The PYP focuses on developing the whole child through relevant and engaging inquiry-based learning. It has 4 pillars: promoting international-mindedness, inquiry-based learning, constructivism, and transdisciplinarity. Students strive to develop attributes of the IB learner profile. The PYP emphasizes big concepts, interactive learning, student-initiated assessment, and group work over traditional skills-based, textbook-driven instruction with an emphasis on correct answers and individual work. The 5 essential elements are developing lifelong learners through concept-based and action-oriented learning focused on understanding. Units of inquiry explore concepts across transdisciplinary themes to develop understanding of ourselves, our world, and how to take responsible action.

1. Overview of the PYP
Objectives
O Development of the whole child
O Relevant, engaging and challenging for
learners
4 pillars of the PYP
O -Profile: To promote international-mindedness
O -Based on Inquiry
O -Constructivism
O -Transdisciplinarity

2. IB learner Profile
Learners strive to be:

3. Some differences between traditional
teaching and the PYP
Traditional Classroom PYP Classroom
Curriculum begins with parts of the whole
and emphasizes on basic skills.
Curriculum emphasizes big concepts, beginning
with the whole and expanding to include parts
Learning is based on repetition Learning is interactive, building on what the child
already knows
Teacher’s role is directive Teacher’s role is interactive
Assessment is through testing, correct
answers
Assessment includes student work, observation,
points of view and is student initiated.
Process is as important as product
Materials are mainly textbooks and
workbooks
Materials include primary sources and
manipulatives
Information is ‘spoon-fed’ to students and
students are recipient of knowledge
Teachers have a dialogue with students, helping
them construct their own knowledge
Students work alone Students mainly work in groups

4. Five essential Elements – Focus on skills,
attitudes and concepts
O A basis for life both academically and
socially -(Developing the whole child)
O Life-long learners – (Necessary skills to
continue learning)
O Concept based learning focuses on
understanding
O Promotes action
O Knowledge used as a tool to reach
understanding

5. Mind Map of the Essential
Elements

6. Units of inquiry
-When working on these units, we learn about other
countries, cultures, ways to take action, and ways we
can share the planet with other people and other
living things.
Through the transdisciplinary themes, we also learn
ways to express ourselves, we learn about who we
are, how our world works, and how our world is
organized.

7. How is it done?
Inquiry
-Questioning, reasoning, analysing, thinking,
producing and taking action
O Role of the teacher
-Guiding and facilitating, learning with the
process
O Differentiation
-Different needs and levels

8. Some examples of we assess
children’s learning
O Students are involved in setting goals and criteria
for assessment
O Students perform, create, produce, or do
something.
O Tasks require students to use higher-level thinking
and/or problem solving skills
O Tasks often provide measures of metacognitive
skills and attitudes, collaborative skills and
interpersonal skills as well as the more usual
intellectual products
O Assessment tasks measure meaningful
instructional activities
O Tasks are contextualized in real-world applications