Scots College – Learning. For Life.

The aim of the PYP is to create a transdisciplinary curriculum that is engaging, relevant, challenging and significant for learners in Years 1-6. In developing a curriculum of international education for primary school students, the PYP definition of curriculum is broad and inclusive. The IBO believes that:

• all students should be supported to participate in the programme to the fullest extent possible.
• the school’s curriculum includes all those student activities, academic and non-academic.

Essential elements of the written curriculum

Knowledge

Significant, relevant content that we wish the students to explore and know about, taking into consideration their prior experience and understanding.

Concepts

Powerful ideas that have relevance within the subject areas but also transcend them and that students must explore and re-explore in order to develop a coherent, in-depth understanding.

Skills

Those capabilities that the students need to demonstrate to succeed in a changing, challenging world, which may be disciplinary or transdisciplinary
in nature.

Attitudes

Dispositions that are expressions of fundamental values, beliefs and feelings about learning, the environment and people.

Action

Demonstrations of deeper learning in responsible behaviour through responsible action; a manifestation in practice of the other essential elements.

PYP Transdisciplinary Themes

Who we are

An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities, and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.

Where we are in place and time

An inquiry into orientation in place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between and the interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives.

How we express ourselves

An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.

How the world works

An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.

How we organise ourselves

An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.

Sharing the planet

An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.