MYP
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interteach
- Posts: 217
- Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2006 2:25 pm
There seems to be more continuity when the MYP and the DP are contained in one school, eg. a private school. When you talk about the public school boards, the issue is, as ichiro mentions, the DP starts at Grade 11. If the MYP starts at Grade 6, it abruptly ends after 3 years (of the normal 5 year MYP cycle), because then the kids are thrust into high school. Grades 9 and 10 are in limbo until students can start the DP. The MYP is supposed to be modified, with an exit project in Grade 8, but it does short change the program. Assessment is interesting with a general rubric, as opposed to letter/percentage grades. Very holistic and anecdotal. Not a bad thing, but surely shock for students who enter into a traditional-assessment high school.
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lifeisnotsobad
- Posts: 133
- Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 3:37 pm
I would disagree with Interteach. Each school has a great deal of flexibility within their own programme as to how they prepare the students for the Diploma and in designing the transition between the two programmes. The IB has recently conducted a study of Diploma results for students coming from the MYP, compared to non MYP students and it shows that MYP students consistently outperform their peers.
As compared to No Child Left Behind, it's a DREAM. I'm doubtful you're dealing with that if you're teaching outside the US? But NCLB was a flaming nightmare and I'm really disappointed in the continuation of much of a poorly thought out system. I went back for a Master's degree, finished a year and a half ago alongside the first children to graduate under NCLB. They couldn't think their way out of a paper bag. And I'm talking about middle American kids who made it into college, not the disadvantaged. They all wanted to be given a choice of four to choose from, to be told what (and how) to think. Really.
Teaching MYP last year at an established IB world school was a dream: kids who knew it was expected that THEY would construct their own process and observe and then evaluate it. Am now at an MYP candidate HS in the US and it's quite something to get them to understand that independent thinking is Required. And the US structure of middle school through eighth and MYP 9 & 10 to DP 11 &12 is not very tidy. The MS & HS are not in the same building and I don't foresee the meeting time among all of us actually happening in the coming years. Some of our issues are transition pains, some are incredibly poor planning in our local district office but some run much deeper & go along the lines of what's wrong with education in the US in general. I loved MYP Outside the US. Inside... it's a lot of the same song, different verse. It makes me sad to see a structure with so much value become a punishment to my fellow US teachers. Had I only their experience, I'd be bitter and hate it too.
Ichiro, surely you don't have to deal with NCLB overseas? I'm trying to remember life before NCLB...
Like anything, it depends on how good the school is... because the MYP was well established at my school last year, everyone was an expert there & could help me. A candidate school is not something I'd recommend to start with, all other things being equal. But I did find it a bit of an overwhelming (but good) jump. It's really weird to be seen as the authority (!) on determining how thoroughly a student knows the content, in placing them on the rubric.
It was also really weird being treated like a professional... I think it's time for me to leave again...
Teaching MYP last year at an established IB world school was a dream: kids who knew it was expected that THEY would construct their own process and observe and then evaluate it. Am now at an MYP candidate HS in the US and it's quite something to get them to understand that independent thinking is Required. And the US structure of middle school through eighth and MYP 9 & 10 to DP 11 &12 is not very tidy. The MS & HS are not in the same building and I don't foresee the meeting time among all of us actually happening in the coming years. Some of our issues are transition pains, some are incredibly poor planning in our local district office but some run much deeper & go along the lines of what's wrong with education in the US in general. I loved MYP Outside the US. Inside... it's a lot of the same song, different verse. It makes me sad to see a structure with so much value become a punishment to my fellow US teachers. Had I only their experience, I'd be bitter and hate it too.
Ichiro, surely you don't have to deal with NCLB overseas? I'm trying to remember life before NCLB...
Like anything, it depends on how good the school is... because the MYP was well established at my school last year, everyone was an expert there & could help me. A candidate school is not something I'd recommend to start with, all other things being equal. But I did find it a bit of an overwhelming (but good) jump. It's really weird to be seen as the authority (!) on determining how thoroughly a student knows the content, in placing them on the rubric.
It was also really weird being treated like a professional... I think it's time for me to leave again...
[quote="mandolin"]There seems to be more continuity when the MYP and the DP are contained in one school, eg. a private school. When you talk about the public school boards, the issue is, as ichiro mentions, the DP starts at Grade 11. If the MYP starts at Grade 6, it abruptly ends after 3 years...[/quote]
Just to clarify:
Our MS has MYP 1-3 and we in the HS are picking up MYP 4-5 but our discontinuity, to be explicit, is due to those in the board office not planning for how and when we would work together to integrate vertically. Our 2 buildings are 2 different worlds theoretically conducting the same program. It appears that a few people there just thought the teachers could do a little extra reading over the summer and magically we'd just implement this new curriculum on top of all of the existing structure and responsibility. Moderation is A LOT OF WORK and this was taken into account at the established school and fairly considered with each person's year plan & workload. You've probably gathered that's not the case at my current school. When we get fully up and running is when the excrement is really going to hit the fan. Moderation at my Good school was a stressful time for all.
Just to clarify:
Our MS has MYP 1-3 and we in the HS are picking up MYP 4-5 but our discontinuity, to be explicit, is due to those in the board office not planning for how and when we would work together to integrate vertically. Our 2 buildings are 2 different worlds theoretically conducting the same program. It appears that a few people there just thought the teachers could do a little extra reading over the summer and magically we'd just implement this new curriculum on top of all of the existing structure and responsibility. Moderation is A LOT OF WORK and this was taken into account at the established school and fairly considered with each person's year plan & workload. You've probably gathered that's not the case at my current school. When we get fully up and running is when the excrement is really going to hit the fan. Moderation at my Good school was a stressful time for all.