The purpose of the Middle Year Program (MYP) is to offer a challenging and academically rigorous programme. This is in addition to the goal of preparing students for a successful life as an individual in a vast, globalized environment. To achieve this, it is critical to develop skills in self-reliance and both academic but socio-emotional skills that results in a well rounded individual.
Thus, curriculum in the MYP is developed with the learner and his or her needs and goals in mind to cultivate personal and academic development. The end result is a student who exemplifies the International Baccalaureate (IB) learner profile. This profile of personal qualities is what will prepare our students for a content and successful future.
Service as Action is both built into the curriculum and part of extra-curricular time at the MYP level. Through coordinated and scaffolded projects led by the school, students are encouraged and expected to make their Service as Action experience their own. This gives students the freedom to explore and to draw from their own passions. These projects show a student precisely what it feels like to make positive change within different spheres of his or her life.
The MYP approaches learning from a conceptual perspective – “big ideas that have relevance within specific disciplines and across subject areas.” At BIS, this lies at the heart of curriculum planning, and a conceptual approach to learning enables both student and teacher to create memorable, impactful experiences without the restrictions of strict subject study. Collaboration amongst staff also allows students to access conceptual understanding across multiple courses. This supports student learning through reinforcement and revision.
Practically, the MYP does not do away with the more traditional view of a school as a centre of knowledge. Specific subject study is encouraged at the secondary level, and students will find themselves focusing on languages, mathematics, sciences, humanities, current affairs, digital design, art, and performing arts within the structure of the programme. This subject focus is designed to provide students with a breadth of knowledge-based experiences, but all within the scope of conceptual understanding and inter-disciplinary opportunities (collaboration between subjects).
