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InternationalBaccalaureateIB AmericasAn introduction to the PYP curriculummodel

Category 1

Racine, WisconsinMay 2015English

Lisa Burton, Monica Miars

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2012


Teacher Training Workshop

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The IB mission statement

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

Learner Profile 7

Abbreviations 8

Essential Elements 10

PYP Overview 11

People Tree - numbered 12

People Tree - blank 13

International Iceberg 14

International School 15

International Classroom 17

Teaching Models 18

Key Concept Unit Map 19

Key Concepts and Bloom 20


Workbook contents

Subject Area Concepts 21

Inquiry Unit 22

Writing A Central Idea 23

Central Idea Checklist 24

Planner 25

Assessment Checklist 26

GRASPs 27

Student Roles 28

Alternatives 29

Inquiry Looks 30

Inquiry Looks-Sounds 31

Learner Profile Booklet 33


IB Standards and Practices 40

Siu-Runyan, Y. February 1999. “Inquiry, Curriculumand Standards: A conversation with Kathy Short.”The Colorado Communicator

50

Boyer, E. (1995). "The Educated Person." Towardsa Coherent Curriculum - the 1995 ASCD Yearbook.ASCD. 16-25.

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Abbreviation, Terms, and Acronyms for IB IB: International Baccalaureate: A global network of schools, educators, students, and parents whose mission is “to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help create a better world through intercultural understanding and respect.”

IBA: International Baccalaureate Americas: This region includes North America, South America, and the Caribbean.

PYP: Primary Years Programme: A transdisciplinary framework of international education for students aged 3-12.

MYP: Middle Years Programme: The IB programme for students aged 11-16.

DP: The Diploma Programme: The IB programme for students aged 16-19.

Specific to the PYP:

MTPYPH or MIH or MPH: This is the document Making the PYP Happen which is a curriculum framework for international primary education.

Curriculum as defined by IB: “Includes all those student activities, academic and non-academic, for which the school takes responsibility, since they all have an impact on student learning”.

PYP Curriculum Model (see pages 8-9 in MTPYPH): Comprised of 3 interrelated components expressed as open-ended questions: What do we want to learn? (Written Curriculum); How best will we learn? (Taught Curriculum); and How will we know what we have learned? (Assessed Curriculum).

Learner Profile: A set of ten attributes that IB believes develop a person who is “internationally-minded”. See page 4 of Making the PYP Happen. They are the “umbrella” over the entire program.

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Essential Elements of the PYP: These five elements develop the whole child and provide a balance for the written curriculum. They include: Knowledge, Concepts, Skills, Attitudes, and Action.

PYP Attitudes: These 12 Attitudes (see page 24) directly support the development of the traits of the Learner Profile. By developing these attitudes towards people, the environment, and learning, they contribute to the well being of the individual and the group.

Concepts: Mental constructs (frames of mind) that are universal, timeless, abstract to some degree, and transferable.

8 PYP Key Concepts (see pages 15-20 of MTPYPH): These are broader “macro” concepts that provide a framework that helps to drive teacher and student initiated inquiries. They act as provocations to extend and deepen student inquiries.

Related Concepts: Concepts that are more “subject-specific”.

POI: The “Programme of Inquiry”. This is comprised of the entire school’s transdisciplinary units of inquiry, which are based on the six transdisciplinary themes of the PYP. There are generally six units per grade level. Part of the “Knowledge” Essential Element.

Transdisciplinary Themes: (See page 12 of MTPYPH). Six themes. Largely based on the works of Ernest Boyer, which provide a framework for a school’s POI that are relevant, significant, challenging, and engaging. (Knowledge Essential Element)

UOI (Units of Inquiry): The in-depth units of study that correspond with the six transdisciplinary themes. Generally last from 4-6 weeks.

Transdisciplinary Skills (see pages 21-23 of MTPYPH): A set of five skills that prepare students for purposeful inquiry and lifelong learning, both inside the classroom and in life outside the school.

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The Five Essential Elements of the PYP Written

Curriculum

• Knowledge What do we want our children to know and explore?

• Skills What do we want

our children to be able to do? • Concepts What do we want our

children to be able to understand?

• Attitudes How do we want

our children to feel? • Action How will the children

demonstrate what they have learned?

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A PYP Overview

The Written

Curriculum

The Taught

Curriculum The Assessed

Curriculum

Learner’s

Constructing

Meaning

Curriculum: Everything for which the school takes responsibility...

Concepts:

Form

Function

Causation

Change

Connection

Perspective

Responsibility

Reflection

p15-20MPYPH

Knowledge: Who we are

Where we are in time and

place

How we express ourselves

How the world works

How we organize ourselves

How we share the planet

(Transdiscplinary Themes)

p11-15 MPYPH

Transdiscplinary

Skills:

Social

Communication

Research

Thinking

Self-

Management

p20-23 MPYPH

Attitudes:

Appreciation

Commitment

Confidence

Cooperation

Creativity

Curiosity

Empathy

Enthusiasm

Independence

Integrity

Respect

Tolerance p24-25 MPYPH

Action:

Choose

Reflect Act

p25-27 MPYPH

The Five Essential Elements

Effective

Teaching

Practices:

Inquiry

Constructivism

Collaborative

Planning

Collaborative

Reflection

p28-30 (-43)MPYPH

Assessment:

by

Self

Peers

Teachers

Formative

Summative

Formal

Informal

Public

Criteria

p44 –55 MPYPH

See Understanding the PYP from analysis to synthesis p 56-62 Making the PYP Happen.

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The Internationalism Iceberg

The Famous Five Food

Festivals Fashion

Flags Celebrated Citizens

Notions of modesty, conception of beauty,

ideals governing child raising,

relationship to animals,

patterns of superior/subordinate relations,

definition of sin, courtship practices,

patterns of group decision-making,

conception of cleanliness, attitudes to the dependent,

theory of disease, approaches to problem solving, conceptions of

status, mobility,

roles in relation to status by age, sex, class, occupation, kinship etc.,

definition of insanity, nature of friendship, conception of self,

patterns of visual perception, body language, facial expressions,

notions about logic and validity, patterns of handling emotions,

conversational patterns in various social contexts,

conception of past and future, ordering of time,

preference for competition or cooperation, social interaction,

notions of adolescense, arrangement of physical space etc. etc. etc.

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How International is Our School? Reflecting on Practice and Action

What are we currently doing that

fosters internationalism? What could we do to improve internationalism in our school?

Culture

Student Body

Staff and Training

Curriculum

Resources

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Language Policy (EAL, mother tongue support, heritage) Special Needs Policy

Commitment to Reflection (student body, staff, admin.)

Commitment to Collaboration

Development of the Learner Profile attributes and explicit fostering of the attitudes

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Model 1: Subject-Based Teaching

Model 2: Teaching Through Thematic Units

Model 3: Teaching Through Inquiry

Overview: Textbook led; teacher in charge. Overview: Activity driven; teacher in charge; themes frequently superficial; integration often forced; connections between activities and purpose often tenuous or forced.

Overview: Questions framed around significant content shaped to engage and focus students’ inquiry; teacher questions provide a scaffold for student inquiry.

Focus: Students:

• Memorising specific facts, data, content or procedural knowledge.

• Listening to lectures, reading textbooks, giving the ‘right’ answers to teacher-led discussions.

Teachers: • Transmitting knowledge.

Focus: Students:

• Participating in a wide range of pre-planned teacher activities across the subjects; skill promotion, love of learning and ‘curricular integrations’ are often criteria used to justify the activities.

• Sharing what they know, want to learn and what they have found out.

• Solving problems as they research topics and prepare projects to share with classmates.

• Reading fiction/non-fiction trade books about the topic or them.

Teachers: • Directing activities. • Devising ways of integrating subject areas.

Focus: Students:

• Inquiring; collecting resources; sharing observations and questions.

• Collaborating in designing activities to support inquiry. • Being historians, geographers, scientists. • Creating sites for exploration. • Having time to tell own stories, to browse, to wander and

wonder, developing tools to keep track of findings. Teachers:

• Facilitating experiences and discussions.

When asked to research: • Students copy from encyclopaedia. • Students create booklets or write in exercise books for

teacher.

When asked to research: • Students may exercise choice about making dioramas,

displaying artefacts, writing reports or making posters related to the theme or topic.

When asked to research: • Students look for connection and coherence. • Students and teachers utilize a wide range of resources. • Inquiry is focused by guiding questions.

Learning Emphasis: • Coverage of content. • Superficial knowledge about and interest in the topic.

Learning Emphasis: • Coverage or content. • Gathering and sharing of information/facts in interesting and

engaging ways.

Learning Emphasis: • Constructing meaning through carefully designed activities. • Relating assessment tasks to learning experiences. • Using a variety of sign and symbol systems to communicate

understanding and reflections. Knowledge is regarded as the acquisition of objective facts. Knowledge is regarded as the gathering of facts and acquisitions

of subject-specific skills. Knowledge is recognised as someone else’s answer to prior questions. Understanding is seen as an ongoing process that involves the formation of new questions which lead to the creating of more compelling theories.

Assessment focus: • Recall and memorisation. • Tests about facts, dates, events.

Assessment focus: • Process and presentations skills. • Completion and sharing of a product.

Assessment focus: • Integral to all teaching and learning. • Identifies what students know, understand and can do. • Promotes student learning.

Afterwards: Students do not expect to return to topics once they have been ‘covered’.

Afterwards: Students feel they have finished with the topic at the end of a thematic unit.

Afterwards: Students see inquiry as an ongoing process. Returning to the inquiry enables them to deepen their knowledge and understanding.

TEACHING MODELS

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Concept Map:

Form:

What is it like?

Function:

How does it work?

Reflection: How do we know?

Topic:

Responsibility: What is our responsibility?

Perspective: What are the points of view?

Connection:

How is it connected to other things?

Change:

How is it changing?

Causation:

Why is it like it is?

Related Concepts:

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R. Long 2010 Adapted from Memorizing Strategies & Other Brain Based Activities, Scholastic Teaching Resources, and Making the PYP Happen 2009

IBPYP Key Concepts and Bloom’s Taxonomy CONCEPTS RELATED

QUESTIONS BLOOM’S

TAXONOMY RELATED QUESTIONS

FORM The understanding that everything

has a form with recognizable features that can be observed,

identified, described and categorized.

What is it like? Where do we get it? What does it (look, smell, feel, taste) like? What are the rules?

KNOWLEDGE Recall data or information

Who, What, Where, When…? Which one…? Can you list…? Can you select…?

FUNCTION The understanding that everything has a purpose, a role or a way of

behaving that can be investigated.

How does it work? What happens if…? What is it used for? How can we…?

COMPREHENSION Understand the

meaning, translation and interpretation of

instructions and problems.

How would you classify…? How would you rephrase…? How would you compare/contrast...? What is the main idea?

CAUSATION The understanding that things do

not just happen, that there are causal relationships at work and that actions have consequences.

Why is it like it is? How can you…? How are…? What causes…? What motivated…?

APPLICATION Use a concept in a new situation. Applies what was learned into novel

situations.

What would result if…? What other way could you…? How would you organize…? How would you use…? How would you apply…? What approach would you use to…?

CHANGE The understanding that change is

the process of movement from one state to another. It is universal and

inevitable.

How is it changing? Why did things change? How has _ changed _? What changes when…? What difference do you see?

ANALYSIS Separates concepts into component parts so that

its organizational structure may be

understood.

What are the parts or features of…? How would you categorize…? What evidence can you find…? What is the relationship between…? How would you classify…?

CONNECTION The understanding that we live in a

world of interacting systems in which the actions of any individual

element affect others.

How is it connected to other things?

What link is there between…? Why is it same or different than…? How has _ affected _ ? What can we learn by…?

SYNTHESIS Put parts together to form a whole, with

emphasis on creating a new meaning or

structure.

What changes would you make to solve…? What would happen if…? How would you make it different? Can you formulate a theory for…? What could be combined to create…? Can you think of an original way to…?

PERSPECTIVE The understanding that knowledge

is moderated by perspectives; different perspectives lead to

different interpretations, understandings and findings;

perspectives may be individual, group, cultural or disciplinary.

What are the points of view?

What is easy/difficult about…? What do you like and why? How can you improve? What would it be like if…?

EVALUATION Make judgments about

the value of ideas or materials.

Do you agree? What is your opinion? Would it be better if…? How would you evaluate…? How would you compare…? How would you prioritize…?

RESPONSIBILITY The understanding that people make

choices based on their understandings, and the actions they

take as a result do make a difference.

What is our responsibility?

What should we do…? What do you need to consider? How can we?

REFLECTION The understanding that there are

different ways of knowing and that it is important to reflect on our

conclusions, to consider our methods of reasoning, and the

quality and the reliability of the evidence we have considered.

How do we know? Which sources have we used? How reliable is…? What makes _ better than _? What do you think? How can you evaluate?

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Used with permission from H. Lynn Erickson, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks , CA

Subject Area CONCEPTS Timeless***Universal***Enduring Understanding

SCIENCE

Order

Organism

Population

System

Change

Evolution

Cycle

Interaction

Energy/Matter

Equilibrium

MUSIC

Rhythm

Melody

Harmony

Tone

Pitch

Form

Tempo

Timbre

Pattern

MATH

Number

Ration

Proportion

Symmetry

Probability

Pattern

Order

Quantification

System

VISUAL ART

Rhythm

Line

Color

Value

Shape

Texture

Composition

Elaboration

Aesthetic

LITERATURE

Time

Space

Interactions

Change

Beliefs/Values

Emotions

Motivation

Conflict/Cooperation

Perceptions

Patterns

Character

SOCIAL STUDIES

Conflict/Cooperation

Patterns

System

Change/Continuity

Culture

Evolution

Civilization

Migration/Immigration

Interdependence

Symbolism

IBPYP Key Concepts

Form Change

Function Responsibility

Causation Perspective

Connection Reflection

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How to Write a Central Idea

1. Pair two or more concepts from your unit of study into a sentence conveying an important idea

that will transfer through time and across cultures.

2. Use active, present tense verbs to convey timeless characteristic. Avoid using personal or proper

nouns. Use qualifiers (may, can often) if your generalizations may not hold across all examples.

(e.g. Migration may lead to cultural conflicts.)

Science Social Studies Economics

Order Organism Population System Change Evolution Cycle Interaction Energy/Matter Equilibrium

Conflict/Cooperation Patterns Populations System Change/Continuity Culture Evolution Civilization Migration/Immigration Interdependence

Markets Supply and Demand Cost Interdependence Beliefs/Values Goods/Services Conflict Cooperation Perceptions Patterns Power

Put two or more of the concepts together and state your general idea.

Example: Unit of study: "Study of electric circuits" Systems? Interaction? Energy?

Central Idea: A system is a group of parts which interact to complete a new whole.

Lines of Inquiry: The parts of an electric circuit The role of conductors and insulators Other systems in nature The role of conflict as a function in systems

OR

Central Idea: An electric circuit creates an opportunity to get a power source out to many people.

Lines of Inquiry: The structure of an electric power grid Forms creating electrical energy: wind, water, solar, nuclear Patterns of development as connected to opportunities for power

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Central Idea Checklist

How to recognize an effective central idea Making the PYP Happen pg. 12-14, 28-30

CENTRAL IDEA: Yes No Is it globally applicable and significant?

Is it conceptually based and does it connect with and extend the understanding of the transdisciplinary theme?

Is it not value laden?

Is it relevant to the students’ prior knowledge and experiences?

Is it one sentence, in present tense, in statement form and free of personal pronouns?

Is it concept driven and a true /valid statement?

Is it a statement that inspires curiosity and provokes inquiry? Is it engaging and interesting to students?

Authentic Assessment Checklist

How to recognize an effective central idea Making the PYP Happen pg. 31, 45-49

Assessment Task: Yes No

Is it connected to the central idea?

Does it allow for more than one answer or more than one way to solve problems?

Is it intrinsically interesting and gratifying?

Does it allow each student to contribute according to their own aptitudes?

Does it require multiple skills and behaviors?

Does it check for understanding rather than memorization or regurgitation of facts?

Does it involve a task as well as an evaluative tool?

Does it allow for the development of the Learner Profile and the Attitudes?

Does it take the students beyond what they already know? Adapted from Elizabeth Cohen's Designing Group Work for the Heterogeneous Classroom, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, 1994

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When planning for assessment ask these questions:

What is the function of the assessment?

What central idea or learning objectives are being assessed?

What evidence of learning will be looked for?

What experiences are being provided/supported to help

students be successful with the assessment?

Will the assessment task demonstrate understanding?

Is the assessment reliable enough to allow sound conclusions to

be drawn?

How and when will feedback be given?

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Source: Understanding by Design Professional Development Workbook, Grant Wiggins et Jay McTighe, 2004

Possible Student Roles and Audiences

Indicate R for roles and A for audiences

Actor Advertiser Artist/Illustrator Author Biographer Board member Boss Boy/Girl Scout Businessperson Candidate Carpenter Cartoon character Caterer Celebrity CEO Chairperson Chef Choreographer Coach Community member Composer Client/customer Construction worker Dancer Designer Detective Editor Elected official Embassy staff Engineer Expert in ____

Eyewitness Family member Farmer Filmmaker Firefighter Forest ranger Friend Geologist Government official Historian Historical figure Intern Interviewer Inventor Judge Jury lawyer Library patron Literary critic Meteorologist Museum director/curator Museum visitor Neighbor Newscaster Novelist Nutritionist Observer Panelist Parent Pen pal

Photographer Pilot Playwright Poet Police officer Radio listener Reader Reporter Researcher Reviewer Sailor School official Scientist Ship's captain Social worker Statistician Storyteller Student Taxi driver Teacher Tour guide Trainer Travel agent Tutor TV viewer TV or movie character Visitor WEB site designer Zookeeper

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If You're Trying to Teach Kids How to Write... You Gotta Have this Book, Marjorie Frank

Over 200 alternatives to "Write a Report"

advertisements advice columns announcements apologies arguments awards ballads bedtime stories beginnings billboards biographies book jackets book reviews bulletins bumper stickers campaign speeches captions cartoons catalog entries cereal boxes certificates character sketches cinquains codes comic strips comparisons complaints compliments contracts conversations critiques definitions descriptions dialogues diamantes diaries diets directions directories dramas dreams editorials endings epilogues epitaphs errors essays exaggerations

exclamations explanations fables fairy tales fantasies folklore fortunes funny tales game rules good news/bad news gossip greeting cards grocery lists impromptu speeches inquiries interview questions introductions invitations jingles job applications jokes journals legends letters lists love notes lyrics magazine articles memories menus metaphors monologues movie reviews movie scripts mysteries myths newscasts newspapers notebooks nursery rhymes observations odes opinions pamphlets parables paragraphs parodies persuasions

phrases plays poems post cards post scripts posters predictions problems problem solutions prologues propaganda proposals protests proverbs puns puppet shows puzzles questions quips quizzes quotations real estate notices rebuttals recipes record covers remedies reports requests resumes reviews riddles rhymes sales pitches satires schedules secrets self descriptions sentences sequels signs silly sayings skywriting messages slogans soliloquies songs song titles

speeches spoofs spooky stories spoonerisms sports analyses sports reports superstitions TV commercials TV guides TV program tall tales telegram telephone messages thank you notes theater program tips titles tongue twisters traffic rules travel brochures travel logs travel posters tributes trivia view points vignettes want ads wanted posters warnings wills wise sayings wishes weather forecasts weather reports wonderful words yarns yellow pages

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Inquiry

Successful inquiry is the finding of new understandings.

Understanding

Understanding is temporary and can be changed over time

Answers

Answers are final and will not change with new experiences

From Learning Together Thought Inquiry-Kathy Short

Inquiry Language

Help me understand...

Tell me more...

I wonder if...

That surprises you...

So you think maybe...

What do you think...

In what ways do you

know...

There's a part I want to

ask...

I'm trying to

figure out…

I wonder why..

Well maybe...

I think that..

I noticed...

This is what I don't get

It makes sense that…

I thought it was..

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What does inquiry sound and look like?

Looks and Sounds Like Rationale Groups of students talking about their learning experiences

The constructivist learning model builds on connecting new information to old knowledge and experiences

Tables or clusters of desks Room geography that is conducive to collaborative learning

Students eager to be at school and sad to leave Inquiry provides a safe, comfortable, challenging and interesting environment

Kids using reference books, online searches, phone interviews, face to face interviews, email or letters to people resources

Research skills need to be developed and kids need the time and freedom to explore all kinds of resources

Questions posed around the room, from students, teachers and parents

Inquiries authored by students and others need to be noticed and valued

Questions abound among teachers, students and parents

Without questions there can be no in depth inquiry

Students chatting in halls, conversations about past, on-going and future planners

Planning, reflecting, sharing, inquiring in all settings is natural in an inquiry-based school

Teachers thinking outloud-modeling how learning occurs –decisions made- monitoring and adjusting

Personal perceptions that students can hear help them internalize

Conferences where everyone reflects, discusses and then chooses new, meaningful action

Action is for all stakeholders

Laughter, chatter, intensity Learning is hard work and fun Visual reminders of the Student Profile, IB Attitudes, Action Cycle and planners are prominently displayed

Visual reminders for all the learning community are needed for inspiration, reflection, goal setting and recognition in both self and others.

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IB learner profile booklet

The IB programme continuum of international education

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Published November 2008Updated January 2009

International BaccalaureatePeterson House, Malthouse Avenue, Cardiff Gate

Cardiff, Wales GB CF23 8GLUnited Kingdom

Phone: +44 29 2054 7777Fax: +44 29 2054 7778

Website: http://www.ibo.org


The International Baccalaureate (IB) offers three high quality and challenging educational programmes for a worldwide community of schools, aiming to create a better, more peaceful world.

The IB is grateful for permission to reproduce and/or translate any copyright material used in this publication. Acknowledgments are included, where appropriate, and, if notified, the IB will be pleased to rectify any errors or omissions at the earliest opportunity.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the IB, or as expressly permitted by law or by the IB’s own rules and policy. See http://www.ibo.org/copyright.

IB merchandise and publications can be purchased through the IB store at http://store.ibo.org. General ordering queries should be directed to the sales and marketing department in Cardiff.

Phone: +44 29 2054 7746Fax: +44 29 2054 7779Email: [email protected]

IB learner profile booklet

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IB learner profile booklet 1

Introduction to the IB learner profile

Nature of the IB learner profileThe IB learner profile is the IB mission statement translated into a set of learning outcomes for the 21st century. The attributes of the profile express the values inherent to the IB continuum of international education: these are values that should infuse all elements of the Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Diploma Programme and, therefore, the culture and ethos of all IB World Schools. The learner profile provides a long-term vision of education. It is a set of ideals that can inspire, motivate and focus the work of schools and teachers, uniting them in a common purpose.

The IB’s concept of an educational continuum, and of a coherent, broad-based international curriculum, was fully realized in 1997 with the introduction of the PYP. The IB is now able to offer three programmes of international education and, with them, the prospect of a continuous international educational experience from early childhood to pre-university age. While the IB now offers a sequence of three programmes—the PYP, the MYP (introduced in 1994) and the Diploma Programme (introduced in 1969)—each programme must continue to be self-contained, since the IB has no requirement for schools to offer more than one programme. However, they must also form an articulated sequence for those schools that teach all three programmes or any sequence of two.

With the development of a continuum of international education, it is intended that teachers, students and parents will be able to draw confidently on a recognizable common educational framework, a consistent structure of aims and values and an overarching concept of how to develop international-mindedness. The IB learner profile will be at the heart of this common framework, as a clear and concise statement of the aims and values of the IB, and an embodiment of what the IB means by “international-mindedness”.

Aims of the IB learner profileThe attributes and descriptors of the learner profile define the type of learner the IB hopes to develop through its programmes. It originated in the PYP where it was called the “PYP student profile”, but practitioners from all three programmes identified it as a set of qualities that could also enhance learning in the MYP and the Diploma Programme—learning that should not come to a stop at the age of 11, but should carry through to the completion of the Diploma Programme. It is now called the “IB learner profile” to make it applicable to all students and adults involved in the implementation of IB programmes, that is, to the IB community of learners.

The IB has incorporated the learner profile into all three programmes so that it is the common ground on which all IB World Schools stand, and contains the essence of what they, and the three programmes, are about.

IB programmes promote the education of the whole person, emphasizing intellectual, personal, emotional and social growth through all domains of knowledge. By focusing on the dynamic combination of knowledge, skills, independent critical and creative thought and international-mindedness, the IB espouses the principle of educating the whole person for a life of active, responsible citizenship. Underlying the three programmes is the concept of education of the whole person as a lifelong process. The learner profile is a profile of the whole person as a lifelong learner.

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IB learner profile booklet2

As a key cross-programme component, the learner profile will become the central tenet of the IB programmes and central to the definition of what it means to be internationally minded. Thus, the IB is placing the focus for schools where it belongs: on learning. It is not intended to be a profile of the perfect student; rather, it can be considered as a map of a lifelong journey in pursuit of international-mindedness. It places the learner firmly at the heart of IB programmes and focuses attention on the processes and the outcomes of learning.

It is the IB’s intention that the learner profile will help develop coherence within and across the three programmes. It provides a clear and explicit statement of what is expected of students, teachers and school administrators in terms of learning, and what is expected of parents in terms of support for that learning.

The IB learner profile in schools

Implementing the IB learner profileA school’s curriculum includes all those student activities—academic and non-academic—for which the school takes responsibility, since they all have an impact on student learning. The development of the written curriculum, the expression of ideas on paper, is necessary, but alone is not sufficient. The curriculum can be defined as what is to be learned (the written curriculum), how it is to be learned (the taught curriculum) and how it is to be assessed (the learned curriculum). This gives equal focus to content, teaching methodologies and assessment practices. The IB prescribes, to varying degrees in each of its three programmes, the written, taught and learned curriculum, but relies on schools for its implementation.

The successful implementation of these three dimensions of the curriculum in each IB programme depends on the culture and ethos of the school. The values and attitudes of the school community that underpin the culture and ethos of a school are significant in shaping the future of its young people. In a school that has a commitment to the values inherent in the IB learner profile, these values will be readily apparent in classroom and assessment practices, the daily life, management and leadership of the school. The IB believes that the learner profile will provide a shared vision that will encourage dialogue and collaboration among teachers and administrators about how to create the best environment for learning.

The IB recognizes that the introduction of the IB learner profile may present a challenge for schools. It invites schools to evaluate critically their learning environment and make the changes necessary to enable all its students and teachers to work towards developing the values of the profile. Such changes should lead to a truly collaborative learning environment, the strengthening of professionalism among the teaching staff and a commitment by the school to invest in professional development. For most schools this will not mean starting from the beginning, but may involve a refocusing of attention, creative thought and resources. For some schools the introduction of the learner profile will necessitate a major shift in direction.

The IB learner profile as a tool for school developmentFor the IB learner profile to become the central tenet of each IB programme, schools will need to adopt a holistic view of school as well as student development. The learner profile provides a tool for whole-school reflection and analysis. Individual teachers, faculty groups, school administrators and school governors should ask themselves “To what extent do our philosophy, our school structures and systems, our curriculum and units of work enable students, and the adults who implement the programmes, to develop into the learner described in the profile?”

In addition, teachers, IB programme coordinators and school administrators are encouraged to ask themselves questions like the ones presented here.

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Classroom practicesIs it possible to create more experiences and opportunities in the classroom that allow students to be •genuine inquirers?

How much attention do we pay to how students interact with other students in group-work activities? •Could we give more time to helping them work effectively as part of a team?

Could we create more opportunities to discuss the ethical issues that arise in the subject(s) we teach?•

How well do we model empathy, compassion and respect for others in our classrooms and around •the school?

Assessment and reporting practicesIn formative assessment tasks, do we provide students with enough opportunities to take intellectual •risks, and then support them in taking such risks?

To what extent does the range of assessment strategies we use meet the diverse needs of students •and encourage creative and critical thinking?

Can we provide time for students to reflect on an assessment task and what they have learnt from it?•

What aspects of student development do we report on?•

Daily life, management and leadershipDo all our teachers see themselves as responsible for the nurturing of lifelong learners?•

What is the quality of interaction between students and teachers around the school?•

Does the structure of the school day and the schedule facilitate the development of the learner as a •whole person?

Are support structures in place to oversee the personal, social and emotional welfare of students, as •well as their academic development?

Are students empowered to take responsibility for their own learning?•

Are we investing appropriately in ongoing professional development for our teachers?•

The learner profile provides a common language for teachers and administrators across the IB programmes to discuss student progress, the articulation of the curriculum and the issues of transition between programmes and school divisions. The profile does not provide ready answers to these areas, but it focuses attention on what aims and values underlie the programmes and, therefore, provides a basis on which important decisions can be made. The same applies to a school that implements only one IB programme: the profile provides a focus and reference point for teacher collaboration and the development of truly concurrent learning.

Monitoring the IB learner profileIn PYP schools teachers are required, on behalf of all students, to assess and report on progress in the development of the attributes of the learner profile. This is done by using the learner profile for self and peer assessment, as the basis for teacher/student/parent conferences and through reporting to parents.

MYP and Diploma Programme schools are expected to focus on monitoring student development in light of the profile in as many ways as possible, by engaging students and teachers in reflection, self-assessment and conferencing. Each IB World School, as a whole, is also encouraged to reflect on the success of the implementation of the learner profile.

The IB has developed programme standards and practices that are common to all its programmes. The implementation of the IB learner profile is specified in these practices, and schools will be expected to address them as part of the self-study in the programme evaluation process. The IB Programme standards and practices document can be found on the IB public website and the online curriculum centre (OCC).

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IB learner profile booklet4

Sharing practiceOne of the great advantages that the IB has recognized and benefited from since its inception is the “creative professionalism” (a term created by Hargreaves in 1998) of its IB World School teachers, and their willingness to explore and share ideas and practices. Innovative and creative teachers of IB programmes from many different cultures have played a very significant role in the development of each programme. Their role continues with the introduction of the IB learner profile and ensures that the implementation of the profile in the three programmes benefits from the extensive practical, diverse and up-to-date experience that only they are able to provide. Such a role is pivotal in the IB’s model for the development and implementation of each programme, and it will be the same for the successful introduction of this key cross-programme component.

To facilitate the sharing of practices and experiences in the implementation of the IB learner profile, a page of the OCC is dedicated to the continuum of international education. On this page there is a section containing the IB learner profile, as well as discussion forums and areas where teachers can exchange resources. In addition, workshop leaders for all three programmes will be asked to provide participants with opportunities to discuss the profile, to share practices and experiences, and to facilitate reflection on the degree to which the values of the profile are developed in a particular subject or programme component.

The IB learner profile is inserted into all major IB publications. It also strongly informs the process of curriculum development in the IB as a basis for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of a subject or programme component against the aims and values of the whole programme.

Successful implementation of the IB learner profile in a school will result in a learning environment in which the aims and values of the IB programmes are strongly evident and embraced by all members of the community. This is the challenge for both IB World Schools and the IB. We all must strive to put into practice what we believe.

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The IB learner profile

The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.

IB learners strive to be:

Inquirers They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.

Knowledgeable They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.

Thinkers They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.

Communicators They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.

Principled They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.

Open-minded They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.

Caring They show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.

Risk-takers They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.

Balanced They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.

Reflective They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.

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Programme standards and practicesFor use from 1 January 2011

Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme and Diploma Programme

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Published October 2010

International BaccalaureatePeterson House, Malthouse Avenue, Cardiff Gate

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The International Baccalaureate (IB) offers three high quality and challenging educational programmes for a worldwide community of schools, aiming to create a better, more peaceful world.

The IB is grateful for permission to reproduce and/or translate any copyright material used in this publication. Acknowledgments are included, where appropriate, and, if notified, the IB will be pleased to rectify any errors or omissions at the earliest opportunity.

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Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme and Diploma Programme

Programme standards and practices

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1Programme standards and practices

Introduction

The Programme standards and practices document is part of a suite of documents that is essential for all prospective and authorized IB World Schools. The suite provides critical information for the planning, implementation, development and evaluation of all International Baccalaureate® (IB) programmes.

• The foundation of what it means to be an IB World School is articulated in the Programme standards and practices document.

• The process of how schools attain and maintain authorization is articulated in the authorization and evaluation documents.

• The legal stipulations are articulated in the rules and general regulations related to the IB programmes.

All of these documents can be found on the IB public website (http://www.ibo.org).

This Programme standards and practices document provides a set of criteria against which both the IB World School and the IB can evaluate success in the implementation of the three programmes: the Primary Years Programme, the Middle Years Programme and the Diploma Programme. It replaces the document published in 2005.

This document contains programme standards (common to all programmes), practices (common to all programmes) and requirements (specific to an individual programme).

Standards Practices

DP requirements

MYP requirements

PYP requirements

Figure 1

The standards are general requisites established for schools to implement any IB programme. Practices are further definitions of the standards. Requirements are programme specific as each programme has unique features and demands specific requirements. These programme requirements are detailed under the related practice and are also referenced in other programme-specific documentation. The common standards and practices and the programme-specific requirements are necessary for the successful implementation of the relevant IB programme.

The IB is aware that for each school the implementation of an IB programme is a journey and that the school will meet these standards and practices to varying degrees along the way. However, the IB expects that the school must make a commitment towards meeting all the standards, practices and programme requirements. The Programme standards and practices is the foundational document for schools and the IB to ensure quality and fidelity in the implementation of its programmes.

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6 Programme standards and practices

Programme standards and practices with requirements for the Primary Years Programme

Section A: Philosophy

Standard AThe school’s educational beliefs and values reflect IB philosophy.1. The school’s published statements of mission and philosophy align with those of the IB.

2. The governing body, administrative and pedagogical leadership and staff demonstrate understanding of IB philosophy.

3. The school community demonstrates an understanding of, and commitment to, the programme(s).

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The values of the Primary Years Programme as indicated in the curriculum documents have an

explicit impact on the decision making and functioning of the school.

b. The school as a community of learners is committed to a collaborative approach to curriculum development.

c. The school is committed to a constructivist, inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning that promotes inquiry and the development of critical-thinking skills.

d. The school is committed to the Primary Years Programme as the framework for all planning, teaching and learning across the curriculum.

e. The school demonstrates a commitment to transdisciplinary learning.

4. The school develops and promotes international-mindedness and all attributes of the IB learner profile across the school community.

5. The school promotes responsible action within and beyond the school community.

6. The school promotes open communication based on understanding and respect.

7. The school places importance on language learning, including mother tongue, host country language and other languages.

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The school makes provision for students to learn a language, in addition to the language of

instruction, at least from the age of seven. Schools with two languages of instruction are not required to offer an additional language.

b. The school supports mother tongue and host country language learning.

8. The school participates in the IB world community.

9. The school supports access for students to the IB programme(s) and philosophy.

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The school implements the Primary Years Programme as an inclusive programme for all

students.

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Requirements for the Primary Years Programme

Programme standards and practices 7

Section B: Organization

Standard B1: Leadership and structureThe school’s leadership and administrative structures ensure the implementation of the IB programme(s).1. The school has developed systems to keep the governing body informed about the ongoing imple-

mentation and development of the programme(s).

2. The school has developed a governance and leadership structure that supports the implementation of the programme(s).

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The responsibility for pedagogical leadership within the school is a shared responsibility,

including at least the Primary Years Programme coordinator and the primary school principal.

b. The governing body places the responsibility for the implementation of the Primary Years Programme on the pedagogical leadership team.

3. The head of school/school principal and programme coordinator demonstrate pedagogical leadership aligned with the philosophy of the programme(s).

4. The school has appointed a programme coordinator with a job description, release time, support and resources to carry out the responsibilities of the position.

5. The school develops and implements policies and procedures that support the programme(s).

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The school has developed and implements a language policy that is consistent with IB ex-

pectations.

b. The school has developed and implements an assessment policy that is consistent with IB ex-pectations.

6. The school has systems in place for the continuity and ongoing development of the programme(s).

7. The school carries out programme evaluation involving all stakeholders.

Standard B2: Resources and supportThe school’s resources and support structures ensure the implementation of the IB programme(s).1. The governing body allocates funding for the implementation and ongoing development of the pro-

gramme(s).

2. The school provides qualified staff to implement the programme(s).

3. The school ensures that teachers and administrators receive IB-recognized professional development.

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The school complies with the IB professional development requirement for the Primary Years

Programme at authorization and at evaluation.

4. The school provides dedicated time for teachers’ collaborative planning and reflection.

5. The physical and virtual learning environments, facilities, resources and specialized equipment sup-port the implementation of the programme(s).

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Programme standards and practices8

6. The library/multimedia/resources play a central role in the implementation of the programme(s).

7. The school ensures access to information on global issues and diverse perspectives.

8. The school provides support for its students with learning and/or special educational needs and support for their teachers.

9. The school has systems in place to guide and counsel students through the programme(s).

10. The student schedule or timetable allows for the requirements of the programme(s) to be met.

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The schedule or timetable allows for in-depth inquiry into the transdisciplinary and disciplinary

dimensions of the curriculum.

11. The school utilizes the resources and expertise of the community to enhance learning within the programme(s).

12. The school allocates resources to implement the Primary Years Programme exhibition, the Middle Years Programme personal project and the Diploma Programme extended essay for all students, depending on the programme(s) offered.

Section C: Curriculum

Standard C1: Collaborative planningCollaborative planning and reflection supports the implementation of the IB programme(s).1. Collaborative planning and reflection addresses the requirements of the programme(s).

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The programme of inquiry and all corresponding unit planners are the product of sustained

collaborative work involving all the appropriate staff.

b. Planning at the school makes use of the Primary Years Programme planner and planning process across the curriculum and by all teachers.

c. Planning at the school addresses all the essential elements to strengthen the transdisciplinary nature of the programme.

2. Collaborative planning and reflection takes place regularly and systematically.

3. Collaborative planning and reflection addresses vertical and horizontal articulation.

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. There is a systematic approach to integration of the subject-specific scope and sequences and

the programme of inquiry.

b. The school ensures balance and articulation between the transdisciplinary programme of inquiry and any additional single-subject teaching.

4. Collaborative planning and reflection ensures that all teachers have an overview of students’ learning experiences.

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Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The school provides for easy access to completed Primary Years Programme planners.

b. The school ensures that Primary Years Programme planners are coherent records of student learning.

5. Collaborative planning and reflection is based on agreed expectations for student learning.

6. Collaborative planning and reflection incorporates differentiation for students’ learning needs and styles.

7. Collaborative planning and reflection is informed by assessment of student work and learning.

8. Collaborative planning and reflection recognizes that all teachers are responsible for language development of students.

9. Collaborative planning and reflection addresses the IB learner profile attributes.

Note: “Collaborative planning and reflection” is used as a single concept as the two processes are interdependent.

Standard C2: Written curriculumThe school’s written curriculum reflects IB philosophy.1. The written curriculum is comprehensive and aligns with the requirements of the programme(s).

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The programme of inquiry consists of six units of inquiry—one for each transdisciplinary

theme—at each year/grade level, with the exception of students who are 3–5 years, where the requirement is at least four units at each year/grade level, two of which must be under “Who we are” and “How we express ourselves”.

b. The school ensures that there is a coherent, horizontally and vertically articulated programme of inquiry.

c. The Primary Years Programme exhibition is one of the six transdisciplinary units of inquiry in the final year of the programme.

d. There is documented evidence that the curriculum developed addresses the five essential elements of the Primary Years Programme.

2. The written curriculum is available to the school community.

3. The written curriculum builds on students’ previous learning experiences.

4. The written curriculum identifies the knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes to be developed over time.

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The school has scope and sequence documents that indicate the development of conceptual

understanding, knowledge and skills for each Primary Years Programme subject area.

b. The overall expectations of student achievement in the school’s scope and sequence doc-uments are aligned with those expressed in the Primary Years Programme scope and sequence documents.

5. The written curriculum allows for meaningful student action in response to students’ own needs and the needs of others.

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6. The written curriculum incorporates relevant experiences for students.

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The written curriculum provides opportunities for student learning that is significant, relevant,

engaging and challenging.

7. The written curriculum promotes students’ awareness of individual, local, national and world issues.

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The programme of inquiry includes the study of host or home country, the culture of individual

students and the culture of others, including their belief systems.

8. The written curriculum provides opportunities for reflection on human commonality, diversity and multiple perspectives.

9. The written curriculum is informed by current IB publications and is reviewed regularly to incorporate developments in the programme(s).

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. There is a system for regular review and refinement of the programme of inquiry, individual

units of inquiry and the subject-specific scope and sequences.

10. The written curriculum integrates the policies developed by the school to support the programme(s).

11. The written curriculum fosters development of the IB learner profile attributes.

Standard C3: Teaching and learningTeaching and learning reflects IB philosophy.1. Teaching and learning aligns with the requirements of the programme(s).

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The school ensures that students experience coherence in their learning supported by the five

essential elements of the programme regardless of which teacher has responsibility for them at any point in time.

b. The classroom teacher takes responsibility at least for the language of instruction, mathematics, social studies and science, to support the Primary Years Programme model of transdisciplinary teaching and learning.

c. The school ensures that personal and social education is the responsibility of all teachers.

2. Teaching and learning engages students as inquirers and thinkers.

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The school ensures that inquiry is used across the curriculum and by all teachers.

3. Teaching and learning builds on what students know and can do.

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. Teaching and learning addresses the competencies, experiences, learning needs and styles of

students.

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4. Teaching and learning promotes the understanding and practice of academic honesty.

5. Teaching and learning supports students to become actively responsible for their own learning.

6. Teaching and learning addresses human commonality, diversity and multiple perspectives.

7. Teaching and learning addresses the diversity of student language needs, including those for students learning in a language(s) other than mother tongue.

8. Teaching and learning demonstrates that all teachers are responsible for language development of students.

9. Teaching and learning uses a range and variety of strategies.

10. Teaching and learning differentiates instruction to meet students’ learning needs and styles.

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The school provides for grouping and regrouping of students for a variety of learning purposes.

11. Teaching and learning incorporates a range of resources, including information technologies.

12. Teaching and learning develops student attitudes and skills that allow for meaningful student action in response to students’ own needs and the needs of others.

13. Teaching and learning engages students in reflecting on how, what and why they are learning.

14. Teaching and learning fosters a stimulating learning environment based on understanding and respect.

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The school provides environments in which students work both independently and collab-

oratively.

b. Teaching and learning empowers students to take self-initiated action as a result of the learning.

15. Teaching and learning encourages students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.

16. Teaching and learning develops the IB learner profile attributes.

Note: “Teaching and learning” is used as a single concept as the two processes are interdependent.

Standard C4: AssessmentAssessment at the school reflects IB assessment philosophy.1. Assessment at the school aligns with the requirements of the programme(s).

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. Assessment at the school is integral with planning, teaching and learning.

b. Assessment addresses all the essential elements of the programme.

c. The school provides evidence of student learning over time across the curriculum.

2. The school communicates its assessment philosophy, policy and procedures to the school community.

3. The school uses a range of strategies and tools to assess student learning.

4. The school provides students with feedback to inform and improve their learning.

5. The school has systems for recording student progress aligned with the assessment philosophy of the programme(s).

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6. The school has systems for reporting student progress aligned with the assessment philosophy of the programme(s).

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. Student learning and development related to all attributes of the IB learner profile are assessed

and reported.

7. The school analyses assessment data to inform teaching and learning.

Requirements for the Primary Years Programmea. The school ensures that students’ knowledge and understanding are assessed prior to new

learning.

8. The school provides opportunities for students to participate in, and reflect on, the assessment of their work.

9. The school has systems in place to ensure that all students can demonstrate consolidation of their learning through the completion of the Primary Years Programme exhibition, the Middle Years Programme personal project and the Diploma Programme extended essay, depending on the programme(s) offered.

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Siu-Runyan, Y. February 1999. “Inquiry, Curriculum and Standards: A conversation with Kathy Short.” The Colorado Communicator.

Reprinted with permission

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The Educated Person

by Ernest L. Boyer

As we anticipate a new century, I am drawn back to questions that have, for generations, perplexed educators and philosophers and parents. What is an educated person? What should schools be teaching to students? In searching for answers to these questions, we must consider first not the curriculum, but the human condition. And we must reflect especially on two essential realities of life. First, each person is unique. In defining goals, it is crucial for educators to affirm the special characteristics of each student. We must create in schools a climate in which students are empowered, and we must find ways in the nation's classrooms to celebrate the potential of each child. But beyond the diversity of individuals, educators also must acknowledge a second reality: the deeply rooted characteristics that bind together the human community. We must show students that people around the world share a great many experiences. Attention to both these aspects of our existence is critical to any discussion of what all children should learn. What, then, does it mean to be an educated person? It means developing one's own aptitudes and interests and discovering the diversity that makes us each unique. And it means becoming permanently empowered with language proficiency, general knowledge, social confidence, and moral awareness in order to be economically and civically successful. But becoming well educated also means discovering the connectedness of things. Educators must help students see relationships across the disciplines and learn that education is a communal act, one that affirms not only individualism, but community. And for these goals to be accomplished, we need a new curriculum framework that is both comprehensive and coherent, one that can encompass existing subjects and integrate fragmented content while relating the curriculum to the realities of life. This curriculum must address the uniqueness of students' histories and experiences, but it also must guide them to understand the many ways that humans are connected.

©Boyer, E. (1995) The Educated Person - From the 1995 ASCD Yearbook p.16- “reprinted by permission”. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development is a worldwide community of educators advocating sound policies and sharing best practices to achieve the success of each learner. To learn more, visit ASCD at www.ascd.org/

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Some schools and teachers are aiming to fully educate students, but most of us have a very long way to go in reaching this goal. Today, almost all students in U.S. schools still complete Carnegie units in exchange for a diploma. The time has come to bury the old Carnegie unit; since the Foundation I now head created this unit of academic measure nearly a century ago, I feel authorized to declare it obsolete. Why? Because it has helped turn schooling into an exercise in trivial pursuit. Students get academic "credit," but they fail to gain a coherent view of what they study. Education is measured by seat time, not time for learning. While curious young children still ask why things are, many older children ask only, "Will this be on the test?" All students should be encouraged to ask "Why?" because "Why?" is the question that leads students to connections. In abandoning the Carnegie unit, I do not endorse the immediate adoption of national assessment programs; indeed, I think we must postpone such programs until we are much clearer about what students should be learning. The goal, again, is not only to help students become well informed and prepared for lifelong learning, but also to help them put learning into the larger context of discovering the connectedness of things. Barbara McClintock, the 1983 winner of the Nobel Prize for Physiologyâ€“Medicine, asserts: "Everything is one. There is no way to draw a line between things." Contrary to McClintock's vision, the average school or college catalog dramatizes the separate academic boxes. Frank Press, president of the National Academy of Sciences, compares scientists to artists, evoking the magnificent double helix, which broke the genetic code. He said the double helix is not only rational, but beautiful. Similarly, when scientists and technicians watch the countdown to a space launch, they don't say, "Our formulas worked again." They respond, "Beautiful!" instinctively reaching for the aesthetic term to praise a technological achievement. When physicist Victor Weisskopf was asked, "What gives you hope in troubled times?" he replied, "Mozart and quantum mechanics." Most schools, however, separate science and art, discouraging students from seeing the connections between them.


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How, then, can we help students see relationships and patterns and gain understanding beyond the separate academic subjects? How can we rethink the curriculum and use the disciplines to illuminate larger, more integrated ends?

Human Commonalities

In the 1981 book A Quest for Common Learning, I suggested that we might organize the curriculum not on the basis of disciplines or departments, but on the basis of "core commonalities." By core commonalities, I mean universal experiences that make us human, experiences shared by all cultures on the planet. During the past decade and a half, my thinking about this thematic structure has continued to evolve. I now envision eight commonalities that bind us to one another.

I. The Life Cycle.

As life's most fundamental truth, we share, first, the experience that connects birth, growth, and death. This life cycle binds each of us to the others, and I find it sad that so many students go through life without reflecting on the mystery of their own existence. Many complete twelve or sixteen years of formal schooling not considering the sacredness of their own bodies, not learning to sustain wellness, not pondering the imperative of death. In reshaping the curriculum to help students see connections, I would position study of "The Life Cycle" at the core of common learning. Attention would go to nutrition, health, and all aspects of wellness. For a project, each student would undertake the care of some life form. My wife is a certified nurse-midwife who delivers babies, including seven grandchildren of our own. Kay feels special pain when delivering the baby of a teenage girl because she knows that she is delivering one child into the arms of another, and that both have all too often lived for nine months on soda and potato chips. Some young mothers first learn about the birth process between the sharp pains of labor.


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Too many young women and young men pass through our process of education without learning about their own bodies. Out of ignorance, they suffer poor nutrition, addiction, and violence. "Maintaining children's good health is a shared responsibility of parents, schools, and the community at large," according to former Secretary of Education William Bennett (1986, p. 37). He urges elementary schools "to provide children with the knowledge, habits, and attitudes that will equip them for a fit and healthy life." Study of the Life Cycle would encourage students to reflect sensitively on the mystery of birth and growth and death, to learn about body functions and thus understand the role of choice in wellness, to carry some of their emotional and intellectual learning into their relations with others, and to observe, understand, and respect a variety of life forms.

II. Language.

Each life on the planet turns to symbols to express feelings and ideas. After a first breath, we make sounds as a way of reaching out to others, connecting with them. We develop a variety of languages: the language of words (written and spoken), the language of symbols (mathematics, codes, sign systems), and the language of the arts (aesthetic expressions in language, music, paint, sculpture, dance, theater, craft, and so on). A quality education develops proficiency in the written and the spoken word, as well as a useful knowledge of mathematical symbol systems and an understanding that the arts provide countless ways to express ourselves. Our sophisticated use of language sets human beings apart from all other forms of life. Through the created words and symbols and arts, we connect to one another. Consider the miracle of any moment. One person vibrates his or her vocal cords. Molecules shoot in the direction of listeners. They hit the tympanic membrane; signals go scurrying up the eighth cranial nerve. From that series of events, the listener feels a response deep in the cerebrum that approximates the images in the mind of the speaker. Because of its power and scope, language is the means by which all other subjects are pursued.


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The responsible use of language demands both accuracy and honesty, so students studying "Language" must also learn to consider the ethics of communication. Students live in a world where obscenities abound. They live in a world where politicians use sixty-second sound bites to destroy integrity. They live in a world where cliches substitute for reason. To make their way in this world, students must learn to distinguish between deceit and authenticity in language. Writers and mathematicians have left a long and distinguished legacy for students to learn from. Through words, each child can express something personal. Through symbols, each child can increase the capacity to calculate and reason. Through the arts, each child can express a thought or a feeling. People need to write with clarity, read with comprehension, speak effectively, listen with understanding, compute accurately, and understand the communicative capabilities of the arts. Education for the next century means helping students understand that language in all its forms is a powerful and sacred trust.

III. The Arts.

All people on the planet respond to the aesthetic. Dance, music, painting, sculpture, and architecture are languages understood around the world. "Art represents a social necessity that no nation can neglect without endangering its intellectual existence," said John Ruskin (Rand 1993). We all know how art can affect us. Salvador Dali's painting The Persistence of Memory communicates its meaning to anyone ever haunted by time passing. The gospel song "Amazing Grace" stirs people from both Appalachia and Manhattan. "We Shall Overcome," sung in slow and solemn cadence, invokes powerful feelings regardless of the race or economic status of singer or audience. Archaeologists examine the artifacts of ancient civilizationâ€”pottery, cave paintings, and musical instrumentsâ€”to determine the attainments and quality of a culture. As J. Carter Brown (1986) observes, "The texts of man's achievements are not written exclusively in words. They are written, as well, in ©Boyer, E. (1995) The Educated Person - From the 1995 ASCD Yearbook p.16- “reprinted by permission”. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development is a worldwide community of educators advocating sound policies and sharing best practices to achieve the success of each learner. To learn more, visit ASCD at www.ascd.org/

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architecture, paintings, sculpture, drawing, photography, and in urban, graphic, landscape, and industrial design." Young children understand that the arts are language. Before they learn to speak, they respond intuitively to dance, music, and color. The arts also help children who are disabled. I once taught deaf children, who couldn't speak because they couldn't hear. But through painting, sculpture, movement, and rhythm, they found new ways to communicate. Every child has the urge and capacity to be expressive. It is tragic that for most children the universal language of the arts is suppressed, then destroyed, in the early years of learning, because traditional teaching does not favor self- expression and school boards consider art a frill. This is an ironic deprivation when the role of art in developing critical thinking is becoming more widely recognized. Jacques d'Amboise, former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, movie star, and founder of the National Dance Institute, offers his view on how art fits into education: "I would take the arts, science and sports, or play, and make all education involve all of them. It would be similar to what kindergarten does, only more sophisticated, right through life. All of the disciplines would be interrelated. You dance to a poem: poetry is meter, meter is time, time is science" (Ames and Peyser 1990). For our most moving experiences, we turn to the arts to express feelings and ideas that words cannot convey. The arts are, as one poet has put it, "the language of the angels." To be truly educated means being sensitively responsive to the universal language of art.

IV. Time and Space.

While we are all nonuniform and often seem dramatically different from one another, all of us have the capacity to place ourselves in time and space. We explore our place through geography and astronomy. We explore our sense of time through history. And yet, how often we squander this truly awesome capacity for exploration, neglecting even our personal roots. Looking back in my own life, my most ©Boyer, E. (1995) The Educated Person - From the 1995 ASCD Yearbook p.16- “reprinted by permission”. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development is a worldwide community of educators advocating sound policies and sharing best practices to achieve the success of each learner. To learn more, visit ASCD at www.ascd.org/

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important mentor was Grandpa Boyer, who lived to be one hundred. Sixty years before that, Grandpa moved his little family into the slums of Dayton, Ohio. He then spent the next forty years running a city mission, working for the poor, teaching me more by deed than by word that to be truly human, one must serve. For far too many children, the influence of such intergenerational models has diminished or totally disappeared. Margaret Mead said that the health of any culture is sustained when three generations are vitally interacting with one anotherâ€”a "vertical culture" in which the different age groups are connected. Yet in America today we've created a "horizontal culture," with each generation living alone. Infants are in nurseries, toddlers are in day care, older children are in schools organized by age. College students are isolated on campuses. Adults are in the workplace. And older citizens are in retirement villages, living and dying all alone. For several years, my own parents chose to live in a retirement village where the average age was eighty. But this village had a day-care center, too, and all the three- and four- year-olds had adopted grandparents to meet with every day. The two generations quickly became friends. When I called my father, he didn't talk about his aches and pains, he talked about his little friend. And when I visited, I saw that my father, like any proud grandparent, had the child's drawings taped to the wall. As I watched the two of them together, I was struck by the idea that there is something really special about a four-year-old seeing the difficulty and courage of growing old. And I was struck, too, by watching an eighty-year-old being informed and inspired by the energy and innocence of a child. Exposure to such an age difference surely increases the understanding of time and personal history. The time has come to break up the age ghettos. It is time to build intergenerational institutions that bring together the old and young. I'm impressed by the "grandteacher" programs in the schools, for example. In the new core curriculum, with a strand called "Time and Space," students should discover their own roots and complete an oral history. But beyond their own extended family, all students should also become well informed about the


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influence of the culture that surrounds them and learn about the traditions of other cultures. A truly educated person will see connections by placing his or her life in time and space. In the days ahead, students should study Western civilization to understand our past, and they should study non-Western cultures to understand our present and our future.

V. Groups and Institutions.

All people on the planet belong to groups and institutions that shape their lives. Nearly 150 years ago, Ralph Waldo Emerson observed, "We do not make a world of our own, but rather fall into institutions already made and have to accommodate ourselves to them." Every society organizes itself and carries on its work through social interaction that varies from one culture to another. Students must be asked to think about the groups of which they are members, how they are shaped by those groups, and how they help to shape them. Students need to learn about the social web of our existence, about family life, about how governments function, about the informal social structures that surround us. They also must discover how life in groups varies from one culture to another. Civic responsibility also must be taught. The school itself can be the starting point for this education, serving as a "working model" of a healthy society in microcosm that bears witness to the ideals of community. Within the school, students should feel "enfranchised." Teachers, administrators, and staff should meet often to find their own relationship to the institution of the school. And students should study groups in their own community, finding out about local government. One of my sons lives in a Mayan village in the jungle of Belize. When my wife and I visit Craig each year, I'm impressed that Mayans and Americans live and work in very similar ways. The jungle of Manhattan and the one of Belize are separated by a thousand miles and a thousand years, and yet the Mayans, just like us, have their family units. They have elected leaders, ©Boyer, E. (1995) The Educated Person - From the 1995 ASCD Yearbook p.16- “reprinted by permission”. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development is a worldwide community of educators advocating sound policies and sharing best practices to achieve the success of each learner. To learn more, visit ASCD at www.ascd.org/

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village councils, law enforcement officers, jails, schools, and places to worship. Life there is both different and very much the same. Students in the United States should be introduced to institutions in our own culture and in other cultures, so they might study, for example, both Santa Cruz, California, and Santa Cruz, Belize. We all belong to many groups. Exploring their history and functions helps students understand the privileges and the responsibilities that belong to each of us.

VI. Work.

We all participate, for much of our lives, in the commonality of work. As Thoreau reminds us, we both "live" and "get a living." Regardless of differences, all people on the planet produce and consume. A quality education will help students understand and prepare for the world of work. Unfortunately, our own culture has become too preoccupied with consuming, too little with the tools for producing. Children may see their parents leave the house carrying briefcases or lunch pails in the morning and see them come home again in the evening, but do they know what parents actually do during the day? Jerome Bruner (1971) asks: "Could it be that in our stratified and segmented society, our students simply do not know about local grocers and their styles, local doctors and their styles, local taxi drivers and theirs, local political activists and theirs? . . . I would urge that we find some way of connecting the diversity of the society to the phenomenon of school" (p. 7). A new, integrative curriculum for the schools needs to give attention to "Producing and Consuming," with each student studying simple economics, different money systems, vocational studies, career planning, how work varies from one culture to another, and with each completing a work project to gain a respect for craftsmanship. Several years ago when Kay and I were in China, we were told about a student who had defaced the surface of his desk. As punishment, he spent three days in the factory where the desks were made, helping the ©Boyer, E. (1995) The Educated Person - From the 1995 ASCD Yearbook p.16- “reprinted by permission”. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development is a worldwide community of educators advocating sound policies and sharing best practices to achieve the success of each learner. To learn more, visit ASCD at www.ascd.org/

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woodworkers, observing the effort involved. Not surprisingly, the student never defaced another desk. When I was Chancellor of the State University of New York, I took my youngest son, then eight, to a cabin in the Berkshires for the weekend. My goal: to build a dock. All day, instead of playing, Stephen sat by the lake, watching me work. As we drove home, he looked pensive. After several miles, he said, "Daddy, I wish you'd grown up to be a carpenterâ€”instead of you-know-what!"

VII. Natural World.

Though all people are different, we are all connected to the earth in many ways. David, my grandson in Belize, lives these connections as he chases birds, bathes in the river, and watches corn being picked, pounded into tortillas, and heated outdoors. But David's cousins in Boston and Princeton spend more time with appliances, asphalt roadways, and precooked food. For them, discovering connectedness to nature does not come so naturally. When I was United States Commissioner of Education, Joan Cooney, the brilliant creator of Sesame Street, told me that she and her colleagues at Children's Television Workshop wanted to start a new program on science and technology for junior high school kids. They wanted young people to learn a little more about their world and what they must understand as part of living. Funds were raised, and 3â€“2â€“1 Contact went on the air. To prepare scripts, staff surveyed junior high school kids in New York City, asking questions such as "Where does water come from?"â€”which brought from some students the disturbing reply, "The faucet." They asked, "Where does light come from?" and heard, "The switch." And they asked, "Where does garbage go?" "Down the chute." These students' sense of connectedness stopped at the VCR or refrigerator door. Canadian geneticist David Suzuki, host of The Nature of Things, says: "We ought to be greening the school yard, breaking up the asphalt and concrete. . . . We have to give children hand-held lenses, classroom aquariums and terrariums, lots of field trips, organic garden plots on the school grounds, ©Boyer, E. (1995) The Educated Person - From the 1995 ASCD Yearbook p.16- “reprinted by permission”. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development is a worldwide community of educators advocating sound policies and sharing best practices to achieve the success of each learner. To learn more, visit ASCD at www.ascd.org/

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butterfly gardens, trees. Then insects, squirrelsâ€”maybe even raccoons and rabbitsâ€”will show up, even in the city. We've got to reconnect those kids, and we've got to do it very early. . . . Our challenge is to reconnect children to their natural curiosity" (Baron Estes 1993). With all our differences, each of us is inextricably connected to the natural world. During their days of formal learning, students should explore this commonality by studying the principles of science, by discovering the shaping power of technology, and, above all, by learning that survival on this planet means respecting and preserving the earth we share.

VIII. Search for Meaning.

Regardless of heritage or tradition, each person searches for some larger purpose. We all seek to give special meaning to our lives. Reinhold Niebuhr said, "Man cannot be whole unless he be committed, he cannot find himself, unless he find a purpose beyond himself." We all need to examine values and beliefs, and develop convictions. During my study of the American high school, I became convinced ours is less a school problem and more a youth problem. Far too many teenagers feel unwanted, unneeded, and unconnected. Without guidance and direction, they soon lose their sense of purposeâ€”even their sense of wanting purpose. Great teachers allow their lives to express their values. They are matchless guides as they give the gift of opening truths about themselves to their students. I often think of three or four teachers, out of the many I have worked with, who changed my life. What made them truly great? They were well informed. They could relate their knowledge to students. They created an active, not passive, climate for learning. More than that, they were authentic human beings who taught their subjects and were open enough to teach about themselves. Service projects instill values. All students should complete a community service project, working in day-care centers and retirement villages or tutoring other students at school. The North Carolina School of Science and Math develops an ethos of responsible citizenship. To be admitted, a child must ©Boyer, E. (1995) The Educated Person - From the 1995 ASCD Yearbook p.16- “reprinted by permission”. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development is a worldwide community of educators advocating sound policies and sharing best practices to achieve the success of each learner. To learn more, visit ASCD at www.ascd.org/

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commit to sixty hours of community service per summer and three hours per week during the school year (Beach 1992, p. 56). Martin Luther King, Jr., preached: "Everyone can be great because everyone can serve." I'm convinced the young people of this country want inspiration from this kind of larger vision, whether they come across it in a book or in person, or whether they find it inside themselves.

Values, Beliefs, and Connections

What, then, does it mean to be an educated person? It means respecting the miracle of life, being empowered in the use of language, and responding sensitively to the aesthetic. Being truly educated means putting learning in historical perspective, understanding groups and institutions, having reverence for the natural world, and affirming the dignity of work. And, above all, being an educated person means being guided by values and beliefs and connecting the lessons of the classroom to the realities of life. These are the core competencies that I believe replace the old Carnegie units. And all of this can be accomplished as schools focus not on seat time, but on students involved in true communities of learning. I realize that remarkable changes must occur for this shift in goals to take place, but I hope deeply that in the century ahead students will be judged not by their performance on a single test but by the quality of their lives. It is my hope that students in the classrooms of tomorrow will be encouraged to create more than conform, and to cooperate more than compete. Each student deserves to see the world clearly and in its entirety and to be inspired by both the beauty and the challenges that surround us all. Above all, I pray that Julie and David, my granddaughter in Princeton and my grandson in Belize, along with all other children on the planet, will grow to understand that they belong to the same human family, the family that connects us all. Fifty years ago, Mark Van Doren wrote, "The connectedness of things is what the educator contemplates to the limit of his capacity." The student, he says,


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who can begin early in life to see things as connected has begun the life of learning. This, it seems to me, is what it means to be an educated person.

References

Ames, Katrine, and Marc Peyser. (Fall/Winter 1990). "Why Jane Can't Draw (or Sing, or Dance . . . )." Newsweek Special Edition: 40â€“49.

Baron Estes, Yvonne. (May 1993). "Environmental Education: Bringing Children and Nature Together." Phi Delta Kappan 74, 9: K2.

Beach, Waldo. (1992). Ethical Education in American Public Schools. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association.

Bennett, William J. (1986). First Lessons. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.

Boyer, Ernest L. (1981). A Quest for Common Learning: The Aims of General Education. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Brown, J. Carter. (November/December 1983). "Excellence and the Problem of Visual Literacy." Design for Arts in Education 84, 3.

Bruner, Jerome. (November 1971). "Process of Education Reconsidered." An address presented before the 16th Annual Conference of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Rand, Paul. (May 2, 1993). "Failure by Design," The New York Times, p. E19.


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