Enhanced MYP

Coming Soon: The Enhanced MYP

We have begun participation in a trial run of the Enhanced MYP, a substantial reform of the Middle Years Programme that is scheduled to take full effect in 2027. This major update of the Programme takes into account many of the challenges that students and teachers face when trying to make the most of the existing MYP framework. The core objectives of the update are to make the Programme:

• better for students
• easier for educators
• flexible for schools

 

Focus Areas: Unit Design and Assessment

The MYP framework was designed with the goal of promoting authentic student inquiry leading to deeper conceptual understanding and an appreciation of the relevance of what they are learning in context. 

The shape of the Enhanced MYP reflects the IB’s recognition that the rigid structure of unit plans and the complexity of the MYP assessment criteria sometimes interfere with those priorities.

 

Unit Planning Beta Trial

Seisen International School is joining hundreds of other IB schools by participating in the beta trial of the IB’s new MYP unit planning guidelines. This trial involves four components of unit planning:

We expect that our participation in the beta trial will lead to MYP units that

• foster greater engagement with big ideas (Component 1)
• help students think more deeply about the relevance of what they are learning (Component 2)
• build on our existing ATL Skills framework (Component 3)
• complement our extracurricular efforts to engage our communities through service and action (Component 4)

 

Assessment Enhancements

Criterion-based assessment is a core feature of the MYP. At the same time, the IB recognizes that the current model can be both confusing and burdensome for students (and other community members). Anticipated enhancements to the assessment model include:

• reducing the overall number of assessment strands
• aligning the criteria across subjects, especially in the first years of the MYP
• clarifying the interpretation of the criteria bands in relation to the final reported grade

 

The Road Ahead

As mentioned above, the official rollout of the Enhanced MYP is scheduled for 2027. Our participation in the beta trial gives us opportunities to provide feedback on the new model to the IB; gain insight into the IB’s expectations for MYP implementation in the future; and take a fresh look at ways to improve our unit planning and delivery of the MYP. From our perspective, this represents an exciting opportunity to move the MYP forward at SIS.

If you would like to engage in further conversation about MYP implementation at SIS, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Eric Usher, MYP Coordinator

eusher@seisen.com