The International Schools Review Forum

Mr. Bookshelf and I are getting nervous about our impending first year of teaching IB (DP Science for him, MYP English for me). We're coming from a district with a fairly strict, prescribed curriculum, and so far the IB documents we've looked at have been sort of... vague.

We haven't been to training yet, but we're both a little afraid that we'll show up for work and have no idea what we're supposed to be teaching. Are there scope and sequence documents? Exemplar lessons? Lists of recommended texts? Does that stuff come from our school?

We have access to the OCC and our school's online curriculum planner, but it's all a little overwhelming.

It's more a framework for your curriculum. I enjoyed the freedom to design my own units and lessons. There were just two works of literature I had to teach, but how I taught them, and what I did the rest of the year, was up to me.

Some people can't handle that kind of freedom, but I enjoy designing curriculum.

The IB is a framework, philosophy, and approach.

The IB curriculum incorporates that philosophy and approach within it using the framework provided.

Have you been given access to the IBO teachers' site where they list the resources and documents for your teaching area?

Using that, it is up to you to select resources and develop your units.

Can you access the units that were taught this year?

I just finished communicating with the teacher I was replacing about units covered and approaches, because the IB is purposely open-ended in many areas.

Hope this helps!

The DP Sciences come with a rather detailed syllabus of content and objectives that must be fulfilled. It doesn't tell you how to teach it, but it's a good checklist to make sure your students are prepared for the exam. The OCC has fantastic resources to help you out.

[quote="BookshelfAmy"]Mr. Bookshelf and I are getting nervous about our impending first year of teaching IB (DP Science for him, MYP English for me). We're coming from a district with a fairly strict, prescribed curriculum, and so far the IB documents we've looked at have been sort of... vague.

We haven't been to training yet, but we're both a little afraid that we'll show up for work and have no idea what we're supposed to be teaching. Are there scope and sequence documents? Exemplar lessons? Lists of recommended texts? Does that stuff come from our school?

We have access to the OCC and our school's online curriculum planner, but it's all a little overwhelming.[/quote]

The MYP doesn't have set content - for example at my school we teach the national curriculum within the MYP framework.

There is no such thing as DP science, it's either physics, chemistry or biology, so which one will he be teaching?
Whichever one it is, there are [b]lots[/b] of resources online already, a quick internet search will show.
One last point, have you tried contacting your new school and asking them?

There is no DIP science, but its not just Biol, Chem, and Physics, its Biology, Chemistry, Physics, ENS, Design Technology, Health Science, and CSI.

DIP is far more prescribed and the course guidelines are pretty specific about what you need to cover. Most teachers just correlate the IB course guide to their textbook. Which makes a good start. otherwise start going through your current material and check it off against the IB course guide. Theres no reason that material and what you already have isnt appropriate within the IB.

MYP is far less prescribed and is very flexible, as discussed on this forum, MYP can be whatever you want it to be. Some teachers especially from the States where every grade and subject has a set curriculum and Scope/Sequence. Depending on your school you may have a lot more freedom and actually be required to come up with a course/class curriculum with very little guidance.

There is a world literature list, in DIP only a small set of it is explored during the 2 years in DIP. I would contact your schools DIP Literature teacher or resources and see what works they are doing and explore additional works from the cannon. IB MYP literature is an opportunity to really explore literature instead of focusing on snippets used for comprehension and fluency assessment. You could plan a whole year and course syllabus solely on the works of Shakespeare if you want. You could if you want (and your admin doesnt object) explore the modern novel through Twilight or Harry Potter. You could explore just poetry, or do dramatic interpretation (especially if there isnt a drama course/department). All those things you did in college that you wish you could have done in secondary school when you first got into teaching are all very real course objectives to do in MYP.

"There is no such thing as DP science."

WHAT? I need to have a serious talk with my admin, then.

No, I'm kidding. Obviously I know there's not a class called DP Science. I was being intentionally general because 1) I don't think it matters which science we're discussing, and 2) Mr. B is teaching more than one of them.

Thank you all for your comments. I am really excited about having more freedom in the classroom. I was just expecting to get a much more concrete list of goals for each grade! I've been tied to a basal for the last two years... All this institutional trust is making me light-headed.

@BookshelfAmy

FWIW; MYP literature is one of the easiest classes (next to art) to phone in. You just open the book their working on and start a discussion.

[quote="BookshelfAmy"] I am really excited about having more freedom in the classroom. I was just expecting to get a much more concrete list of goals for each grade! I've been tied to a basal for the last two years... All this institutional trust is making me light-headed.[/quote]


I can remember that excitement, wait till ou get bogged with the Unit Planner, AOIs and ATLs. Then you will have to deal with the management of the school who all seem to have a favourite book that simply has to be included. Then you have to assess each piece of work against 4 criteria and mark each criteria out of 10. then you have to convert the conbined scores into a grade of 1-7. Mandela had more freedom on Robin Island.

@AnnieT

Its just easier to think and mark work using the IB 1-7 scale to begin with.

@PG

That would be the sensible way of doing it. MYP rules say that you have to report on all 4 criteria and then convert to the 7 point scale.

The sensible way and the MYP way rarely cross

@AnnieT

Thats what I do and what your supposed to do, I just "report" the score after conversion.

I wish I worked at your school.

What do you say to a MYP certificate holder?

I will have fries with that.....


OK MYP used as a wrapper for IGCSEs taught in an outstanding school where MYP framework is used to boost understanding and development of all the skills that are essential in life, but are not examined in IGCSE then wow wow wow what an education!

But all MYP I came across are fourth rate schools that went for MYP as they couldn't get a single 'A' at IGCSE as teachers awful. MYP students I have been given for IBDP have never sat an exam. never studied physics or chemistry as biology teachers are cheap and often can't add up as the maths teacher couldn't teach.

In that case MYP students can't get a diploma, and won't be accepted for any other Pre-U programme, So McDonalds for them. I see the parents look so puzzled when we feed back the issues. I always have to say they need to do a pre-IB programme called "IGCSE"

Hmmm. MYP. Personally, cannot stand it...the way we teach it at my school. I did an MYP level 3 course with 25 other MYP science teachers. They gave us a load of the "building blocks" of MYP and told us to build a structure from them: AoI's, ATLs, 6 science criteria (which require three different specific types of assessment), learner profile...yada yada yada. My group sketched a large head with an agonised expression on the face and the top of the skull hinging upwards with all the building blocks stuffed in willy-nilly.
Most of the ideas are good - for example, truly getting students to CHOOSE their own independent variable and construct their own protocols, instead of "here's the lab method, do it and get the same results as a million other kids."
However, it is the most up it's own bum, arse about face, COMPLEX load of shite I have ever come across in my entire life. The IB head honchos who were at the conference promised to take our poster back to "Complexity HQ" and bear it in mind. They are said to be "simplifying it." I have no faith.
I agree that, with willing kids and high quality staff, the skills are undeniably spot on. But then, if you get high quality staff, then skills get taught sensibly anyway - maybe MYP is a way for admin to punish "lazy" teachers???? But as long as the assessments are so onerous and the MYP themselves NEVER have definitive answers about anything, as far as I am concerned it is a dead duck in many schools. Every scrap of that ridiculously complicated structure is passed straight on to the kids - if it was only a boondoggle for staff that would be different.
It's just a load of crap that sort of links PYP and IB, that schools gets foisted on them so they can have that magical "IB World School" label.
IF UWCSEA are dropping it, then the faster the rest do the better.