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Planning the inquiry

1. What is our purpose? Class/grade: Age group:

To inquire into the following:
School: School code:

Title:
 transdisciplinary theme

Reflecting on the transdisciplinary themes and prior units of inquiry may Teacher(s):
help in the selection of exhibition issues.
Date: PYP planner
The selected inquiry may reflect one or more of the transdisciplinary
themes.
Proposed duration: number of hours over number of weeks

 central idea 2. What do we want to learn?

What are the key concepts (form, function, causation, change, connection,
The central idea should demonstrate the significance of the issue and perspective, responsibility, reflection) to be emphasized within this
should be established collaboratively with input from both students and inquiry?
teachers.
Consider the key concepts that relate to the central idea and
collaboratively develop questions that will help deepen the students’
Summative assessment task(s): understanding of the exhibition issue.

What are the possible ways of assessing students’ understanding of the central What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central
idea? What evidence, including student-initiated actions, will we look for? idea?
Through a collaborative process, students and teachers will identify the
Identify the elements of the exhibition to be assessed and establish lines of inquiry they will pursue to explore the issue. The lines of inquiry
assessment criteria for and with the students. should help the students to stay focused during the investigation.
There should be assessment of each individual student’s contribution to What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?
and understanding of the exhibition.
At the beginning of the exhibition process, consider ways in which The focus during the exhibition will be on student questions and inquiries.
evidence of students’ understanding of the exhibition issue and their However, the following questions may help students and teachers to
participation in the exhibition process can be collected. establish agreements about the nature of the exhibition in their school
setting.
Exhibition guidelines

 What is a PYP exhibition like?

 How does a PYP exhibition work?
 How is the exhibition connected to other units?
 What roles are involved in the exhibition?
 What responsibilities accompany each of the roles?
 How will we know if the exhibition has achieved its purpose?
 Planning the inquiry
Exhibition guidelines

3. How might we know what we have learned? 4. How best might we learn?
This column should be used in conjunction with “How best might we learn?” What are the learning experiences suggested by the teacher and/or
students to encourage the students to engage with the inquiries and
What are the possible ways of assessing students’ prior knowledge and address the driving questions?
skills? What evidence will we look for?

There should be ongoing formative assessment of the process as well as Learning experiences should be identified in collaboration with the
summative assessment of the exhibition. students.
Students should be aware of the criteria being used to assess their There will be a variety of whole-class, group and individual experiences
performance and participation in the exhibition. There should be many that recognize a range of learning styles and intelligences, and lead to
opportunities to reflect on their own learning and to assess their own work student inquiry.
as well as that of their peers.
Learning experiences should provide an opportunity for students to apply
If a school uses mentors, they could be asked to give feedback to students and demonstrate prior knowledge and skills rather than requiring or
throughout the process of the exhibition. introducing large amounts of new learning.
Evidence can be collected throughout the exhibition process and may Links to assessment should be made explicit to the students.
include planners, photographic and video evidence, interview notes, draft
writing, and feedback and comments from peers, teachers, mentors and
parents.
What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and
for the development of the attributes of the learner profile?
What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of
the lines of inquiry? What evidence will we look for? There will be opportunities to demonstrate a wide range of transdisciplinary
skills.
In addition to assessing the process of the exhibition, there should be an
opportunity to assess the students’ understanding of the essential All the attributes of the IB learner profile will be demonstrated throughout
elements in relation to the central idea. the exhibition.

Learning experiences should allow students to make connections between All the PYP attitudes will be demonstrated throughout the exhibition.
the central idea, the lines of inquiry and the transdisciplinary themes.

5. What resources need to be gathered?

What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available?
How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate the inquiry?

Identify all available resources—rooms, equipment, technologies, staff members (including all single-subject teachers), parents, mentors.
Identify resources the students will use in their exhibition, ensuring diversity and a range of source materials.
Local resources, such as sites, experts, organizations and artifacts, should be utilized as much as possible to ensure that the inquiry is locally relevant (and globally
significant).
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Reflecting on the inquiry

6. To what extent did we achieve our purpose? 7. To what extent did we include the elements of the PYP?
Assess the outcome of the inquiry by providing evidence of students’ What were the learning experiences that enabled students to:
understanding of the central idea. The reflections of all teachers involved
in the planning and teaching of the inquiry should be included.  develop an understanding of the concepts identified in “What do
we want to learn?”
 demonstrate the learning and application of particular
How you could improve on the assessment task(s) so that you would have transdisciplinary skills?
a more accurate picture of each student’s understanding of the central
idea.  develop particular attributes of the learner profile and/or attitudes?
In each case, explain your selection.

What was the evidence that connections were made between the central
idea and the transdisciplinary theme?

At the beginning of the exhibition process, consider ways in which evidence of students’
understanding of the exhibition issue and their participation in the exhibition process can be collected.
There should be opportunities for students and teachers to reflect on all aspects of the exhibition
throughout the process.
The “exhibition reflection tool” in this document is based on standard D2 of the IB Programme
standards and practices (2005) and will be useful when assessing the exhibition and suggesting
actions for the following year.
Parents and other visitors may be asked to assess and/or reflect on the exhibition using established
criteria.
Schools are required to keep a record of their exhibition. This record could include evidence of
assessment and reflection including examples of student work.
Exhibition guidelines
 Reflecting on the inquiry
Exhibition guidelines

8. What student-initiated inquiries arose from the learning? 9. Teacher notes

Record a range of student-initiated inquiries and student questions and
highlight any that were incorporated into the teaching and learning.

At this point teachers should go back to box 2 “What do we want to learn?” and
highlight the teacher questions/provocations that were most effective in driving the
inquiries.

What student-initiated actions arose from the learning?

Record student-initiated actions taken by individuals or groups showing their
ability to reflect, to choose and to act.

Participation in the exhibition may be considered action, as the

students are fully involved in the planning, development and
presentation of their work.
The exhibition may lead to action in a range of forms: students sharing
their new understandings with their peers, their teachers and their
parents; changing their behaviour in response to their learning; and
recognizing that they are able to make a difference through their
actions. The action(s) may also include a community service element,
either in the school or in the local community.
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