WIDER MYP CURRICULUM (KS3)

Intent

Within the Middle Years program, students undertake interdisciplinary learning. In Years 7-9, students spend 3 days off timetable and are given the opportunity to spend time exploring our interconnected world, through a variety of disciplines. Students are encouraged to explore key issues through differing subject areas and apply knowledge gained within different disciplines, to help them solve problems and establish links. Students, as a consequence, are able to think critically and creatively, fostering intellectual rigour.

Students are also encouraged to consider how their learning can have a positive impact on their community, both locally and globally.

Schedule of Learning:

• Year 7- Language Acquisition, Arts and Design
• Year 8- Maths, Science and Physical Education
• Year 9- Individual and societies, Language and Literature and Community Project.

Implementation

MYP Interdisciplinary encourages students to draw on knowledge from two or more disciplines, integrate knowledge and apply knowledge to  new content. Throughout the three days, students continue to develop knowledge within the disciplines, exploring how they link to an overarching theme. Students are given an opportunity to complete a final piece of work that draws the disciplines together, helping them to explore the issues addressed.

Impact

Assessment practices within MYP interdisciplinary encourage students to:

• Develop a deeper understanding of learning skills and apply them in meaningful contexts
• Integrate conceptual learning, ways of knowing, and methods of inquiring from multiple disciplines
• Inquire into compelling issues, ideas and challenges by creating products or explaining phenomena
• Reflect on and communicate understanding of the interdisciplinary learning process -Experience the excitement of intellectual discovery—including insights into how disciplines complement and challenge one another.

Students will be assessed under three different criteria:

• Criterion A: Evaluating
• Criterion B: Synthesising
• Criterion C: Reflecting

Each criterion is divided into various achievement levels. The level descriptors for each band describe a range of student performance in the various strands of each objective. At the lowest levels, student achievement in each of the strands will be minimal. As the numerical levels increase, the level descriptors describe greater achievement levels in each of the strands.

The three MYP criteria will be summatively assessed and reported on at the end of the academic year.

For more information, please read our assessment recording and reporting cycle.

Additional Resources

• MYP Subject Guide

This takes place during Module 4 of Year 9

Our aim at Wilmington Academy is to prepare students for the increasingly complex world that we find ourselves in. Our curriculum helps to foster students’ physical and mental wellbeing, as well as developing their resilience. Students are given the opportunity to focus on preparing for life after school, either through the Numeracy program or Careers. Literacy is also embedded within the program, helping to improve literacy rates across the school. A key focus is on developing students’ cultural awareness, a key part of the IB philosophy.  As a consequence, students can go on to be happy and successful members of today’s society.

What’s the Purpose?

Service As Action

Service as Action is a key component of the Middle Years Programme, which seeks to empower young people to be active, accountable and principled citizens. It is critical that students are afforded opportunities to impact not only their school, but also their local, national and even global environment. To this end, the Service as Action programme has a range of different opportunities available to students. Each module is based around a different key theme, with students exploring their own interests within that theme. Collaboration and teamwork are encouraged, as is risk taking and principled behaviour. This curriculum is in line with MYP guidance.

MYP Community Project

The purpose of the Year 9 Community Project is for students to utilise the skills they have learnt across their MYP years and showcase them in a final project. It helps students to demonstrate and further develop the attributes of the IB learner profile and provides them with the opportunity to demonstrate ATL skills and develop as independent, lifelong learners.

The community project focuses on community and service, encouraging students to explore their rights and responsibilities to implement service as action in the community. The community project gives students an opportunity to develop awareness of needs in various communities and address those needs through service learning. As a consolidation of learning, the community project engages in a sustained, in-depth inquiry leading to service as action in the community (Taken from the CP guide)

The Community Project gives students the opportunity to independently make a difference in a community of their choice which can be done directly or indirectly, at the students discretion.

Key points:

Service As Action

• MYP students will spend approximately 25 minutes per week working on directed materials, but are encouraged to explore their interests outside of this time. All learning and reflections will be recorded in a Process Journal. There will be opportunities for cross curricular links and collaboration to support extended, in depth, learning. Students will have access to a variety of information and resources from a range of delivery partners, allowing them to explore their own interests in greater depth.
• MYP form tutors will receive training at the beginning of the year, and ad hoc training as support as necessary. There will also be opportunities for additional training from external delivery partners, based on staff interest.
• Parents receive a modular newsletter, detailing key information and student achievements. Students will also be asked to deliver a brief review of their activities for the school newsletter.
• Students and staff will reflect through google forms at the end of each module. Students are given a range of questions, exploring the confidence levels with the content explored, as well as short answer questions assessing knowledge. Data is used to inform future planning, as well as helping pastoral teams with interventions and safeguarding.
• Students are expected to participate in a variety of community service based activities per year. There will be opportunities for impact on a school, local, national and global level.

MYP Community Project

• Students engage in miniature community projects throughout Year 7, 8 and 9 in their form programme which allows them to think about local and global challenges and how they can be an advocate of change. This equips them with the necessary skills needed for their final community project at the end of Year 9 where they can demonstrate all previous skills.
• The Community Project (CP) is completed in Module 4 through their Morals and Ethics lessons as well as in form time.
• Parental engagement is used to encourage full participation among students – Parents are sent a letter regarding the project and then receive their students’ final grade at the end of Year 9.
• The CP is assessed through their CP process journal. This is a digital workbook where students document their Investigating, Planning, Taking Action and Reflection. This journal as well as their final project is marked against the MYP CP criteria and a grade reported home to parents.
• All work is completed in a digital workbook which is linked to students Morals and Ethics google classrooms. LYO has access to all Year 9 Morals and Ethics classrooms so that QA can be completed regarding standard of work, engagement etc.