Imagine a child aged 11, their interests, understanding of the world, their social and emotional needs. Now imagine the ideas of a 16 year old. These are two very different young people, and yet many schools treat students as if they are the same throughout their middle and lower high school years.
The International Baccalaureate creates curricula based on the best research into learning, child psychology and neuroscience. The Middle Years Programme (MYP), designed for students aged 11-16, is a fine example of how this research helps create a curriculum that is specifically suited to the changing needs of young learners as they move from childhood through adolescence and into young adulthood.
At the International School of Siena, our learners follow the full IB MYP from grade 7 to 11. “Learning looks different to the way you or I learned in school,” says principal Jennifer Tickle, who has led MYP programmes globally and is an examiner and teacher trainer for the IB. “For young people entering their teenage years, it’s important to make learning interesting and connected to the real world. Our students don’t just understand what they are learning; they understand why it is important.”
At its core, the Middle Years Programme provides learning experiences that are broad, balanced and connected. Students are assessed in a variety of ways, which allows all learners to demonstrate what they know, understand and can do. Learning often takes place outside the classroom. A perfect example of this is in the Individuals and Societies subject (similar to Humanities), for which students recently visited Genoa as part of a unit on migration. Students visited the Genoa Aquarium and the National Museum of Emigration to connect with how climate change is driving the migration of humans and animals, as well as exploring the impact of emigration and immigration on Italy.
The International School of Siena is a lively place, as students in the MYP move from classroom to classroom, each room dedicated to the teaching of a specific subject. Language and literature is offered for students in both Italian and English, and as a second and third language, students can opt for Italian, English, Spanish or their own mother tongue. All students for whom English is their second language are offered targeted support so that they can access the curriculum, which is fully taught in English. Students learn science in specialist laboratories and benefit from drama, dance, music, visual art, and digital and product design classes, as well as more traditional subjects.
“It’s really important at this age to make sure that students have a wide variety of learning experiences, to keep their minds open to future career paths and programmes of study,” says Principal Tickle. “Of course, students start to narrow the focus of their study as the MYP becomes high school, and students will deepen their study of the scientific disciplines and choose one of the arts to study in depth.”
Particularly interesting in the MYP are the interdisciplinary units, where students take learning from two or more subjects and apply their knowledge to solve a real-world issue that needs skills and information from more than one discipline. These units of study really stretch students intellectually. A recent example was an interdisciplinary study between mathematics and biology, where students had to create a fish sanctuary to protect an endangered species, using their knowledge of the fish’s needs from biology to inform the mathematical decisions they made about the size and shape of the tanks.
Assessment comes in many forms and as often as possible is modelled on the real world as often as possible. After all, we don’t take an exam to learn how to cook. We have a recipe that we try to follow. We make mistakes and we try again, getting better each time. This is how we approach assessment in the MYP, with clear criteria for success, real world applications of knowledge and skills, and the opportunity for feedback and growth along the way.
At the end of Grade 11 (MYP5), students sit onscreen assessments in most subjects and undertake a written and practical portfolio in their arts subjects. “The onscreen assessments are unique to the IB and a lot of thought went into their design. Students are not just expected to recall facts and remember information. They are expected to apply what they know and can do in new and unfamiliar situations. These exams really allow students to show us the depth of their learning rather than just how good they are at remembering things,” adds Principal Tickle.
It is especially impressive that so many of the students at IS Siena also sit their Terza Media examinations in G9, learning the material though the regular MYP subjects as well as with special classes held before and after school. Whilst most students stay on at IS Siena after Terza Media, Italian families find it reassuring to have this benchmark of Italian education and students of IS Siena consistently do well in the exams.
Learning is not just confined to academics in the MYP at IS Siena. Students go away on a residential trip each year, giving them the opportunity to connect their classroom learning to the real world, whether in Italy or abroad. The trips also provide a chance for students to start to mature and grow outside their home environment in a safe and structured way. Once a week, all students have a specialist lesson in personal and social health education, which covers a variety of age-appropriate topics designed to help young people navigate their entry into the adult world.
The IB Middle Years Programme is a curriculum designed for the modern age, incorporating the latest technology, such as AI-personalized learning models and Virtual Reality, with rigorous academics. Students tell us they love coming to school to study the MYP, so why not come and see for yourself?
