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Strengths and Weaknesses of the Primary Years Program (PYP) and Middle Years

Program (MYP)

University of the People

EDUC 5270: Instructional Techniques for the Elementary and Middle School Classroom

Dr. Amanda Nugent

August 8, 2024.
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Part 1

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Primary Years Program (PYP) and Middle Years

Program (MYP)

International Baccalaureate (IB) was established in 1968 (Christo, 2021) and it intends

students to grow as active, compassionate and lifelong learners. Additionally, IB fosters the

students to become inquirers, knowledgeable students, thinkers, communicators, principled

students who embrace honesty, justice, integrity, take their own responsibilities and respect and

accept diversity, risk-takers, students who cherish and contribute empathy, students who can

balance the intellectual, physical and emotion in their life and reflective students.( International

Baccalaureate, 2010). Thus, IB intentions point out that IB strives to shape students to become

active global citizens in their communities and in the world. Next, it has K-12 program: Primary

Years Program (PYP) emphasis age of 3-12 years old students, Middle Years Program (MYP)

focuses on age of 11-16 and the Diploma Program and Career-related Program meeting the needs

of age of 16-19. ( Medwell et al., n.d).

However, in this paper I am going to highlight the two strengths and weaknesses of each

PYP and MYP. Two educational strengths of PYP are enhancing students’ inquiry skills and

increasing collaborative skills. These two strengths can implement the aims of IB PYP because

PYP wants students to develop in academic, social and emotional well-being, it supports

students’ understanding of the world and its function and it guides students to value international

mindedness. (International Baccalaureate, 2016). Then, the two strengths can provide the

students to become independent, relevant and reliable persons in our society.

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Enhancing students’ inquiry skills

PYP encourages students to develop the inquiry skills and that is also align with the IB

profiles which is claimed that IB students must be inquirers. (International Baccalaureate, 2010).

Inquiry skills boost students’ curiosities and it nurtures students to grow the seed of researching

and it helps students to know how to learn independently and with others. As an example, when I

started my teaching job, I taught my students with teacher center approach and I used to explain

and tell all the text but all of my students were dull and weren’t interested much in their

learning,. Therefore, I was stressed and I didn’t know how to figure out that problem.

Fortunately, when I attended one of the teacher training, I had learnt that I have to use inquiry

approach to stimulate students in learning and urging students to ask questions about the topic

can be a good way for them too. So, I asked my students to ask the questions about the text

appositively they can’t do at first and it was hard for both my students and me. Later, I guided

my students how to ask questions and I assist them to boost their questioning habits. As a result,

the class was smooth and students became more active in the classroom and they can learn

something new with the less help of me. It means students can become independent learners and

good at researching and learning if they can use their inquiry skills.

Increasing collaborative skills

PYP aids students to enhance in collaborative skills which is one of the essential skills in

this complex and diverse world. International Baccalaureate, 2010 also highlights that IB values

the ability of working with diversity and it nurtures the students to be able to work

collaboratively and effectively with numerous and different people and situation. Medwell et al.
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(n.d), express reassure that collaborative skill improves students’ peer interaction and social

skills. By working with groups, students will develop in communicative skills, social skills,

cooperation skills, conflict resolution, comprehension and understanding others perspectives and

negotiation skills. Consequently, students will become relevant and flexible citizens who

consider diversities and differences in their learning, decisions and life.

The Two Educational weaknesses of PYP

Two educational weaknesses of PYP are time limiting and few qualify teachers who

embrace the IB natures and norms. The two weakness are interdependent because if the teacher

are not proficient in implementing IB PYP’s intentions, the time will be a hinder to process to

meet with the need of IB PYP culture. As PYP’s teaching approaches are mostly included with

collaborative and inquiry learnings, if the teachers aren’t expert in utilizing inquiry approach and

collaborative learning, they can’t intergrade these two approaches and they can take a lot of time

on organizing the students or encouraging students to ask questions. So, it can be hard for them

to finish the goal of PYP in the class within the given hours.

The two educational strengths are linking the text and the outside world and having

flexibility. As the PYP prepares the inquiry habits and collaborative skills, when students arrive

MYP, they will undoubtedly increase in linking the text and the outside world and having

flexibility. Wade et al.(2015), affirm that IB MYP programs focus learners to become lifelong

learners and active citizens with global perspective. Therefore, the two strengths can implements

the goal of MYP.

Linking the text and the outside world

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As MYP teaching approaches are students’ center and those teaching approaches focus

the students to know the link between the text and the real world, students can become a lifelong

learner and could see the world even though they are in the classroom. A great example is a

teacher don’t tell and lecture about the flooding, instead of that the teacher instructs by urging

students to search about flooding and causes and effect of flooding and discussing about how to

prevent and lessen flooding and doing a case study flooding and allowing students to search the

area where flooding that mostly occurs in the world.

Having Flexibility

As students have opportunities to learn with groups and learning numerous lessons by

linking the world events and phenomena, students will have flexibility in their learning and life.

For instance, as students are working with diverse group members, they will learn how to

negotiate different perspectives and how to treat with different people consequently they will not

be flexible in changing and integrating the ideas. Asia Society/ OECD (2018), also pinpoint that

the teacher must nurture the students to have global competence which is relevant, resilient,

curious and empowered skills. Furthermore, for learning about the diverse and complex world,

students will be flexible in this changing world affairs and they will learn how to act depending

on the situation and will endure the effect of changing and diversity.

The Two Educational weaknesses of MYP

The Two weaknesses of MYP are Lack of teacher who completed MYP training and

administrators or school leaders are weak at tracking the use of MYP. These two weaknesses are

interdependent because if the school leaders check and follow up on how the teacher implement

the MYP, they will see whether the teacher’s teachings meet the need of the MYP or not.
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Dickson et al., (2021) reveal that school administrators are fail to give ongoing demand of

teachers’ training and teachers are limited in understating of MYP’s work. Having lack of

teacher who completed MYP training means that school leaders don’t work their work properly.

As an example, in my local area, there is a school which use IB curriculum but I have found that

some of teachers are teaching without knowing what IB is and even if they know it they just

teach the way they want. This kind of phenomenon terribly hinder to achieve IB MYP goals.
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References

Asia Society/OECD (2018), Teaching for Global Competence in a Rapidly Changing World,

Asia Society, New York, URL: https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264289024en .

Christo, A. (2021). Global citizenship perceptions and practices within the International

Baccalaureate middle years programme. Journal of International Social Studies, 11(1),

103-118.

Dickson, A., Perry, L. B., & Ledger, S. (2021). Challenges of the International Baccalaureate

middle years programme: Insights for school leaders and policy makers. Education Policy

Analysis Archives, 29(137), 1-28.

International Baccalaureate. (2010). The IB learner profile: A singular capacity for invigorating

campus life. https://www.ibo.org/globalassets/publications/recognition/learne en.pdf

International Baccalaureate. (2016). The IB primary years programme.

Medwell, J., Cooker, L., Bailey, L., & Winchip, E. (n.d.). The impact of the PYP exhibition on

the development of international- mindedness, critical thinking, and attributes of the IB

learner profile.The University of Nottingham School of Education.

PHILO-notes. (2020, September 1). What is constructivism? [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y2sU18vWb4&t=19s

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. (2012). Education for

sustainable development: Sourcebook.

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https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php? page=view&type=400&nr=926&me

nu=1515

Wade, J., Wolanin, N., & McGaughey, T. (2015). A study of critical thinking skills in the

International Baccalaureate middle years programme. International Baccalaureat

Organization.
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Part 2

Level: Grade 8

Subject: Novel

Title: Pride and Prejudice

Designer: Nang Seng Mun Aung Lahpai

The situation intends the students to be able to see the social situation and people

Situation moral in the 19th century by reading the Pride and Prejudice. Students will learn

60 minutes with groups and discuss about their perspective by positing questions which is

related about the novel and real life. This activity and their discussion will be

assessed by giving a rubric. After finishing their discussion, students have to

write a paper or take video of what they have discussed in group to refine their

perspectives and ideas.

Group When the teacher count 1-10 slowly, the students have to make a group with two

5 minutes boys and three girls or three boys or two girls As students have to discuss the

social condition and people moral of 19th century, different perspectives of boys

and girls are needed to consider. Then PHILO_notes (2020), assert that students’

learning is more productive when they learn and explore together.

Bridge Each of the student in the group will discuss and tell about the Novel and to be

10 minutes able to participate all of the students in this conversation, the teacher will move

around the class and the teacher will give a paper to write down the people name

and the fact that they talk about Pride and Prejudice Novel.

After all of the students know about the Novel, all of the group members in each
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Task group has to create questions about Pride and Prejudice by relating the social

30 minutes and moral matters like which kind of social class and people moral do you see in

the “ Pride and Prejudice” Novel? And “How did their social context influence

the character moral?” Then, each of the group member ask each other and

discuss depending on the questions that they raise. To check all of the students’

participation in the discussion, each of the group member will get rubric to rate

their group members. UNESCO (2012), claims that rubrics are quite effective in

various assignments like complex ideas and real life affairs and students can also

use this rubric to rate their friends and to know what the teacher expects them to

do.

Exhibition Each of the group will take 3 minute to state no more than 5 facts that they

10 minutes would like to state from their discussion about the Novel which is related about

the real life affair.

Reflection The teacher will give options to the students that they can write a paper (no more

5 minutes than 200 words) or take a video (no more than 3 minutes) of their learning from

the discussion. Then, students have to decide which way that they would like to

submit the reflection assignments and they can do this assignment as homework

too.