goals and philosophies behind the
design of the IMYC, and why it is structured in a particular way.

30
2.The first full year
During this first full year, we advise leaders, including Curriculum Leaders, to visit classrooms
as often as possible in order to support teachers during the implementation process,
collaborating with them to ensure that the philosophy, pedagogy and process of the IMYC is
in place.
■■ Teachers should increase their knowledge and understanding of the philosophy behind the
IMYC, and practise their skills of implementing the IMYC Process of Learning. For example:
linking all learning to the Big Idea, helping students to develop (or maintain) the habit
of looking for links in their learning, making personal meaning of all learning (subject,
personal, and international, etc).
■■ Students should be supported to take personal responsibility for their own learning and
progress.
■■ By this stage of using the IMYC, your community will be hearing about the IMYC from the
students. Near the beginning of this school year, hold a meeting for the community, and
support any families starting later in the year by running follow-up meetings. Do not try
to do too much at any single meeting. Make sure that the main focus is on improving
learning. When the members of the community cannot attend these meetings, make sure
that your newsletters and school website continue to contain regular mentions of the IMYC
and the learning that is taking place.
3. Year 3 and onwards – becoming more focused on improving learning
By Year 3, everyone in the school should be getting used to the philosophy, pedagogy and
process of the IMYC. Implementation, as we know, is a continual process, so there are still new
things that you can do in Year 3 to continue this process. For example, think about how to
introduce new board members, colleagues and families to the IMYC.
We encourage schools to reflect on the IMYC and its implementation continuously, but the
third year might be the opportunity to reflect on applying for formal accreditation for the
school using the IMYC Self-Review Process.
Accreditation can be an excellent opportunity for teachers and leaders to share their learning
with other schools.

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Appendix A: The IMYC Learning goals
Part 1: Subject learning goals
1. ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE/MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Students will:
1.1 Know that foreign language learning enhances and reinforces their knowledge of
other disciplines
1.2 Be able to communicate, ask for and give information and opinions, express
feelings and emotions, and share preferences
1.3 Be able to understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of
topics
1.4 Be able to present information, concepts and ideas to an audience of listeners or
readers on a variety of topics
1.5 Be able to use the language both within and beyond the school setting
1.6 Be able to show evidence of becoming lifelong learners by using the language for
personal enjoyment and enrichment
1.7 Develop an understanding of the relationship between the practices and
perspectives of the culture studied
1.8 Develop an understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of the
language studied and their own
1.9 Develop an understanding of the concept of culture by comparing and contrasting
the culture of the language studied and their own
1.10 Develop an understanding for the distinctive viewpoints that are only available
through the foreign language and its cultures
2. ART
Students will:
2.1 Know that the study of art is concerned with visual, tactile and personal
expression used to share and express emotions, ideas and values
2.2 Know the contributions and impacts of various artists in different countries and
how their work influenced or was influenced by society
2.3 Know how art, history and culture are interrelated and reflected through one
another over time

32
2.4 Be able to recognise influential artists from particular countries, genres or periods
and the pieces of art they produced
2.5 Be able to evidence how artists, craftspeople and designers from a variety of
traditions from around the world use materials, forms and techniques to express
their feelings, observations and experiences
2.6 Be able to use the elements of art and principles of design to discuss and critique
works of art showing understanding, respect and enjoyment as appropriate
2.7 Be able to create an original work of art using a variety of processes, materials,
tools and media to express their ideas, thoughts, emotions and views of the world
2.8 Be able to create art to achieve a particular purpose so that the idea goes beyond
art being exclusively for self-expression and creativity
2.9 Be able to evaluate their initial artistic products and adjust the work to better suit
their expression
2.10 Be able to describe works of art in terms of meaning, design, materials, technique,
place and time
2.11 Begin to develop an understanding of the benefits, limitations and consequences
of visual communication media around the world such as film, the Internet, print,
television and video
2.12 Begin to develop an understanding of how artists are influenced by their
background and experience and that they in turn affect others through their work
3. GEOGRAPHY
Students will:
3.1 Know that the study of geography is concerned with places and environments in
the world
3.2 Know about the main physical and human features and environmental issues in
particular localities
3.3 Know about the varying geographical patterns and physical processes of different
places
3.4 Know about the geography, weather and climate of particular localities
3.5 Know about the similarities and differences between particular localities
3.6 Know how the features of particular localities influence the nature of human
activities within them
3.7 Know about recent and proposed changes in particular localities
3.8 Know how people and their actions affect the environment and physical features
of a place
3.9 Know the relationship between weather, climate and environmental features

33
3.10 Know how the weather and climate affect, and are affected by, human behaviour
3.11 Know how the geography of a region shapes economic development
3.12 Know how the combination of the geographical, environmental and economic
features of a region impact human distribution patterns
3.13 Be able to use and interpret globes, maps, atlases, photographs, computer models
and satellite images in a variety of scales
3.14 Be able to make plans and maps using a variety of scales, symbols and keys
3.15 Be able to describe geographic locations using standard measures
3.16 Be able to use appropriate geographical vocabulary to describe and interpret their
surroundings as well as other countries and continents
3.17 Be able to explain how geographical features and phenomena impact economic
interactions between countries and regions
3.18 Be able to explain the relationships between the physical characteristics and
human behaviours that shape a region
3.19 Be able to use maps in a variety of scales to locate the position, geographical
features and social environments of other countries and continents to gain an
understanding of daily life
3.20 Be able to explain how physical and human processes lead to similarities and
differences between places
3.21 Be able to explain how places and people are interdependently linked through the
movement of goods and people
3.22 Develop an understanding of how localities are affected by natural features and
processes
3.23 Develop an understanding of how and why people seek to manage and sustain
their environment
4. HISTORY
Students will:
4.1 Know the characteristic features of particular periods and societies
4.2 Know that the study of history is concerned with the past in relation to the present
4.3 Know the history of the periods being studied
4.4 Know about the ideas, beliefs, attitudes and experiences of people in the past
4.5 Know about the social, cultural, religious and ethnic diversity of the periods
studied
4.6 Be able to use historical terms associated with the periods they have studied

34
4.7 Be able to enquire into historical questions and their effects on people’s lives
4.8 Be able to describe how the countries studied have responded to the conflicts,
social changes, political changes and economic developments that represent their
history
4.9 Be able to describe aspects of the past from a range of sources
4.10 Be able to describe and identify the causes for and the results of historical events,
situations and changes in the periods they have studied
4.11 Be able to describe and make links between the main events, situations and
changes both within and across periods
4.12 Be able to describe how the history of the countries studied affects the lives of the
people who live there now
4.13 Be able to describe how the history of one country affects that of another
4.14 Be able to select and record information relevant to a historical topic
4.15 Be able to place the events, people and changes in the periods they have studied
into a chronological framework
4.16 Be able to describe how certain aspects of the past have been represented and
interpreted in different ways
4.17 Develop an understanding of how historical sources can be different from and
contradict one another and that they reflect their context of time, place and
viewpoint
4.18 Develop an understanding for how contradicting views of power, morality and
religion lead to local and global cooperation and conflicts
5. GEOGRAPHY
Students will:
5.1 Know that the study of geography is concerned with places and environments in
the world
5.2 Know about the main physical and human features and environmental issues in
particular localities
5.3 Know about the varying geographical patterns and physical processes of different
places
5.4 Know about the geography, weather and climate of particular localities
5.5 Know about the similarities and differences between particular localities
5.6 Know how the features of particular localities influence the nature of human
activities within them
5.7 Know about recent and proposed changes in particular localities

35
5.8 Know how people and their actions affect the environment and physical features
of a place
5.9 Know the relationship between weather, climate and environmental features
5.10 Know how the weather and climate affect, and are affected by, human behaviour
5.11 Know how the geography of a region shapes economic development
5.12 Know how the combination of the geographical, environmental and economic
features of a region impact human distribution patterns
5.13 Be able to use and interpret globes, maps, atlases, photographs, computer models
and satellite images in a variety of scales
5.14 Be able to make plans and maps using a variety of scales, symbols and keys
5.15 Be able to describe geographic locations using standard measures
5.16 Be able to use appropriate geographical vocabulary to describe and interpret their
surroundings as well as other countries and continents
5.17 Be able to explain how geographical features and phenomena impact economic
interactions between countries and regions
5.18 Be able to explain the relationships between the physical characteristics and
human behaviours that shape a region
5.19 Be able to use maps in a variety of scales to locate the position, geographical
features and social environments of other countries and continents to gain an
understanding of daily life
5.20 Be able to explain how physical and human processes lead to similarities and
differences between places
5.21 Be able to explain how places and people are interdependently linked through the
movement of goods and people
5.22 Develop an understanding of how localities are affected by natural features and
processes
5.23 Develop an understanding of how and why people seek to manage and sustain
their environment
6. ICT and Computing:
Digital Literacy
Students will:
6.1 Know that the study of ICT and Computing is concerned with designing and
applying technology to gather, use and exchange information
6.2 Know about different ways to find and identify credible and respected digital
resources, and how to cite digital sources in their work

36
6.3 Know how to protect their online identity, privacy and safety and avoid undesirable
contact, content and other threats (such as malicious software)
6.4 Know about digital footprints and online reputations; including how to control,
protect and develop a positive online identity
6.5 Be able to select and use technology and the internet safely, responsibly,
respectfully, creatively and competently, for a range of purposes and audiences
6.6 Be able to manipulate, combine and present different forms of information from
different sources in an organised and efficient way
6.7 Develop an understanding of the responsibilities and repercussions of online
behaviour, including issues associated with netiquette, cyberbullying, privacy and
ethical issues
Digital Science
Students will:
6.8 Be able to plan, develop, test and refine programs which include functions and
procedures, in order to solve a range of computational problem
6.9 Be able to solve a range of problems by applying different algorithms and
identifying the most effective according to purpose and outcome
6.10 Be able to interpret and apply Boolean logic; using and applying operators in
searches, circuits and programs
6.11 Be able to make a simple computer or a model of one, explaining how data is
stored and programs are executed
6.12 Develop an understanding of how many different types of data can be stored
digitally, in the form of binary digits; and be able to perform calculations using the
binary system
6.13 Develop an understanding of how the internet, the World Wide Web and Cloud
computing function, and how they facilitate communication and creativity
Digital Tools
Students will:
6.14 Know how to produce and edit text, image, audio, and video. Recognise an
increasing range of different file types, and how these can be converted for
different purposes.
6.15 Be able to communicate effectively using a range of digital tools including online
environments
6.16 Be able to evaluate digital tools analytically, identifying and using appropriate
hardware and software to solve a variety of problems
6.17 Be able to use ICT to plan and control events, including using digital technologies
to sense a range of physical data and program physical events

37
6.18 Be able to gather and interrogate information by framing questions appropriately
6.19 Be able to interpret their findings and identify whether their findings are valid
6.20 Develop an understanding that the quality of information affects the results of any
enquiry
6.21 Develop an understanding of how digital tools can be applied analytically to solve
problems by designing, creating and using computer models, e.g. 3D design using
computer assisted design software, gaming software and spreadsheets to create
simulations
Digital Design
Students will:
6.22 Know how to apply design principles when developing computer models and
programs
6.23 Be able to design, write and debug computer programs in two or more
programming languages (e.g. Python, Ruby, PHP, HTML)
6.24 Be able to design, create, use and evaluate creative digital solutions for authentic
purposes, considering the end-user
6.25 Develop an understanding of the user-centered design process and apply this in
practice when creating digital content
7. LANGUAGE ARTS
Students will:
Speaking and Listening
7.1 Be able to play a variety of roles in group discussions by reading required material
and being prepared
7.2 Be able to ask and answer questions to obtain clarification and elaboration with
relevant evidence
7.3 Be able to integrate strategies and tools such as multimedia to enhance listening
comprehension and add interest
7.4 Be able to use the content, intention and perspective of what is said to them in a
variety of situations
7.5 Be able to convey information, experiences, arguments and opinions clearly and
confidently when speaking to others
7.6 Be able to use appropriate vocabulary in speech
7.7 Be able to analyse the purpose and motivation of the information presented
7.8 Be able to use spoken language that is appropriate to the situation and purpose

38
Reading
7.9 Be able to read and comprehend for different purposes including stories, dramas,
poems and literature
7.10 Be able to use a variety of strategies to understand meaning
7.11 Be able to determine the theme of a text and its relationship to plot, setting and
characters
7.12 Be able to cite evidence that supports explicit and inferred meaning from the text
7.13 Be able to distinguish between fact and fiction
7.14 Be able to compare and contrast information from a variety of texts to understand
how it affects meaning and style
7.15 Be able to read for pleasure and enjoyment
7.16 Develop an understanding for how meaning is constructed using word choice, tone
and timing
Writing
7.17 Be able to write in a range of different forms appropriate for their purpose and
readers
7.18 Be able to write narratives to communicate real or imagined events using
descriptive details and event sequences
7.19 Be able to write arguments to support claims using evidence from texts and
research from credible sources
7.20 Be able to write informative or explanatory texts to examine a topic and share
ideas in an organised manner
7.21 Be able to use writing to organise thoughts, experiences, emotions and
preferences
7.22 Be able to write short reports to answer a question
7.23 Be able to use a range of strategies and tools for planning, drafting and revising
their writing
7.24 Be able to write neatly and legibly
Language Awareness
7.25 Know the rules for grammatical construction and usage
7.26 Know the rules for spelling, punctuation and capitalisation
7.27 Be able to recognise the devices used by an author to accomplish a purpose
7.28 Be able to recognise different forms, genres and themes

39
7.29 Be able to explain and describe the main features, ideas, themes, events,
information and characters in a text
7.30 Be able to recognise and use figures of speech
7.31 Be able to recognise and use descriptive language
7.32 Be able to recognise and use literal language
7.33 Be able to recognise and use different forms, styles and genres
7.34 Be able to recognise and use different linguistic conventions
7.35 Develop an understanding that language is used differently in different situations
7.36 Develop an understanding that language and the way it is used affects the
relationships between people
7.37 Develop an understanding that there are cultural differences between the way
language is used by different people and in different situations
7.38 Develop an understanding that the meaning of language can be influenced by
the situation, form, unexpressed intentions, physical posture, facial expression and
gestures
7.39 Develop an understanding that forms of communication benefit from the
application of rules
Drama
7.40 Know that everyone has a creative side
7.41 Be able to improvise a play, using the roles, situation and elements of a story
7.42 Be able to perform a scripted play
7.43 Be able to make use of voice, language, posture, movement and facial expression
7.44 Be able to make use of scenery, stage properties, costume and make-up
7.45 Be able to evaluate their own performance and that of others
7.46 Be able to respond to a performance identifying the key elements and Devices
8. MATHEMATICS
Students will:
Using Mathematics
8.1 Know examples of how mathematics is used in everyday life and by whom
8.2 Be able to apply mathematics in real life situations

40
Numbers and Algebra
8.3 Be able to solve problems using fractions, decimals and percentages
8.4 Be able to represent quantitative relationships using ratios and proportions
8.5 Be able to use exponential, scientific and calculator notation
8.6 Be able to solve problems using prime numbers, factors, prime factorisation and
multiples
8.7 Be able to simplify computations involving integers, fractions and decimals using
the associative and commutative properties of addition and multiplication
8.8 Be able to use tables, graphs, words and symbolic representations to represent and
analyse general patterns of data, particularly linear relationships
8.9 Be able to identify and differentiate linear and non-linear functions from
equations, tables and graphs
8.10 Be able to solve problems using algebraic representation
Measurement and Geometry
8.11 Know how to describe and classify two- and three-dimensional objects
8.12 Know formulas that represent geometric shapes
8.13 Be able to present deductive arguments using congruence, similarity and
Pythagoras’ theorem
8.14 Be able to represent geometric shapes using coordinate geometry
8.15 Be able to use transformations to move, reorientate and adjust the size of
geometric objects
8.16 Be able to use formulas that represent geometric shapes
8.17 Be able to determine the area of complex shapes
8.18 Develop an understanding of the relationships between angles, length of sides,
perimeter, area and volume for similar objects
8.19 Develop an understanding of the relationships between two- and three-
dimensional objects
Statistics
8.20 Know the measures of centre and spread for statistical data
8.21 Be able to develop a study to collect data in relation to two characteristics
8.22 Be able to select and create an appropriate graphical representation of data to suit
a particular situation and audience
8.23 Be able to interpret statistical data, including graphic representation
8.24 Be able to interpret a situation using proportionality or probability

41
9. MUSIC
Students will:
9.1 Know that the study of music is concerned with musical expression and
communication
9.2 Know the uses of the elements of music
9.3 Know about the origins and history of musical styles and instruments
9.4 Know the characteristics of representative music genres and styles from a variety
of cultures
9.5 Know the functions music serves, the roles of musicians and the conditions under
which music is typically performed in several cultures
9.6 Be able to use music vocabulary and apply the elements of music to analyse and
describe musical forms
9.7 Be able to interpret standard notation symbols
9.8 Be able to sing and/or play a melody with accompaniment
9.9 Be able to make links between music and other disciplines taught in school
9.10 Be able to create or compose short pieces within specified parameters
9.11 Be able to perform a repertoire of music, alone or with others, paying attention to
performance practice, breath control, posture and tone quality
9.12 Be able to make judgments about pieces of music, showing understanding,
appreciation, respect and enjoyment as appropriate
9.13 Be able to display a range of emotions whilst playing instruments and singing
9.14 Be able to improvise, extend or create music to express emotion, ideas, creativity
and imagination
9.15 Be able to perform as part of an ensemble and contribute to the overall experience
of the collaboration
9.16 Be able to consider pieces of music in terms of meaning, mood, structure, place and
time
9.17 Understand that the work of musicians is influenced by their environment and
experiences
10. PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Students will:
10.1 Know that the study of physical education is concerned with healthy lifestyle
choices and activity which lead to physical, emotional and mental balance
10.2 Know the principal rules of established sporting and athletic activities

42
10.3 Know the principles of water safety
10.4 Know how to avoid and reduce injuries
10.5 Know how to respond to challenges and disappointments with confidence and
appropriate emotions during athletic events
10.6 Be able to steadily improve performance with control, coordination, precision and
consistency in a range of physical skills and techniques whenever possible
10.7 Be able to select a physical activity they enjoy and decide how they will participate
in their chosen activity
10.8 Be able to make healthy choices with regard to food and diet
10.9 Be able to participate in regulation team games as well as individual competitions
10.10 Be able to use safe and acceptable tactics to steadily improve their own
performance and that of a team
10.11 Be able to identify the features of a good physical performance
10.12 Be able to evaluate their own performance objectively and make a plan of action
10.13 Be able to apply the rules and conventions of a range of sports and activities
10.14 Be able to use physical movement as a means of expression, enjoyment,
communication and art
10.15 Be able to swim a distance of at least 100 metres whenever possible
10.16 Develop an understanding of how physical activity affects the body, the mind and
emotions
10.17 Develop an understanding of the importance of diet and personal hygiene
10.18 Develop an understanding of the importance of safety procedures and lifesaving
techniques
10.19 Develop an understanding of how attitudes towards health and behaviour differ
based on cultural values and beliefs
11. Science Learning Goals
Scientific Enquiry
Students will:
11.1 Know that the study of science is concerned with investigating and understanding
the animate and inanimate world around them
11.2 Be able to conduct scientific investigations with rigour by being able to:
a) Select a scientific issue to investigate and formulate a research question that
recognises a potential relationship between two variables, and generate a
hypothesis

43
b) Plan an investigation and make predictions
c) Select appropriate apparatus and sampling groups, and identify health and
safety issues
d) Make systematic and accurate measurements to gather data to test a
hypothesis
e) Record and present his/her findings accurately using the most appropriate
medium, scientific vocabulary and conventions
f) Identify patterns in the results and draw conclusions based on the evidence
g) Suggest ways in which his/her investigations and working methods could be
improved
h) Relate their own investigations to wider scientific ideas
11.3 Be able to discriminate between evidence and opinion
11.4 Develop an understanding that scientific knowledge is built up from the
systematic collection and analysis of evidence and the application of rigorous
reasoning applied to the evidence
11.5 Develop an understanding that scientific evidence is subject to multiple
interpretations
11.6 Develop an understanding of the importance of using objective evidence to test
scientific ideas
11.7 Develop an understanding of the ethical responsibility all scientists face
The Science of Living Things (Biology)
Students will:
11.8 Know about the fundamental units/building blocks of life and that all living
organisms are configured around structures; hierarchical organisation from cells to
tissues to organs to systems to organisms
11.9 Know the structure and functions of a cell, tissue, organs and organ systems in
humans and animals
11.10 Know about the structure and functions of complex systems in humans and other
animals; including the skeletal and muscular systems, nutrition and digestion, gas
exchange systems and reproduction
11.11 Know about the structure and functions of complex systems in plants; including
photosynthesis in the leaves, the role of leaf stomata in gas exchange and
reproduction in plants, including pollination and fertilisation
11.12 Know about the seven characteristics which define living things
11.13 Know about taxonomy: the classification of living things

44
11.14 Know about the interdependence of organisms in an ecosystem, including how
living things benefit and suffer due to internal and external influences in their
environments
11.15 Know about the energy flow in a food chain, ecological pyramid and food web and
the main processes at work, e.g. Photosynthesis and cellular respiration
11.16 Know about the key elements of inheritance, genetics and the theory of evolution
11.17 Be able to observe, identify and record plant and animal cell structure using a light
microscope
11.18 Be able to classify animals and plants into major groups using some local
examples
11.19 Be able to explain the consequences of imbalances in the diet, including obesity,
starvation and deficiency diseases
11.20 Be able to describe and illustrate the mechanisms of the major internal systems of
the human body
11.21 Be able to draw diagrams to illustrate simple food chains in an ecosystem
11.22 Be able to describe and illustrate the process of energy flow in a food chain,
ecological pyramid or food web, including photosynthesis and respiration
11.23 Be able to explain the effects of drugs (including substance misuse) on behaviour,
health and life processes
11.24 Develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between living things and the
environment in which they live
11.25 Develop an understanding of the dependence of almost all life on the ability of
photosynthetic organisms (like plants and algae) to store energy and maintain
levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
11.26 Develop an understanding of how tissues and organs function in order to create
systems which maintain living organisms
The Science of Chemistry
Students will:
11.27 Know about the particulate nature, structure and properties of matter; atoms and
molecules
11.28 Know about the structure and conservation of matter – materials and mass – and
the total energy of a system
11.29 Know about energy transfer in chemical reactions (endothermic and exothermic
reactions)
11.30 Know about the differences between elements, compounds, pure and impure
substances and the separation of simple mixtures

45
11.31 Know about the formation of chemical bonds (covalent, ionic, and metallic)
between atoms to form molecules and other compounds
11.32 Know about chemical reactions as the rearrangement or regrouping of atoms and
the conservation of elements
11.33 Know about the chemical properties of common substances
11.34 Know about acids, bases and alkalis, their properties and chemical reactions
11.35 Know about the history, structure and uses of the Periodic Table of Elements
11.36 Be able to describe and illustrate an atom and its parts (nucleus, protons and
electrons) using a simple model, e.g. the Dalton model
11.37 Be able to explain the physical arrangements of particles in solids, liquids and
gases and the mechanism of changes of state
11.38 Be able to distinguish between elements, compounds and mixtures
11.39 Be able to use simple techniques for separating mixtures: filtration, evaporation,
distillation and chromatography (where available)
11.40 Be able to represent simple chemical reactions using formulae and equations
11.41 Be able to classify materials according to their physical and chemical properties
11.42 Be able to use the Periodic Table to identify elements, know their symbols and
classify them
11.43 Be able to predict trends in chemical reactions of elements in periods and groups
11.44 Be able to describe and predict the reactivity of metals with oxygen, water and
dilute acids
11.45 Be able to define acids and alkalis in terms of neutralisation reactions – using
indicators and the pH scale
11.46 Develop an understanding of how substances combine, change or react to form
new substances
11.47 Develop an understanding and appreciation of scientific models/laws that explain
the fundamental nature of things and the need to remain willing to re-examine
existing models
The Science of Physics
Students will:
11.48 Know about the major types and sources of energy and how they are used and
measured
11.49 Know that energy can be stored or transferred, but not created or destroyed
11.50 Know about the nature and effect of different types of forces, including balanced
and unbalanced forces

46
11.51 Know about the effects of forces on motion and Newton’s laws of motion
11.52 Know that every object exerts a gravitational force on every other object
11.53 Know that pressure is caused by a force acting on an area
11.54 Know about pressure in fluids (gases and liquids)
11.55 Know about waves as energy transfer in matter and the properties of different
types of waves, e.g. sound waves
11.56 Know about the properties of sound waves and the relationship between pitch,
amplitude and frequency
11.57 Know about the properties of electromagnetic waves and the relationship
between colour, frequency and wave length for light waves
11.58 Know about the similarities and differences between waves in matter (sound
waves) and electromagnetic waves (light waves)
11.59 Know about magnetism and that magnetic forces either attract or repulse one
another
11.60 Know about different types of electricity and current; e.g. current electricity, static
electricity, direct and alternating current
11.61 Know about the magnetic effects of current and uses of electromagnetism,
e.g. electromagnets and electric motors
11.62 Be able to define mass, weight, speed, velocity and acceleration and explain
differences between them
11.63 Be able to calculate average speed using time and distance measurements
11.64 Be able to represent and interpret a journey on distance-time graphs
11.65 Be able to measure different types of forces
11.66 Be able to use diagrams to illustrate the strength and direction of forces and
resultant forces in one dimension
11.67 Be able to use the ray model of light to explain imaging in mirrors, the reflection
and refraction of light and the action of the convex lens in focusing light waves,
e.g. the human eye
11.68 Be able to explore how electricity is produced and measured using various sources
of energy
11.69 Be able to draw and interpret illustrative diagrams representing simple series and
parallel direct current circuits
11.70 Be able to make measurements in simple series and parallel direct current circuits
(electric current, potential difference, resistance)
11.71 Be able to draw and interpret illustrative diagrams representing magnetic fields by
plotting field lines and showing magnetic poles

47
11.72 Be able to construct and use a simple Electromagnet
11.73 Develop an understanding of energy, its sources, uses and manifestations in
multiple phenomena
11.74 Develop an understanding of the conservation and transfer of energy in a system
11.75 Develop an understanding of the relationships between time, distance, velocity
and acceleration
11.76 Develop an understanding of the effects of forces on objects and that they can be
used to predict stability or instability in systems
The Science of the Earth and Solar System (Space physics)
Students will:
11.77 Know about the main features and characteristics of the universe, including the
relationship between Earth and the rest of the solar system
11.78 Know about the varying effects caused by Earth movements in different
hemispheres. (E.g. The seasons and the Earth’s tilt and day length at different
times of year)
11.79 4.79 Know about the effect of the force of gravity on the Earth, between the Earth
and the Moon and the Earth and the Sun including the effect of gravity on the
tides and on satellites around the Earth
11.80 Be able to explain the effect of gravity on objects on the Earth and objects that
orbit the Earth, e.g. satellites
11.81 Develop an understanding of the effect of gravity on objects on the Earth, on
satellites orbiting the Earth (weightlessness), and between the Earth and the Sun
and the rest of the solar system
12. TECHNOLOGY
Students will:
12.1 Know that technology is concerned with designing and making systems that aid
the needs of a society
12.2 Know how the lives of people in different countries are affected by the extent of
technological advance
12.3 Know how to combine creativity with skills to predict new ideas and inventions
12.4 Know that the natural resources available in a particular region affect the
development and progress of its technology
12.5 Know that the quality of a product depends on how well it is made and how well it
meets its intended purpose
12.6 Know about the principles of nutrition and health and the properties and
characteristics of the different food groups

48
12.7 Be able to investigate the way in which simple products in everyday use are
designed and made and how they work
12.8 Be able to identify and respond to needs, wants and opportunities with informed
designs and products
12.9 Be able to plan and organise a sequence of activities to produce an effective
system or product
12.10 Be able to work with a variety of tools and materials confidently and safely to
create goods and products
12.11 Be able to test and evaluate the construction of their own work and improve on it
12.12 Be able to evaluate the effectiveness of simple products in everyday use
12.13 Be able to plan for a healthy and nutritious dish by using the properties,
seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients
12.14 Be able to use a broad range of cooking techniques competently
12.15 Be able to cook a repertoire of savoury dishes to feed themselves and others a
healthy nutritious and varied diet
12.16 Develop an understanding of developments in design and technology and how
technology can impact individuals, society and the environment.
12.17 Develop an understanding of the principles of nutrition and health how basic
ingredients can be used to cook healthy, nutritious meals.
Part 2: The International Learning Goals
1. INTERNATIONAL MINDEDNESS
Students will:
1.1 Know about the key features related to the different lives of people in their home
country and, where appropriate, their parents’ home countries
1.2 Know about the key features related to the different lives of people in the
countries they have studied
1.3 Know about ways in which the lives of people in the countries they have studied
affect each other
1.4 Know about the similarities and the differences between the lives of people in
different countries
1.5 Be able to explain how the lives of people in one country or group are affected by
the activities of other countries or groups
1.6 Be able to identify ways in which people work together for mutual benefit
1.7 Be able to develop an increasingly mature response to the ‘other’

49
1.8 Be able to appreciate another country, culture, society whilst still valuing and
taking pride in one’s own
1.9 Be able to show consideration for others when making choices and decisions both
in and outside of the school community
1.10 Be better able to recognise the nature of friendship, how to make and keep friends
and display effective social relationships
1.11 Develop an understanding that there is value in knowing and understanding both
the similarities and the differences between different countries
1.12 Develop an understanding of the impact of culture, law and economics on host
countries when groups migrate
Part 3: Personal Goals
Students will:
Enquiry
The vast majority of students will, through their study of the IMYC:
1.1 Be able to ask and consider searching questions related to the area of study
1.2 Be able to plan and carry out investigations related to these questions
1.3 Be able to collect reliable evidence from their investigations
1.4 Be able to use the evidence to draw sustainable conclusions
1.5 Be able to relate the conclusions to wider issues
Adaptability
1.6 Know about a range of views, cultures and traditions
1.7 Be able to consider and respect the views, cultures and traditions of other people
1.8 Be able to cope with unfamiliar situations
1.9 Be able to approach tasks with confidence
1.10 Be able to suggest and explore new roles, ideas and strategies
1.11 Be able to move between conventional and more fluid forms of thinking
1.12 Be able to be at ease with themselves in a variety of situations
1.13 Be better able to recognise physical and emotional changes that occur at puberty
and manage these in a positive way
1.14 Be better able to deal with their own and other’s feelings

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Resilience
1.15 Be able to stick with a task until it is completed
1.16 Be able to cope with the disappointment they face when they are not successful in
their activities
1.17 Be able to try again when they are not successful in their activities
1.18 Be better able to recognise the stages of emotion associated with loss and change
Morality
1.19 Know about the moral issues associated with the subjects they study
1.20 Know about and respect alternative moral standpoints
1.21 Be able to develop their own moral standpoints
1.22 Be able to act on their own moral standpoints
1.23 Be able to explain the reasons for their actions
1.24 Be better able to recognise their value as individuals
Communication
1.25 Be able to make their meaning plain using appropriate verbal and non-verbal
forms
1.26 Be able to use a variety of tools and technologies to aid their communication
1.27 Be able to communicate in more than one spoken language
1.28 Be able to communicate in a range of different contexts and with a range of
different audiences
1.29 Be better able to communicate effectively and appropriately with individuals, and
reflect upon how their actions affect themselves and others
Thoughtfulness
1.30 Be able to identify and consider issues raised in their studies
1.31 Be able to use a range of thinking skills in solving problems
1.32 Be able to consider and respect alternative points of view
1.33 Be able to draw conclusions and develop their own reasoning

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1.34 Be able to reflect on what they have learned and its implications for their own
lives and the lives of other people
1.35 Be able to identify their own strengths and weaknesses
1.36 Be able to identify and act on ways of developing their strengths and overcoming
their weaknesses
1.37 Be better able to make decisions and apply possible solutions to a variety of
problems that young people encounter
Cooperation
1.38 Understand that different people have different roles to play in groups
1.39 Be able to adopt different roles depending on the needs of the group and on the
activity
1.40 Be able to work alongside and in cooperation with others to undertake activities
and achieve targets
Respect
1.41 Know about the value and importance of respecting themselves and their bodies
1.42 Know about the varying needs of other people, other living things and the
environment
1.43 Be able to show respect for the needs of other people, other living things and the
environment
1.44 Be able to act in accordance with the needs of other people, other living things
and the environment

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Appendix B:
Research into Learning
The recent explosion of research from neuroscience and cognitive science has been of great
interest to teachers and leaders. Some of it can be of real, practical help to educators that
want to improve learning. It provides new ideas to use in the classroom and helps to explain
why some of our intuitive, but previously difficult to justify, methods work as well as they do.
But there is also a danger of jumping on the bandwagon too soon. Too many writers and
educationalists have been quick to advocate teaching methods and techniques that are
simply not supported by any reliable evidence – you may have seen some of these referred to
in the media as ‘neuromyths’.
Although we have learnt so much in recent years there is still much more that is not yet
understood, even by brain researchers, most of whom are loathe to recommend many popular
approaches to teachers at all. For this reason we encourage school leaders and teachers to
view research into learning as a non-negotiable part of their own learning and professional
development. Through reading, research and sharing, teachers should develop deep insights
into the nature of learning and not only apply this in their classrooms, but share this learning
with their children.
We can’t cover the breadth of research that’s out there, but here are some interesting trends
and themes you might want to consider:
1. Growth Mindsets
The concept of ‘fixed’ and ‘growth’ mindsets stems from the research carried out by Stanford
University psychologist Carol Dweck. One of her best known studies involved splitting
children into two groups and giving them an identical test, at which most would succeed. One
group were told they had done really well because they tried really hard. The other group
were told they had done really well because they were smart. They were then told they were
going to have another test, but could choose from a simple one or a harder one from which
they might learn more. The group who were praised for their effort nearly all wanted to try
the harder test. In the group that were praised for their intelligence, nearly 80% opted for the
easier test.
Dweck’s research highlights the difference between what she calls a ‘fixed’ mindset
(performance orientated, likely to give up easily and not fulfil their potential) versus a
‘growth’ mindset (learning orientated, believes intelligence can be developed and embraces
challenges). The message is clear – praise process and not ability.
In an article ‘You Can Grow Your Intelligence’ (2008) Dweck talks about the brain being more
like a muscle which changes and gets stronger the more you use it – something which is
underpinned by scientific research. She explains how neurons in the brain are connected
to other cells in the network and it is the communication between these brain cells which

53
allows people to think and solve problems. Neurons are hard-wired to make connections with
each other and when we learn things these connections multiply and get stronger.
As you learn, your brain is looking for connections between your current and previous
learning. This is why the ‘Big Idea’ and knowledge harvest is such an important part of any
IMYC unit – it helps children make connections between what they already know and what
they are going to learn.
2. Meta-cognition
Meta-cognition is the term used to describe learning about learning, or what learning
consists of (Outstanding Formative Assessment, Shirley Clarke, 2014).
It is worth referencing here the work of Professor John Hattie, an educational researcher who
developed a way of ranking various influences on learning through a range of meta-analyses.
He synthesised more than 900 meta-analyses, involving over 50,000 studies and drawing
on the experiences of 240 million school-aged students. His book, Visible Learning (2009),
identified 150 classroom interventions and listed them in order of effectiveness.
Meta-cognitive strategies ranked at number 13 in the list. In his book Hattie explains,
“when tasks are more complex for a pupil, the quality of meta-cognitive skills rather than
intellectual ability is the main determinant of learning outcomes.”
Thinking about learning is important. In the book Making Thinking Visible (Ritchhart, Church
and Morrison, 2011) colleagues from Harvard’s Project Zero have developed a set of thinking
routines that not only help children to learn, but also to learn how to learn. The authors
explain that ‘it’s one thing for us as teachers to articulate the kinds of thinking we are seeking
to promote; it is another for students to develop a greater awareness of the significant role
that thinking plays in cultivating their own understanding.’
‘Slow thinking’ (a term used by Gay Claxton in his book Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind, 1998) is
also something that teachers need to consider when the children are reflecting on their
learning. When faced with difficult and complex learning, our brains need a large amount of
input followed by a period of downtime. During this downtime, our brains continue to process
the information we have received. This process of digestion and sedimentation has come to
be known as ‘slow thinking’. This is why it’s a good idea to have the knowledge harvest and
explaining the theme on display throughout a unit, so children can always be slow thinking
their ideas and questions, and piecing the answers together over time.
Throughout the IMYC units you will find many opportunities to help teachers and students
think about learning (Reflective journaling) and learn more about how we learn.
3. Memory
Daniel T. Willingham, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Virginia, explores the
process of memory in his book Why Don’t Students Like School? (2009). He believes that the
mind is not designed for thinking, and when it can get away with it, our brains will rely on
memory instead. Broadly speaking, we have two types of memory – the working memory (or
short term memory) and the long term memory. Space in our working memory is limited – it

54
is only able to hold around 3-7 new pieces of information at any one time – and too often
we overload it. Successful learning involves transferring information and knowledge from
our working memory into our long term memory and being able to retrieve them again. This
can be achieved through the use of memory aids such as ‘chunking’, and through a balance of
introducing new learning and consolidating existing learning.
Daisy Christodoulou adds to Willingham’s argument in her book Seven Myths About Education
(2014). In it she explains that our long term memory is capable of storing thousands of facts,
and these facts combined form what is known as a ‘schema’. When we meet new facts about
a topic or area of learning, we assimilate them into that schema meaning that if we already
have a lot of facts in that particular schema, it is much easier for us to learn new things about
a topic. Willingham also asserts this when he says that,‘those who know more knowledge,
gain more knowledge’ (2009).
This has interesting implications for embarking on the IMYC units of work – do your students
have the necessary background knowledge to access the learning tasks you are going to set
them? In light of this teachers may consider carrying out the knowledge harvest before the
entry point, or sending home some key information about a topic before children start their
learning.
And it’s not just only knowledge we need to work on, it’s also skills. Willingham believes
children should still practice something even when it appears they have mastered the skill
and are no longer improving. He tells us that,‘Mental processes can become automised’
(2009) and it is this mastery which reinforces the basic skills that are required for the
learning of more advanced skills, and this practice that protects against forgetting, improves
transfer and clears the working memory for thinking.
4. Positive and negative emotions
Negative emotions inhibit learning from taking place. Positive emotions can help learning
take place. All strong emotions leave memory traces.
There are important implications for classroom practices here.
Firstly, deep engagement in learning activities is linked to having positive experiences.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Professor of Psychology and Management at Claremont Graduate
University, is the architect of the notion of ‘flow’ as being one of the components of great fun
(Flow: The Psychology of Happiness, 2002).‘Great fun’ in this context is something that results
from rigorous engagement in an activity as much as it results from a quick hit of immediate
gratification. When planning for learning activities, a rigorous approach supported by a range
of appropriate strategies and interventions is essential.
Secondly, Willingham tells us that our memory is a product of what we think about. What
we want children to think about is learning. So when planning a lively enjoyable lesson, it is
important to ensure that the learning is still made clear, and is shared, revisited and reflected
on. Remember to always ask yourself ‘what are the children learning?’ rather than being
concerned with what the children are doing.
Thirdly, just as most of us will have experienced a state of ‘flow’ at some time or another, so
we will have experienced the crippling effect of stress on our ability to learn. In his book

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Emotional Intelligence (1996), Daniel Goleman shows clearly why stress is such an important
inhibitor to learning, as it can result in what he calls emotional ‘flooding’ or ‘hi-jacking’ in
parts of the brain. The best state for learning is ‘relaxed alertness’.
Children who are stressed can’t learn; it’s as simple as that. Because of this, it is vital that
educators acknowledge the importance of creating a positive environment for learning.
5.Assessment for learning
‘The most powerful educational tool for raising achievement and preparing children to
be lifelong learners, in any context, is formative assessment.’ Shirley Clarke Outstanding
Formative Assessment, (2014)
Clarke’s statement is bolstered by the outcomes of Hattie’s research which ranks key aspects
of formative assessment at the top end of the list including:
■■ Assessment literate students (students who know what they are learning, have success
criteria, can self-assess, etc.)
■■ Providing formative evaluation
■■ Feedback
There’s no getting around it – if we’re passionate about improving children’s learning, we
need to be passionate about assessment too.
6. Understanding is tricky
Understanding has been poorly represented in many curricula, with an additional pressure
to use the term inappropriately. In an educational sense, understanding has come to have
great power and is frequently cited as the goal of most learning. Because of this, sometimes
curriculum writers and developers have focused on developing and assessing understanding
without realising how complex it is.
Educators have been grappling with their ‘understanding’ of understanding for many years.
In 1933, in his book How We Think, John Dewey described understanding as ‘the result of
facts acquiring meaning for the learner. To grasp the meaning of the thing, an event, or a
situation is to see it in its relationship to other things: to see how it operates or functions,
what consequences follow from it, what causes it, what uses it can be put to (…)The relation
of means-consequence is the center and heart of all understanding’.
Willingham (2009) has his own ideas about understanding. To him, understanding is in fact-
remembering in disguise, and pupils understand new things (things they don’t know) by
relating them to old ideas (things they do know). He explains that understanding the new
ideas is mostly about getting the right old ideas into the working memory and rearranging
them, making comparisons and thinking about them in a different way.
Willingham also talks of the need to be realistic about what students can achieve and how
quickly this can be done. Teaching and assessing for understanding all the time is therefore
misguided.

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7. The link between mind and body
There is a lot of recent and emerging researching into the link between mind and body, and
what we are consistently being told is that good diet, general health, exercise and a good
night’s sleep can help our brains work more effectively.
For general brain and body health, a balanced diet including plenty of fresh fruit and
vegetables is vital. Your brain also needs a steady supply of energy, which it can get from
glucose (which can be found in certain types of carbohydrates).
Exercise is also believed to be another important ingredient for a healthy brain. Not only
does exercise ensure the brain gets plenty of oxygen, research also suggests that it can
support learning and memory too. David Bucci, an associate professor at Dartmouth’s
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, explains that ‘The implication is that
exercising during development, as your brain is growing, is changing the brain in concert with
normal developmental changes, resulting in your having more permanent wiring of the brain
in support of things like learning and memory. It seems important to (exercise) early in life.’
(Exercise Affects the Brain, Petra Rattue, 2012,
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/245751.php).
Getting enough sleep is equally important as it allows the brain to repair itself and
consolidate all of the learning that has taken place that day. In addition to this, studies by
an American research team show sleep to be important as it is during this time that brain
cells shrink and open up gaps between neurons allowing fluid to wash the brain clean (Sleep
‘cleans’ the brain of toxins, James Gallagher, 2013, www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24567412).

57
References
Books
Seven Myths About Education, Daisy Christodoulou, Routledge, 2014
Outstanding Formative Assessment, Shirley Clarke, Hodder Education, 2014
Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind, Guy Claxton, Fourth Estate, 1998
Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness, Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi, Rider, 2002
How We Think, John Dewey, Martino Fine Books, 2011
Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential, Carol Dweck, Robinson, 2012
Emotional Intelligence – Why It Matters More Than IQ, Daniel J. Goleman, Bloomsbury, 1996
Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement, John Hattie,
Routledge, 2008
Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for
All Learners, Ritchart, Church and Morrison, Jossey Bass, 2011
Why Don’t Students Like School? Daniel T. Willingham, Jossey Bass, 2009
Articles
You Can Grow Your Intelligence, Carol Dweck, 2009.
(Available to download from www.mindsetworks.com/free-resources)
Sleep ‘cleans’ the brain of toxins, James Gallagher, 2013.
(Available to download from www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24567412)
Informing Pedagogy Through Brain-Targeted Teaching, Mariale Hardiman, 2012.
(Available to download from http://jmbe.asm.org/index.php/jmbe/article/view/354/html)
Exercise Affects the Brain, Petra Rattue, 2012.
(Available to download from www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/245751.php)

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Appendix C:
Five Key Needs of the Adolescent Brain

59
The International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC) is specifically designed to support the
needs of the developing adolescent brain in ways which will improve the learning of 11–14
year olds. The IMYC believes that adolescents have particular needs, and an effective curriculum
is designed to support and improve their learning through this critical time, it is in fact the IMYC’s
own ‘Big Idea’.
The IMYC has carried out extensive studies into current neuroscientific research into how the
adolescent brain learns, and this appendix describes the key needs of the adolescent brain
identified through the relevant research. The appendix includes a resources section that is
by no means exhaustive but seeks to share the main studies that were used to come to the
conclusions that we have.
An excellent video (featuring Sarah-Jayne Blackmore) which summarises this research can be
viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zVS8HIPUng
Key need 1: Interlinking learning
In recent years neuroscientific research has informed us that the brain learns by making
connections between brain cells (neurons); thus forming a constellation of neurons related
to a particular concept or idea, sometimes referred to by neuroscientists and psychologists
as a ‘chunk’ of information.‘Chunk’ is a term referring to the process of taking individual units
of information (chunks) and grouping them into larger units. Probably the most common
example of chunking occurs in phone numbers. For example, a phone number sequence
of 4-7-1-1-3-2-4 would be chunked into 471-1324. Chunking is often a useful tool when
memorising large amounts of information. By separating disparate individual elements into
larger blocks, information becomes easier to retain and recall (The Dictionary of Psychology).
Eric Kandel was the first scientist to figure out the cellular basis of this process and was
awarded the Nobel Prize in 2000 for his work. He demonstrated that when people learn
something, the wiring in their brain literally changes (neuroscientists say the brain retains its
‘plasticity’ and therefore the ability to learn, for most of our lives). We now know that neurons
can make new connections, break a connection on one spot and make a new connection with
another neuron nearby. (In Fieldwork Education’s Looking for Learning Toolkit we call this
‘New Learning1
).
The moment we learn something new, the information is literally ‘sliced’ into different
‘bits’ and stored in different parts of the brain (This process is known as ‘encoding’). The
key to remembering (retrieving) our learning is to ‘reunite’ this information successfully to
make sense of it, i.e. finding the concept or idea used in the encoding; in the same way an
algorithm in mathematics brings different things together in a specific way.
In his book Pieces of Light: The new science of memory, (2012) Daniel Schacter states: ‘We now
know that we do not record our experiences the way a camera records them. Our memories
work differently. We extract key elements from our experiences and store them. We then
recreate our experiences rather than retrieve copies of them.’
1 The Looking for Learning Toolkit: The WCLS group 2008. Schools have informed us that the Looking for Learning
Toolkit has been helpful for improving learning in their schools

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Neuroscientific research often uses people that have suffered strokes to particular parts of
the brain to study the different regions and their functions. For example, John Medina, in his
book Brain Rules (2008) tells the story of a woman that suffered a stroke and lost her ability
to use written vowels. She would write a simple sentence like ‘The dog chased the cat’ as: ‘Th_
d_g ch_s_d th_ c_t’ which is an example of how we know that vowels and consonants are not
stored in the same place in the brain.
If a connection between chunks of information is strengthened, the neurons strengthen
their connections with each other, increasing the efficiency of the link (in the Looking for
Learning Toolkit we call this ‘Consolidating Learning’). Dr Dean Buonomano (professor in the
departments of Neurobiology and Psychology and the Brain Research Institute of UCLA) in his
book Brain Bugs (2012) explains: ‘Learning new associations (new links between nodes) could
correspond to the strengthening of weak synapses or forming of new ones. Synapses are the
interface between neurons’
This effectively means that the brain looks for ‘previous’ learning when confronted with
new experiences or information, and tries to link the new information with any previous
information it has encoded. Neuroscientists say the brain learns ‘associatively’, always looking
for patterns and linking to previous learning.
In primary schools teachers often find these links for students and regularly mention links
between discreet subjects’ learning. For example in the IPC Self-Review, Criterion 8, we refer
to ‘Independent yet Interdependent Subjects’.
The organisation of secondary school teaching and learning is often within departments,
resulting in students suddenly having the responsibility of finding their own links in their
learning. The aim of the IMYC is to help students develop the habit of identifying links in
their learning for themselves through linking all learning within a concept called the Big
Idea. This helps students to develop multiple perspectives.
The IMYC links the knowledge, skills and understanding of each subject to the most
appropriate Big Idea. This helps students to find the link or concept that their brain had used
to encode learning, making retrieval easier.
This requires all teachers to support the students in finding links to the Big Idea even if the
subject does not have specific tasks in the IMYC resources.

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ADDITIONAL
LANGUAGE
MATHS
HISTORY
GEOGRAPHY
DT
When people
work together
they can
achieve a
common goal
SCIENCE
MUSIC
ART
ENGLISH
ICT
Key need 2: Making meaning
The adolescent brain is specialising and pruning connections between brain cells that are not
used or not viewed as ‘important’ to the person. This makes developing understanding and
making meaning of learning a crucial aspect of adolescent learning. As teachers we ignore it
at our peril and may ‘lose’ students who disengage from learning because of it.
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the Institute of Cognitive
Neuroscience at the University College in London, is well known for her work on the
implications of neuroscientific research for education. She says that the brain ‘prunes’
connections like ‘you would prune a rose bush’ during adolescence. Dr Jay N Giedd (MD),
currently Chief of the Unit on Brain Imaging in the Child Psychiatry of the National Institute
of Mental Health (NIMH) USA, launched a large scale study on child development in the
1990s that involved monitoring children with regular magnetic resonance scans up to the
age of 16, which at that time, was the age presumed for full brain maturity. This study has
since been extended in stages to age 30 and is still ongoing. It turns out that the brain is
still maturing well into early adulthood and has been instrumental in sparking interest and
research into the adolescent brain. The studies showed that the adolescent brain literally
loses volume in the pre-frontal cortex as it is matures during the adolescent years (11–14).
David Dobbs, in his article Beautiful Brains, National Geographic October 2011, quotes Dr
Giedd: ‘...our brain undergoes a massive reorganization between our 12th and 25th years...
as we move through adolescence the brain undergoes extensive remodelling, resembling a
network and wiring upgrade.’
This implies that we need to support students in the middle years to make subject and
personal meaning of their learning, or risk losing their new connections as part of this
pruning process. The IMYC uses journaling and the Exit Point (Media Project) to encourage
students to reflect on their subject learning from their own context; helping them to make
personal meaning.

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Key Need 3: Taking risks and practising decision making in a safe
environment
We have probably all felt the frustrations of dealing with adolescent behaviour, in our classes
and own families, who seem oblivious of danger and who seek excitement, novelty and risk
above all else. For example, adolescents are heavily overrepresented in traffic accidents,
generally caused by taking risks and involving alcohol or drugs.
In his book The Learning Brain 2013, Dr Torkel Klingberg, professor of Cognitive Neuroscience
at the Stockholm Brain Institute, part of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden,
explains: ‘The decision-making process is determined by the reward system and pre-frontal
cortex, which is able to evaluate signal, make plans and make decisions.’
Dr BJ Casey of the Sackler Institute in New York proposes explains that these two systems
mature ‘out of step’ with each other, the reward system earlier than the prefrontal cortex.
Dr Klingberg cites Casey: ‘This means that a teenager can have a relatively mature reward
system but a relatively immature frontal lobe and therefore act differently to both children
(in whom neither system is mature) and adults (in whom both systems are (hopefully)
mature)’ Dr Laurence Steinberg in an article (Risk Taking in Adolescence: New Perspectives from
Brain and Behavioural Science. 2004) illustrated this duality hypothetically:
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Age
Fig. 1. Hypothetical graph of development of logical reasoning abilities
versus psychological maturation. Although logical reasonong abilities reach
adult levels by age 16, psychosocial capacities, such as impulse control,
future orientation, or resistance to peer influence, continue to dewvelop
into young adulthood.
David Dobbs, in his article Beautiful Brains, National Geographic October 2011, states: ‘In
scientific terms teenagers can be a pain in the ***. But they are quite possibly the most fully,
crucially adaptive human beings around.’ He continues: ‘Teens take more risks not because
they don’t understand the dangers but because they weigh risk versus reward differently.’
Dr Valerie Reyna, at the Centre for Behavioural Economics and Decision Research, at Cornell
University Magnetic Resonance Imaging Facility, found that adolescents that have made risky

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decisions generally understood the risks they were taking (most even overestimated the risk)
but valued the perceived reward more highly than the risk.
To explain this ‘sensitivity’ to reward Barbara Strauch, Medical Science editor of The New
York Times, explains: ‘The brain of a teenager undergoes a proliferation of connections for
dopamine, a neurotransmitter important for movement, alertness, pleasure-high levels that
may have evolved to help...take necessary risks for survival, from exploring new fields for
food or asking that saucy young girl to dance.’ This can also explain why most addictions also
develop during adolescence.
To support this argument further Dr Reyna, in her book The Adolescent Brain (2011), collected
some very well respected studies on the adolescent brain and included her own study,
‘Judgement and Decision Making in Adolescence: Separating Intelligence from Rationality’
with Keith Stanovich, Richard West and Maggie Toplak. In their study the writers used what
they called ‘fuzzy trace theory’ to explain how teenagers literally use different strategies to
adults when faced with decisions, they even activate different brain areas and reward plays a
much greater part in their decisions than inhibitions or self-control.
From this and many other research studies into this phenomenon, it seems that adolescents
do not view risk or make decisions in the same way as adults. Understanding how adolescents
make decisions proves that we need to create opportunities for adolescents to practise
decision making and take risks during their learning activities, but to do so in a safe
environment.
The subject tasks and the Exit Point in every IMYC unit offer many opportunities for students
to practise decision making, encouraging and supporting students to take risks in a safe
environment.
Key Need 4: Adolescents need to work with their peers
‘The teen brain is similarly attuned to oxytocin, another neural hormone, which (among other
things) makes social connections in particular more rewarding. The neural networks and
dynamics associated with general reward and social interactions overlap heavily. Engage one,
and you often engage the other. Engage them during adolescence, and you light a fire.’ David
Dobbs continues in his article; ‘This helps explain another trait that marks adolescence: teens
prefer the company of their own age more than ever before or after. At one level, this passion
for same-age peers merely expresses in the social realm the teen’s general attraction to
novelty: teens offer teens far more novelty than familiar ‘old’ family does. Yet teens gravitate
towards peers for another more powerful reason: to invest in the future rather than the past.’
This sensitivity that adolescents seem to have for their peers’ influence is further illustrated
by the effect that the presence of peers can have on risk taking. In 2013, Laurence Steinberg,
professor of Psychology at Temple University, USA found in a simulated driving study that,
‘During adolescence, friends are so important that their presence activates the brain’s
reward circuitry and that makes adolescents, under that condition, pay more attention to the
potential rewards of a risky choice and less attention to the potential downside.’

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It is therefore very important to create collaborative learning opportunities, where students
are learning with their peers; in small and bigger groups, groups they choose and those they
do not. The IMYC offers countless opportunities for a wide variety of peer-enriched learning.
Key Need 5: Adolescents need support with the transition from
Primary to Secondary Education
prefrontal
cortex
frontal
lobe
As mentioned earlier, Dr Giedd has proved that the adolescent’s ‘prefrontal cortex’, which
controls executive functioning, is in flux; specialising and maturing during this important
transition from primary school to the challenges of the secondary school environment. As
a result, adolescents need extra support when it comes to the behaviours affected by the
executive function, e.g. self‑organisation, forward planning, decision making and self-control.
The story of Phineas Gage who, in 1848, while working on a railroad project in Vermont,
experienced a severe brain injury when a three-foot-long, fourteen pound tamping iron
was violently propelled through his skull, is well known and was the first to prove that
the prefrontal area of the brain seems to control our executive function. (Phineas Gage:
Neuroscience’s Most Famous Patient, Steve Twomey, 2010, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/
phineas-gage-neurosciences-most-famous-patient-11390067/?no-ist)
Phineas was conscious and had a regular heartbeat when he arrived in at the hospital and
he was reported to be ‘in full possession of his reason, and free from pain’ by the attending
Physician. He was released to go home after 10 weeks and all seemed well, but while people
who had known him before the accident described him as hard-working, responsible, and
popular with his workers, he was suddenly prone to violet anger attacks and started drinking
heavily, really struggling with self-control after the injury. He just was not the same man.
Today, Gage’s skull and the tamping rod, which damaged it, are on permanent display at
Harvard’s Countway Library of Medicine. The incident did much to advance the field of
neurology, as it was among the first evidence suggesting that damage to the frontal lobes
could alter aspects of personality and affect social skills and self-control. Before Gage’s brain
injury, the frontal lobes were largely thought to have a small role in behaviour, we now know

65
that this very region of the brain known as the pre-frontal cortex is still developing and
maturing during adolescence.
‘It’s sort of unfair to expect them (adolescents) to have adult levels of organisational skills
or decision making before their brain is finished being built’ says Dr Jay Giedd, neuroscientist
at the National Institute of Mental Health-PBS Frontline (2002) As mentioned earlier, his
research included a very well-known study of thousands of MRI scans of persons between
the ages of 5 and 25 which found that the pre-frontal cortex of the brain is the last to mature
and undergoes specialisation from between the ages of 10 or 11 for girls and from around 14
or 15 for boys.
For a film illustrating the maturation of the brain, developed by Dr Gied’s team at the Institute
of Mental Health in Bethesda USA, (2009) from MRI scans clearly showing the pre-frontal
cortex maturing during adolescence, watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnm8f76zx0g
The pruning process is shown in this clip and was constructed from MRI scans of healthy
children and teens. The time-lapse movie compresses 15 years of brain development (ages
5-20) into just a few seconds. Red indicates more grey matter, blue less grey matter. The
changes in colour from yellow/red to blue show the pruning process.
Dr Klingberg summarises all the research eloquently in The Learning Brain, 2013: ‘The
adolescent brain is not just a less experienced adult brain but an organ that is still under
development.’
The IMYC provides a common learning cycle linking learning through a Big Idea, which is
constant and familiar for students as they move from class to class giving the structure they
need to support them through this state of flux.
Recommended Booklist:
The Learning Brain: Lessons for Education, Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Blackwell, 2005
Introducing Neuroeducational Research, Paul Howard-Jones, Routledge, 2010
Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School, John Medina
Pear Press, 2008
The Adolescent Brain: Learning, Reasoning, and Decision Making, Sandra B. Chapman, Michael
R. Dougherty, Jere Confrey, Valerie F. Reyna, American Psychological Associations, 2012 (for
academics)
Brain Bugs: How the brain’s flaws shape our lives, Dean Buonomano, Norton, 2011
The Learning Brain: Memory and brain development in Children, Torkel Klinberg, Oxford
University press, 2013
Developmental Neuroscience: Teenage Brains: Think Different? B. J. Casey (Editor), B. E. Kosofsky
(Editor), and P. G. Bhide (Editor), Karger, 2014 (for academics)

66
Articles:
Beautiful Brains, David Dobbs, 2011. (Available to download from
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2011/10/teenage-brains/dobbs-text)
The Teenbrain: Insights from Neuroimaging, Jay N Giedd, 2008.
(Available to download from http://brainmind.umin.jp/Jay_2.pdf)
The Adolescent Brain, conversations with Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Simon Baron, 2012.
(Available to download from https://edge.org/conversation/the-adolescent-brain)
Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence, Lisa J. Knoll, 2014.
(Available to download from http://pss.sagepub.com/content/26/5/583)
Phineas Gage: Neuroscience’s Most Famous Patient, Steve Twomey, 2010, (Available to download
from www.smithsonianmag.com/history/phineas-gage-neurosciences-most-famous-patient-
11390067/?no-ist)
The Teenage Brain: Under Construction, Jane Anderson, 2011 (Available to download from
https://www.acpeds.org/the-college-speaks/position-statements/parenting-issues/the-
teenage-brain-under-construction)
The Adolescent Brain, BJ Casey, 2008. (Available to download from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2500212/)
New understanding of adolescent brain development: relevance to transitional healthcare for
young people with long term conditions, Allan Colver, 2013. (Available to download from
http://research.ncl.ac.uk/transition/resources/Adol%20brain%20Published.pdf)
Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnm8f76zx0g
National Institute of Health (2009): The pruning process is shown in this clip and was
constructed from MRI scans of healthy children and teens. The time-lapse movie compresses
15 years of brain development (ages 5-20) into just a few seconds. Red indicates more grey
matter, blue less grey matter. The changes in colour from yellow/red to blue show the pruning
process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zVS8HIPUng
Ted: Sarah Jayne-Blakemore: Why do teenagers seem so much more impulsive, so much
less self‑aware than grown-ups? Cognitive neuroscientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore compares
the prefrontal cortex in adolescents to that of adults, to show us how typically “teenage”
behaviour is caused by the growing and developing brain.
http://brainsontrial.com/watch-videos/video/the-mind-of-the-adolescent/

INTERNATIONAL MIDDLE YEARS CURRICULUM
18 King William Street, London, EC4N 7BP
T: +44 (0)20 7531 9696 F: +44 (0)20 7531 1333
E: members@greatlearning.com
www.greatlearning.com/imyc
The_IMYC
InternationalMiddleYearsCurriculum
From Fieldwork Education, a part of the Nord Anglia Education family
©WCL Group Limited. All rights reserved.

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