The International Schools Review Forum

Thanks for the info! Please keep it coming.
I keep hearing that good pyp schools are very skills based so that the kids are able to to the research and exploration. I didn´t happen to see that at my school (Not enough time for one thing). I keep thinking that will all the proper school bits in place that it would be great with:
super small class sizes (12),
learning takes place at home and in the real world led by parents,
parents answer questions that help kids expand thier knowledge and connect the dots.
What if you don´t have these things? We didn´t in the gulf.
If you lack background knowledge it is very hard to - things.
I also agree that the three programs don´t flow well.

Lifeisnotsobad,

Yes, it could very well be the failing of the school. In theory, the PYP does sound good. Promoting well rounded kids.

However, the only PYP school I have been at did not promote reading or writing. Only art art art.

Wow! I'm so surprised at negative reactions towards PYP. I have had nothing but positive experiences with it. I worked in an excellent PYP school in China (WAB) and it really fit well with my style of constructivist teaching. It gave the whole school a common language to use such as the Learner Profile/Attitudes. Furthermore, it really allowed for authentic collaboration and integration between disciplines. We had some units that were basically led by PE or Art and we were in a sense supporting them as homeroom teachers! I also liked PYP because it gave me enough structure to frame units but still quite a bit of flexibility in my teaching.

The only negatives that I came across was how PYP fit in with Math. It was more difficult to always do authentic inquiry in Math and still ensure that students got all the skills necessary.

PYP to me is just good teaching! If you get a chance to work in a PYP school, do it!

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[quote="ichiro"]Snowbeaver, check out this site....I think you'll like it!

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Yeah it's grea.......

Wait...I see what you did there. :roll:

For those of you who work at PYP schools,
how long is the report card for each student ?
Does it use letter grades or a different form of assessment ?

Also, do teachers get to plan their own projects within the units ?

PYP is more structured then MYP (well everything is more structured then MYP). Most schools do IB with some other curriculum, so PYP is adapted to that curriculum, but it really depends on your school, and its PYP coordinator.

Our report cards are about a page, but thats because there is a comments and notes section for each grade. Our grades are 0-7, in compliance with the IB grading and assessment procedure. When a student transfers out of the international school, I have to prepare a Danish transcript and convert those grades to Danish grades.

What do you mean by "PYP is more structured than MYP" ?

Can a teacher create their own lessons/projects within a PYP theme/unit ?

Well that opens up another lengthy discussion on the academic rigor of MYP. Understand that MYP is 5 years basically 6-10 grade, and it has to be very flexible to be useful in a variety of cultures and regions. The reason is that the IB's MYP program doesnt issue a credential, and there is no exam data. So aside from a student having MYP grades, they dont have anything else, and if your not getting a diploma or certificate that student has to be able to enter the local school system. As a result MYP is very "adaptable" or flexible. Basically the MYP curriculum is a set of guidelines or objectives as opposed to learner outcomes. Basically, the argument by most people is that MYP has zero or minimal structure.

Your question; can a teacher create their own lessons or projects within a theme, is a qualified answer. Within the IB, yes absolutely. The qualification to that is that PYP themes are more structured, and are doable out of the box and what you will do is going to largely be influenced by your PYP coordinator/principal. Basically, its how your school implements PYP thats going to matter, not how it comes from the IBO.

[quote="missy"]For those of you who work at PYP schools,
how long is the report card for each student ?
Does it use letter grades or a different form of assessment ?

Also, do teachers get to plan their own projects within the units ?[/quote]

Long! No letter grades, the report cards are comment based and the comments come mostly from your observations during class and the stuff in each kid's portfolio. They are time-intensive to say the least, but there are only 2 report cards per year where I work.

It is possible to plan your own stuff, as long as you hit the required concepts/lines of inquiry for that unit. You also need to keep in constant contact with your grade level team - if you do something completely different without them knowing about it you could have some issues.