Summing Things Up

Summing Things Up – Finishing the Year Well

The weeks seem to be flying by as we approach the end of the school year. Our Grade 10 students have successfully completed their Personal Projects and are getting ready for the transition to the Diploma Programme, while all of our MYP students are trying to make the most of their daily class time and opportunities to demonstrate their understanding through remaining assessments.

Those who pay close attention to the school calendar are aware that we originally had an MYP Information Session scheduled for last week. In light of low attendance at recent sessions, we decided to replace that session with this blog post, with a plan to revisit how we structure such sessions in the new year. If you have thoughts about how best to communicate all things MYP and thereby strengthen our learning partnerships, please feel invited to share those with me.

In this blog post, you can expect to learn about:

• Mathematics in the MYP (the original topic of the planned info session)

• Personal Project – This Year and Next

• Interdisciplinary Learning

 

Mathematics in the MYP

As with all subjects in the MYP, the Mathematics curriculum framework is designed to take students beyond memorization of content into deeper conceptual understanding and the building of skills that will transfer across other disciplines and into their future math studies.

The MYP framework for Mathematics continues themes that arise in the PYP:

Overarching Skill / Theme	Content Area(s)
Numerical and Abstract Reasoning	Number and Algebra
Thinking with Models	Functions
Spatial Reasoning	Geometry / Trigonometry
Reasoning with Data	Statistics and Probability

As shown in the graphic below, students are assigned to math class by homeroom in middle school. In Grades 9 and 10, the MYP presents two options: a Standard Mathematics course and an Extended Mathematics course. In order to ensure that all students are engaged at their individual level of readiness, the math department provides a support structure that involves a second math teacher in the classroom several times per cycle.

The four assessment criteria in MYP Mathematics are:

• Knowing and Understanding

• Investigating Patterns

• Communicating

• Applying Mathematics in Real-Life Contexts

These four assessment criteria lend themselves to diverse forms of assessment, providing students with opportunities to demonstrate their understanding in a variety of ways.

If the overview of MYP Mathematics provided above provokes more specific thoughts or questions about the program, please don’t hesitate to reach out to extend the conversation.

The Personal Project

Our third annual Personal Project Showcase took place on February 20, and we were again impressed by the diversity of projects and the ownership taken by our Grade 10 students. This week, our Personal Project samples we sent to the IB for external moderation.

In the remaining weeks of the school year, we will be providing an introduction to the Personal Project to our current Grade 9 students and those supporting them at home.

Please join us online for an MYP Information Session introducing the Personal Project on Tuesday, April 23.

Interdisciplinary Learning

Nestled between the PYP and the DP, the MYP framework is designed as a bridge between the transdisciplinary learning that takes place in the earlier grades and the Diploma Programme’s focus on mastery of discrete subjects. The interdisciplinary nature of the MYP plays a vital role in this progression of learning.

We continue to work on developing rich interdisciplinary units that help students appreciate the interconnectedness and varied perspectives that each subject contributes to authentic learning. Several of our interdisciplinary units run during the final quarter of the school year. Some examples:

• the globalization of sport

• identity formation

• sustainability and ethics

Several other interdisciplinary topics are investigated on a less formal basis, as teachers collaborate to help students make these connections.

Finishing Well

As we move toward the completion of another year of MYP learning, we appreciate your partnership in supporting students and your feedback about what is working and/or not working for your child(ren) as we continue to develop the MYP at SIS.

 

Eric Usher, MYP Coordinator

eusher@seisen.com