Primary Years Programme Making the PYP happen - ITARI

Making the PYP happen
How best will we learn
The taught curriculum
What are the connections between the written curriculum and
actual classroom practice—the taught curriculum
Those familiar with the PYP sometimes ask, “Is it a curriculum or an approach” The answer is “Both”. The
PYP defines curriculum as including approach in recognition of the fact that, in practice, the two are
inextricably linked.
The PYP has set out to strengthen these links by developing a curriculum in which classroom practice, the
taught curriculum, is a direct reflection of the written curriculum. Therefore:
! in the written curriculum the essential elements of learning—concepts, knowledge, skills,
attitudes and action—are identified
! it is recognized that these elements are not completely separable—in the course of the learning
process they blend and it is suggested that they are synthesized in two main ways:
" into a student profile, which reflects the essential elements
" through key questions which, while conceptually based, reflect aspects of other essential
elements
! the teacher plans, with input from the students, thematic units designed to address the student
profile
! the activities which are planned for the unit are designed to ensure that, in conducting inquiry
structured around the key questions, the profile is addressed.
Therefore, the planning focuses on using the written curriculum to suggest key questions around which to
structure inquiry. The teaching focuses on facilitating that inquiry in the classroom and beyond. The taught
curriculum is the written curriculum in action.
Why is the PYP committed to this type of teaching
The PYP is committed to structured, purposeful inquiry, which engages students actively in their own
learning. The reason is simple. We believe that this is the way in which students learn in the most
constructive manner.
Since its inception the PYP has been infused with a spirit of inquiry. The PYP structures its own work by
means of questions such as, “What do we want the students to learn” In seeking to answer that question the
PYP has made a commitment to relevance and quality rather than to quantity. The PYP is convinced that
coverage is often the enemy of understanding. The PYP wants the curriculum to emphasize the active
construction of meaning, so that students’ learning will be purposeful.
An extensive study of the literature, when combined with practical experience, has led the PYP to the
position it now holds, which is one of commitment to structured, purposeful inquiry, which engages
students actively in their own learning, because it is believed that this is the way in which students learn
best. The PYP believes that students should be invited to investigate important subject matter by
formulating their own questions, looking at the various means available to answer the questions and
proceeding with research, experimentation, observation and other means that will lead them to their own
responses to the issues. The starting point has to be students’ current understanding, and the goal is the
active construction of meaning by building connections between students’ experience and information and
processes derived from the inquiry into new content.
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