Parents browsing through the Renaissance College's primary section newsletters cannot but notice the ubiquitous use of words such as 'finding out', 'investigating' and 'researching'.
'The key in PYP [Primary Years Programme] is learning how to learn. We want our students to be able to find information, analyse, synthesise and evaluate,' says Jamie Schmitz, head of primary at the Ma On Shan school operated by the English Schools Foundation and offering all three International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes.
'Say, when we look into a genre, we show our students different pieces of writing, ask them what the pieces have in common, what they think the purpose is, and get them to discuss. They will come to the conclusions themselves through facilitation and guidance by the teacher. We won't lay it out and say this is the genre, this is 'this part, this part and this part',' Schmitz says.
While local parents are becoming well versed with the IB Diploma Programme (DP), they may find PYP and the Middle Years Programme (MYP) - noted for a relatively flexible course structure (especially for PYP) and the absence of a standardised exam - a tad mind-boggling.
Learning in PYP isn't based on subject knowledge. The programme supports students' conceptual development and revolves around six themes: who we are, where we are in place and time, how we express ourselves, how the world works, how we organise ourselves, and sharing the planet. These themes guide teachers in the design of teaching materials and are inquired into throughout PYP. As students grow older, the inquiry becomes more sophisticated.
'In Grade 4 or Grade 5, it doesn't matter what you need to understand. You need the skills to find the information and make sense of it, put things into action, reflect on the action and adjust accordingly. The content is important because you need something to engage students. But the skills of inquiry should transcend that particular situation, so that regardless of what students need to learn, we go through the same steps of the inquiry cycle,' says Schmitz.