The Primary Years Program (PYP) of the IB is a program that allows children to form and develop themselves to express their opinions, make choices, and take responsibility for their own learning; thus being agents of their own learning. (International Baccalaureate Organization [IB], 2023)
In our school, the PYP program starts at the first level of preschool (kindergarten) and extends to sixth grade of primary school.
The PYP program proposes a transdisciplinary and inquiry-based curriculum framework that develops conceptual understanding, disciplines (language, mathematics, natural and social sciences), transdisciplinary skills, and the attributes of the learning community profile.
The PYP teachers have created an inquiry program that addresses national and international learning expectations that support the integral development of students, their needs and interests to promote meaningful and relevant learning to the local and global context; covering 6 transdisciplinary themes:
- Who we are
- Where we are in time and space
- How we express ourselves
- How the world works
- How we organize ourselves
- How we share the planet
Learning experiences offer connections between knowledge and life, without subject limits.
For early childhood levels, learning and inquiry are holistic and develop through purposeful and free play. The Kindergarten classrooms are organized into learning spaces that have a variety of materials for children to explore and learn according to inquiries; they also have experiences close to nature and care for plants and animals.
The daily schedule of the PYP for the development of international mindedness promotes bilingualism, as classes are conducted 50% in Spanish and the other 50% in English.
Likewise, our students have various classes with specialists, including Physical Education, Music, Visual Arts, and Technology.
In the classrooms, students work in collaborative teams and individually according to the learning experience planned and guided by teachers, with the aim that students are agents of their own learning.
Classes promote constant student participation so that they are the ones who build their own learning.
A variety of learning experiences with age-appropriate learning goals are proposed, developing inquiry skills and enhancing self-efficacy and agency for the development of autonomy and responsible actions that contribute to the school community; children act based on their learning and have conducted recycling campaigns, group discussions to raise awareness of situations and promote community improvement actions, among others.
Critical thinking development is promoted through thinking routines that support deepening learning, to reflect and connect different knowledge.
At the end of each inquiry, students present their understandings and reflections, and sometimes parents are invited to celebrate the children's learning and progress; among these activities we have: international country fairs, organic products fairs, exhibitions, debates, among others.
Student-led conferences are a fabulous experience for students to share their progress, understandings, and development of profile attributes and learning approaches with their parents and teachers under a deep self-reflection; agreements and commitments are also established during these meetings to continue growing and developing the student as an internationally minded person.
The PYP exhibition is the culmination of the program and takes place in sixth grade of elementary school. Students at the school go through a process of approximately 6 months for planning, organization, and staging in a creative way; we have had the opportunity for children to sing, dance, perform theater, among other activities, in this learning celebration event.