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Middle Years Programme (MYP) Workshops

Introductory in-school workshops

Category 1 workshops

Category 2 workshops

Category 3 workshops

Category 3 Continuum workshops

Introductory in-school workshops

Introducing the MYP

This mandatory introductory in-school workshop provides the school with a consistent knowledge base across all staff, and acts as a specific launch point for their MYP practice. The intent is to provide some exposure to key elements of the MYP while allowing for further exploration of these elements in subject-specific workshops. It must be requested and completed prior to the verification visit.

  • The workshop is intended for all members of the candidate school’s MYP teaching staff including specialists, librarians, and part-time teachers, and it is expected that all prospective MYP teachers will attend.
  • The eight subject group representatives and coordinator may or may not have attended a category 1 subject-specific workshop at the time that this induction is scheduled.
  • The workshop spans one full day (6 hours of instruction) with two sessions in the morning and two sessions in the afternoon.
  • After completing this introductory workshop, participants will be able to continue their inquiry into the MYP by attending subject-specific category 1 and 2 workshops as well as subject-specific and topical category 3 workshops. 

Category 1 workshops

Category 1 workshops explore the philosophical, pedagogical, and administrative implications of the IB programme standards and requirements towards a successful implementation of the MYP for school leaders and subject group teachers, from candidate schools and schools interested in implementing the MYP. The workshops are designed around identical learning expectations but are customized to meet the specific needs of heads of school, coordinators, and subject group teachers. Leaders address how a school community must work together to complete successful applications for candidacy and authorization.

Topics covered include these main aspects of implementation of the MYP:

  • understanding the IB mission and philosophy through the MYP framework
  • recognizing the MYP as a relevant and dynamic approach to teaching and learning that invites students to achieve at the highest level
  • discovering the key components of the MYP framework with the student at the centre. This includes discussing the:
    • broad and balanced choice of subjects taught concurrently every year of the programme
    • use of the areas of interaction as contexts for teaching and learning
    • criterion-related assessment model that helps students recognize their own strengths and weaknesses
    • personal project as an age-appropriate culminating activity in the final year of the programme
  • focusing on stage 1 of unit planning including developing the significant concept, selecting an appropriate area of interaction context, and generating an open-ended, age-appropriate unit question that promotes inquiry
  • addressing the alignment of MYP objectives (and their strands) with local standards or requirements, as well as the creation of an assessment task with appropriate MYP criteria.

*NOTE*: The head of school must attend this workshop before the submission of application for candidacy. The coordinator is encouraged to attend with the head of school but may attend during the candidate phase. Additionally, candidate schools are required to send at least one teacher from each subject group to the appropriate category 1 workshop during the candidate phase.

Category 2 workshops

Category 2 workshops provide a forum for experienced MYP school leaders and subject group teachers who wish to enhance their understanding of the IB philosophy while improving programme delivery. School leaders and teachers will deepen their understanding of MYP inquiry-based methodologies, recognize best practice in the MYP classroom, and further their understanding of the MYP assessment model.

Topics covered include these main aspects of implementation of the MYP:

  • understanding the MYP framework as a model for balance while allowing for student choice and the development of the whole person
  • developing unit plans that prompt students to question, explain, discover and “do” in authentic contexts
  • engaging in many dynamic hands-on activities that simulate the myriad creative choices that teachers must make to nurture inspired learning
  • reflecting on learning to develop a prioritized action plan relevant to unique school situations
  • creating learning environments that ignite student inquiry
  • developing agreements toward common assessments
  • modifying and making task-specific MYP rubrics that are age-appropriate using the interim objectives
  • clarifying the role of formative and summative assessments
  • standardizing the awarding of achievement levels.

 

Category 3 workshops

The overall purpose of workshops is to provide a forum for experienced educators to build on and enhance their professional development portfolios. Participants will engage in an in-depth investigation into specific areas of interest and expertise. These workshops are intended for school leaders and subject group teachers who wish to explore specific topics through multiple perspectives and through an inquiry-based methodology. Participants will engage in detailed discussions around topics such as learning theory, pedagogy, assessment, and other scholarly interests including administrative and pedagogical leadership.

*NOTE*: Category 3 workshops have been designed to be of interest to varying audiences.

Moderation and monitoring of assessment (subject group teachers, head of schools/coordinators (HOS/IBC)

This workshop is intended for school leaders and subject group teachers who wish to deepen their understanding of the MYP assessment model with a specific focus on moderation and monitoring of assessment, which is a requirement of all schools one year prior to their programme evaluation. Participants will explore how international mindedness is woven into the MYP assessment philosophy and come to a better understanding about the relationship between the philosophical underpinnings of the MYP and the criterion-related assessment. Modeling a student-centred (holistic) approach, the learning expectations for this category 3 workshop are the same for all subject group teachers and HOS/IBC.

This workshop is appropriate for mixed-levels within each of the groups (subject-specific and HOS/IBC).

Areas of interaction: Contexts for teaching and learning (general audience)

This workshop will allow participants to see how the areas of interaction (AOI) serve as dynamic contexts for teaching and learning. This is becoming increasingly important in an ever-changing world where students need to understand the aims of their studies. Participants will explore many pathways to developing and personalizing their understanding of the relationship between content, concept, and context. They will use stage 1 of the unit planner as a practical approach to understanding and see how certain types of assessment tasks often lend themselves to a specific area of interaction.

This workshop is appropriate for mixed-level and mixed-subject groupings.

 

The personal project (general audience)

This workshop is intended to guide MYP practitioners toward a deeper understanding of the personal project as the culminating activity in the MYP Participants will conduct a group inquiry that will enable them to explore the different components of the personal project in order to gain an understanding of the process involved to successfully complete a personal project. Participants will also discover the importance of creating environments that are conducive to learning and reflection.

This workshop is appropriate for mixed-level and mixed-subject groupings.

MYP assessment for 21st century learning (general audience)

Using MYP: From principles into practice and the MYP subject group guides, this workshop looks at how the MYP is aligned with current research regarding 21st century learning. Participants will examine current primary source documents on assessment practices before reflecting on their own. Discussions around formative and summative assessments will further define how the MYP aligns with current educational theory. Participants will collaborate around possible ways to report out MYP student progress as defined by the MYP criterion-related model.

 

Validating the three-year Middle Years Programme (MYP) (Year 1-3 HOS/IBC, subject group teachers)

This workshop will model teaching and learning strategies for schools implementing years 1 to 3 of the MYP. Using stage 1 of the unit planner, participants will scaffold modified interim objectives with corresponding assessment tasks that are both age-appropriate and task-specific. Through an activity-driven workshop experience, participants will appreciate how the MYP fundamental concept of holistic education correlates with current research related to the design of healthy schools. Using active reflective practices, participants will build an action plan that will allow them to galvanize their own MYP.

 

Integrating MYP technology (mixed audience)

The goal of this workshop is to explore the structures necessary for teaching MYP technology with integrity at schools where MYP technology is not timetabled as a separate subject group in one or more years of the programme. The IB cautions that integration is an approach that is pedagogically and administratively more challenging than teaching approaches where each subject group is timetabled and resourced separately; it is therefore not the recommended teaching approach. Participants will explore strategies for planning the integration of learning objectives from MYP technology with the content of another subject group. Participants will consider school-based supports and structures that are necessary for coordination of an integrated MYP technology programme.  

The workshop is designed for teachers who teach MYP technology jointly with another MYP subject group, for MYP technology teachers, and MYP coordinators who are in charge of coordinating MYP technology taught through an integrated approach.

 

Building inquiry into MYP: (mixed audience)

This workshop will enable participants to develop effective and appropriate interdisciplinary units through interactive discovery in a museum setting. The workshop will provide background knowledge of the MYP including the philosophy and principles of interdisciplinary unit planning. It will also provide opportunities for teachers to work with colleagues to develop an interdisciplinary unit using the museum environment as a resource and include a focus on student-centred learning, interdisciplinary unit planning and MYP assessment. Participants will leave with strategies for accessing museums and resources in their local communities to develop relevant and engaging interdisciplinary units.

It is recommended that schools send teams of at least two teachers from different subject groups so work can begin on a unit planner that can be used at their home school; however, teachers on their own are also welcome.

Making the IB Happen: (mixed programme)

The goal of this workshop is to guide school leaders toward a deeper understanding of the IB mission and vision and how they apply to the philosophy, organization, and curriculum in IB schools. Participants will explore, discuss, and plan for many aspects of leadership roles, from communicating the vision to managing the budget, and establishing a plan for the supervision of MYP instruction. School leaders will explore the philosophical underpinnings of the International Baccalaureate to arrive at sound decisions relevant to their own program(s).

 

This workshop is for school leaders (school district officials, directors, principals, heads, administrators, coordinators) who are seeking strategies to further implement IB programmes and strengthen the continuum.

Action in the MYP (general audience)

Although teachers and administrators are perhaps most familiar with the community and service requirements for the Middle Years Programme (MYP), action (or community engagement) is equally central to the IB philosophy and practice. By involving all members of the community—the school and beyond—in identifying and working together to address meaningful local and global issues, we help to create in young people self-determination and positive attitudes about our ability to effect change and create a peaceful society. Participants will explore the concept of community and global engagement in depth, from the IB’s mission to the working classroom. They will understand how to make action in the MYP integral to the overall workings of the school and how to manage the requirements of MYP community and service.

Designing authentic assessments for the 21st century learner (experienced IB practitioners)

A paradigm shift is necessary for creating a model MYP. While we must acknowledge that we live in a world that focuses on student outcomes, we must also focus on how to engage students in their own learning in a way that is meaningful over time. This workshop will provide concrete strategies to assist teachers in creating a learning culture that connects cognitive and constructivist learning theories to MYP real-world assessment practices. Effective teaching is seen as a process, not a technique, and is rooted in authentic assessment practices.

Inquiry in the MYP (general audience)

Inquiry is the pedagogy that underpins all IB programmes. This workshop looks at how the MYP framework provides opportunities for all learners to engage in relevant and significant inquiry through global contexts. Participants will critique a range of inquiry models emphasizing that inquiry is an ongoing process that leads to reflection, new inquiries and deep understanding. Inquiry supports the personal construction of meaning and meaningful action regardless of language competency or learning style.

Paving the way for MYP success (school counselors, other non-classroom professionals)

This workshop is an intensive for school counsellors and other non-classroom professionals, such as curriculum specialists, staff development teachers and educational specialists, who work in or with MYP schools. Participants will deepen their understanding of what it means to be an IB World School and will investigate the impact of MYP implementation on individual school programmes, structures and curriculum development.  The workshop will delve into how to create a robust MYP that supports educators’ ability to communicate the IB mission and encourage the development of the IB learner profile attributes. The workshop will encourage participants to value international-mindedness and responsible action, plan and assess MYP units, support students and teachers who are working on the personal project, offer innovative tools to design the master schedule, help students select courses thoughtfully and develop support systems to broaden access to challenging courses.

Pedagogical leadership (subject area leaders in all disciplines, coordinators, heads)\

Subject area leaders in all disciplines as well as coordinators and heads will participate in discussion and activities that draw upon the work of Carl Glickman, Richard and Rebecca DuFour and others, as well as School Reform Initiative processes and protocols that are as effective with students as adults. Participants will model good teaching and effective collaborative learning; the focus is not on a particular subject area, rather on the way we respond to each other and work together. Although student work will be provided, we encourage participants to bring authentic student work from their own settings, preferably from a variety of subject areas. Through peer review practices, participants will both discuss and experience work from various philosophical stances that support professional learning communities. Participants will also discuss protocols for unpacking text (for example, foundation documents from the IB and the school) and examining student learning as well as adult work.

From library to MYP media hub: The central role of librarians in supporting student inquiry (librarians, media specialists, other members of staff who are responsible for the school library, MYP coordinators, teachers, and administrators)

How can an MYP library become a media hub that reflects, nurtures and fosters the fundamental aims of the MYP? How can it be central to the development of student-centered learning and teaching? MYP librarians must be knowledgeable in all key MYP curriculum documents to gain an overview of the curriculum and of students’ information literacy needs, including academic honesty. With that knowledge,  librarians can make significant contributions to unit planning as well as the planning and mapping of approaches to learning (ATL) skills with particular emphasis on the development of 21st century learning skills. Participants will explore MYP standards and practices and how the library can reflect the IB philosophy and mission. The MYP model and the library’s role within it, unit planning, the mapping of ATL skills, the inquiry process, 21st century learning tools, assessment and the personal project will also be explored. Participants will engage in hands-on activities and share experiences, resources and materials including compiling world literature titles for the five years of the programme.

Evaluating Your MYP

This workshop is an active, hands-on workshop for teachers, coordinators and administrators who want to understand the MYP evaluation process. The IB standards and practices and the Guide to Evaluation are used as the backbone to unpack this topic. Participants will walk away with a self-devised strategic plan for their own school evaluation process that will enable them to continue to move forward when they return home.

In addition to the Category 3 workshops listed above, there are additonal offerings listed under Continuum workshop for the Middle Years Programme (MYP).

International mindedness: From outside to inside the classroom

Serving every student: A guide to special needs in the IB

Humanities: Curriculum mapping from the Diploma Programme to the Middle Years Programme

Programme Evaluation

The Learner Profile

Inquiry and the librarian across the three programmes

Please click here for more information about these workshops.