The Middle Years Programme (MYP), designed for students aged 11-16, emphasizes inquiry-based learning, actively engaging students, and connecting their learning to the real world. This blog post will guide you through creating effective and engaging MYP units.
Stage 1: Establishing the Conceptual Framework
This stage is about establishing a big-picture framework for your unit by answering two key questions:
• Why are students learning this?
• How does this learning connect to the world and their communities?
Key elements of Stage 1:
• Unit Title: A catchy and engaging title to capture student interest.
• Global Contexts: Provides real-world relevance and meaning to the unit content. Choose one of the six global contexts:
◦ Identities and relationships
◦ Orientation in space and time
◦ Personal and cultural expression
◦ Scientific and technical innovation
◦ Globalization and sustainability
◦ Fairness and development
• Key Concept: A broad, universal idea that transcends subjects. Each subject area has its own set of key concepts to choose from.
• Related Concepts: Subject-specific "big ideas" that students should grasp by the end of the unit.
• Line of Inquiry: Provides structure to explore factual, conceptual, and procedural knowledge, leading to higher-order thinking. Inquiry in this context is a process of discovery, not solely focused on outcomes.
• Statement of Inquiry: A concise, student-friendly statement that merges the key and related concepts, framing the unit's learning purpose. When writing a statement of inquiry:
◦ Avoid proper nouns and personal nouns.
◦ Use active, present tense verbs.
◦ Avoid using the verb "to be" in definitions.
• Inquiry Questions: Open-ended questions that encourage deep thinking and guide ongoing inquiry. Consider including these types of inquiry questions:
◦ Factual: Concrete questions with definitive answers.
◦ Conceptual: Abstract questions that encourage analysis and synthesis of transferable knowledge.
◦ Debatable: Questions that explore different perspectives, encouraging critical thinking and discussion.
• Assessment: An authentic, real-world applicable assessment task aligned with MYP objectives and assessment criteria. Introduce this assessment to students at the beginning of the unit.
Stage 2: Developing the Learning Journey
This stage focuses on the specific learning experiences and teaching strategies that will guide students towards the unit goals.
Key elements of Stage 2:
• Content: Identify the knowledge and skills from the course overview that help students respond to the statement of inquiry.
• Approaches to Learning (ATL): Connect MYP objectives to the specific learning skills students need for the unit. There are five ATL skill categories:
◦ Thinking
◦ Social
◦ Communication
◦ Self-management
◦ Research
• Learning Experiences (Formative Assessments): Design formative assessment tasks for each skill activity to monitor student progress. These are not graded; they are used to guide instruction.
• Teaching Strategies: Develop inquiry-based activities that connect the inquiry questions and approaches to learning. Differentiate instruction to cater to diverse learning needs.
• Resources: List all the materials and resources required, including those for differentiation.
• Ongoing Reflections and Evaluation: Continuously reflect on student and teacher experiences throughout the unit to consider challenges, new inquiries, and assessment effectiveness.
By carefully planning your MYP units, you can create engaging, challenging, and meaningful learning experiences for your students! Remember that inquiry lies at the heart of the MYP; encourage students to ask questions, explore, and connect their learning to the world around them.
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