• IB Primary Years Programme

    IB World School Logo
     
     

    River Oaks Elementary is an International Baccalaureate World School authorized to offer the Primary Years Programme to all students. Authorization was originally granted on March 1, 2005, and the school recently completed a successful Program Evaluation in which the IBO granted ROE authorization for another five years.  

    The IB Primary Years Program (IB PYP) is designed for students between 3 and 12 years of age and "focuses on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both in the classroom and in the world outside." (www.ibo.org/pyp) It consists of a balanced program of concepts, knowledge, skills, attitudes and actions that promote the development of an internationally-minded student. Providing the framework for study are six transdisciplinary themes: Who we are, Where we are in place and time, How we express ourselves, How the world works, How we organize ourselves, and Sharing the planet. 

     
     
    The IBPYP Philosophy

    What is the PYP all about? Click here to learn more.

     
    The Learner Profile

    The attributes of the Learner Profile ~ Inquirer, Knowledgeable, Thinker, Communicator, Principled, Open-minded, Caring, Risk-taker, Balanced, and Reflective ~ are the values essential to the development of an internationally-minded student. They are the common ideals that connect the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), and the Diploma Programme (DP).   

    The IB Framework

    The program has multiple components:

    •  Knowledge ~ what do we want students to know about? The program provides a framework in which units of inquiry are created to produce engaging, relevant, challenging, and significant learning that allows students' understanding of the transdisciplinary themes to develop and evolve. 
    • Concepts ~ what do we want students to understand? Key concepts are expressed as questions that propel the process of inquiry: What is it like? How does it work? Why is it like it is? How is it changing? How is it connected to other things? What are the points of view? What is our responsibility? How do we know?
    • Skills ~ what do we want students to be able to do? Sets of cross-curricular skills (thinking, social, communication, self-management, and research) are acquired through the process of inquiry.
    • Attitudes ~ what do we want students to feel, value and demonstrate? The program as a whole promotes and fosters the development of personal attitudes towards people, the environment and learning.  Appreciation, Commitment, Confidence, Cooperation, Creativity, Curiosity, Empathy, Enthusiasm, Independence, Integrity, Respect and Tolerance
    • Action ~ how do we want students to act? Students are encouraged to reflect, to choose wisely, and to act responsibly with their peers and teachers as well as in the wider community.
    • Approaches to Teaching and Assessment ~ Teachers instruct in a way that is differentiated, authentic, engaging and meaningful.  Teachers pre-assess and re-assess to help students in their understanding.
     
    The Curriculum Framework

    The PYP offers a comprehensive, inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning. It provides an internationally designed model for the learner to construct meaning and incorporates guidelines on student learning styles, teaching methodologies and assessment strategies. The curriculum framework is an expression and an extension of several inter-related questions:

    • What do we want to learn?
    • How best will we learn?
    • How will we know what we have learned?
    The New PYP Programme Model
     

    The Importance of the POI

    IB provides a structured approach to collaborative preparation in the form of unit planners designed to assist teachers in the organization of units of inquiry. All of these planners used throughout a school and across all grade levels are then organized according to their themes and combined into what is referred to as the POI, or Programme of Inquiry, of the school. Click here for ROE's Programme of Inquiry.

     

    Assessment in the IBPYP Program

     Teachers and students from the school assess student work using the following types of assessment:

    • Formative – This is interwoven with daily learning and helps teachers and students find out what the students already know in order to plan the next stage of learning. Formative assessment and teaching are directly linked; neither can function effectively without the other.
    • Summative – This happens at the end of the teaching and learning process. It provides students with opportunities to demonstrate what they have learned.
     For more information please contact the ROE IB Coordinator, Bryant Johnson.