Learning
The IB has launched the MYP Beta trial. All schools are invited to join it and MYP coordinators should have received an invitation email.
This blog provides a summary of the changes, shares how to get further information, and describes how ManageBac is supporting schools with a new demo Unit Planner Template.
There are six key changes to be aware of for MYP schools choosing to take part in the trial.
Refining Concepts:
Previously Key and Related Concepts, these are renamed “Specified Concepts” and comprise a single list for each subject group. Schools are still able to add their own Concepts as well. There is now greater guidance provided to school on how to use Concepts to enhance student learning.
Contextual Lens:
You are encouraged to place your unit in an Individual, Local, or Global context, or a combination of these three.
These work in combination with the Global Contexts (which haven’t changed) and an inquiry approach.
This approach encourages students to see the real world application to the content that they are investigating and learning about.
ATLs have been refined:
The previously long list of ATL skills has been significantly shortened but the groups of ATLs remain the same. Schools have freedom to adapt, amend or add to this list.
New MYP Beta ATL skills.
Statement of Inquiry reformed:
Whilst planning teachers can now express the Statement of Inquiry as an “Inquiry Statement” or an “Inquiry Question”. There is more freedom within this and the need to refer to the concepts has been removed. This significantly reduces the burden of what had been a confusing and difficult element of the MYP unit planner that many teachers, especially those working in their additional languages, found difficult and frustrating.
This should now be an overall guiding question that helps students understand the goal of the unit and be a focus for their inquiry. It is far more flexible and may link down to the PYP or up to the Theory of Knowledge Course in the Diploma Programme.
Guiding Questions reformed:
Previously there was a need to categorise the guiding questions into Factual, Conceptual and Debatable.
The need to identify these into different types is removed – within the unit planner there is still an expectation that questions will be recorded but the goal of these questions is to guide and help the students to make sense of the unit of inquiry.
A list of possible inquiry questions has been released here.
Community Engagement (New name for Service Learning):
To further enhance the link to real world learning and context it is a new expectation that each unit will identify a link to community engagement. This is to help make the learning relevant and actionable.
There is more guidance on the different types of community engagement. This needn’t be via direct action
Students can respond to their unique contexts through dialogue, relationship-building and reflection and reflexivity.
To find out more about the beta trial please review the IB Website supporting it. This website adds significant detail to what has been explained here via an introductory video and more indepth presentation of each aspect. If you are interested in taking part in the Beta Trial I fully recommend investigating this as a coordinator and then with your entire MYP staff.
How ManageBac is supporting this change
For schools involved in the IB beta trial, MB has provided a template you can enable here is a quick video explaining how to do this:
