The Role of the Primary Years Programme in the Continuum
The following article was written by Sabrina McCartney, CDS PYP Coordinator and MS Humanities teacher. The article appears in the December 2009 IB Americas eNewsletter, an online resource for IB educators throughout the Americas.
How often do you get to witness the fruition of your work? As a
Primary Years Programme (PYP) coordinator and Middle Years Programme
(MYP) year three humanities teacher, I am able to view the impact of
the PYP on students’ development. Working at Carrollwood Day School, an
independent school located in Tampa, Florida, which implements the full
continuum beginning PYP at age three continuing through MYP and the
Diploma Programme, we are able to see the connections throughout the
three programmes.
Our school began the IB journey with
the Primary Years Programme, so it is no surprise that we truly believe
that the PYP lays the foundation for the framework. For continuum
schools, the learner profile is the thread that ties a school together.
It is the common language that begins with the youngest of learners and
continues through the high school years. The learner profile, which
began as the PYP student profile, is developed and nurtured within the
curriculum framework. As a school community, we also encourage the
development of the PYP attitudes. Though the attitudes are officially
only part of the Primary Years Programme, we consider that such traits as creativity,
cooperation, and tolerance are important to foster at any age.
Like
the learner profile, action is a common component in all three
programmes. At Carrollwood Day School, the action cycle of choosing,
acting, and reflecting begins at the early childhood level. Students
become part of community service projects along with learning to make
choices and reflecting on their decisions. For example, before our
prekindergarten students enter our Exploratorium area, which includes
many centers and manipulatives, they first must choose and plan their
activities. When returning to the classroom, the students reflect on
their experience, consequently reinforcing the action cycle.
Throughout
the year, individual classes and the school community take part in
community service opportunities. For example, our students in
kindergarten partner with a nearby assisted living community, where
they visit and share experiences at least once a month. Also, our
students in grades two through five started an action club dedicated to
community service. Recently, they chose to take action on the IB
community theme of Sharing Our Humanity
specifically focusing on education for all by organizing a book drive
to help support a library at a local children’s home. Learning to take
action at a young age continues on as they enter the Middle Years and
Diploma Programmes.
Perhaps
one of the most impressive outcomes of a solid PYP foundation is how it
affects student learning. This past year, I had the opportunity of
teaching our first class that went through the PYP exhibition as fifth
graders. The students came well prepared with their inquiry and
research skills. They formulated questions and sought to find answers.
Over the past fifteen years, I have taught many knowledgeable and
hardworking students. Students who completed the PYP stood out —as an
entire grade —for their genuine interest in learning. According to my
colleagues who teach MYP years one and two, they see the same desire to
learn in their students as well, thus showing the impressive impact of
a Primary Years Programme learning foundation.
