An Essay on Middle School Pedagogy and MYP by Aybars Dastan
The IB emerged in the mid-1960s (TARC, 2009), but it wasn't until 1994 that the MYP came into existence (Hayden & Thompson, 2011). It is astounding that today, approximately 1,500 schools across over 100 countries have adopted the MYP (IBO, 2020), a testament to the program's efficacy and versatility across various contexts.
To comprehend the rapid adoption of the MYP by international and state schools worldwide, we must explore the driving forces behind its curriculum model. This involves examining its contribution to middle school education from a broader perspective and its role in catering to the personal growth and development of middle school students (Watson, 2019).
The MYP curriculum framework was established by the International School Association (ISA) to fulfill the need for a curriculum that prepares students for the Diploma Programme (DP) (Hayden & Thompson, 2011). Those new to the MYP might not be familiar with ISA, but it shares common values and philosophy with IBO. The relationship between IBO and ISA is profound, as ISA not only initiated the development of the MYP curriculum framework, dating back to the 1980s, but also contributed to the creation of the DP (Manzitti, 2017; Peterson, 2011).
The MYP faces unique challenges compared to the PYP and DP due to the distinctive characteristics of adolescents aged 11-16 (DiCicco, Cook, & Faulkner, 2016). Recent decades have overturned the notion that brain development is mostly complete by early adolescence. We now understand that brain development continues until around 25 years of age, with changes during adolescence as significant as physical changes. These neurological developments significantly influence one's identity for life (Dalton, 2015). At this age, students undergo not just physical growth spurts (Tanner, 1973), but also hormonal, intellectual, moral, ethical, and emotional changes, all intertwined with social development (Manning, 2002). Consequently, curriculum creators must consider these emerging properties to design developmentally appropriate curricula (Eichhorn, 1966).
The MYP distinguishes itself with a progressive and constructivist approach, viewing education holistically and engaging all stakeholders to create optimal learning conditions (IBO, 2014). This approach empowers students, fosters supportive relationships, and nurtures positivity about their futures (Roth, Brooks-Gunn, 2003).
The MYP effectively manages the tensions in middle school education worldwide, offering an engaging educational experience. Students feel involved in the learning process, become part of a larger community, and gain control over their lives and surroundings (Watson, 2019).
Preparing young adolescents for the 21st century goes beyond integrating the latest technologies or introducing new skills into the curriculum. The MYP represents a fundamental shift towards an internationally-minded, globally-connected, and age-appropriate culminating experience. This enables students to develop competencies for an ever-changing and often inequitable world (IBO, 2014).
The attitudes required of 21st-century learners are clearly articulated as learner profiles, deeply rooted in IB’s mission statement. This innovative approach integrates the IB mission statement into the daily lives of all stakeholders (IBO, 2009). As part of the IB continuum, these attributes foster international-mindedness and intercultural understanding, furthering the IB vision of improving the world through education (IBO, 2014).
Beyond the learner profile, the IB emphasizes lifelong learning for all stakeholders, encapsulated within the mission statement. To realize this, the IB has given a central role to Approaches to Learning (ATL). ATL skills allow teachers to design engaging, meaningful, and academically robust lesson plans, offering students opportunities to develop the skills necessary for learning how to learn. The continuous practice of ATL skills transforms these skills into habits, fostering a mindset that enables students to apply these skills in unfamiliar situations instinctively (Claxton, Edwards, & Scale-Constantinou, 2006).
Service as Action (Community Service) and the Community Project provide authentic learning and global citizenship opportunities. They contribute to a progressive curriculum for middle school education, enabling students to develop skills, become aware of community needs, and address these needs through service. Similarly, the Personal Project allows students to develop and acquire new skills, transferring their knowledge and experiences from various subjects into unfamiliar situations in diverse global contexts (IBO, 2014).
Moreover, the MYP intentionally raises young adolescents' awareness of local and global communities. It helps students understand the significance of diversity as global citizens, deeply connected to human rights, inequality, and racism (Walker, 2010). The MYP guides students to view everything through the lens of six global contexts integrated into the curriculum. 21st-century skills and competencies can only be developed in the context of global citizenship, learning by doing, experiencing, interacting, and continuously reflecting. Thus, the MYP is conceptually and pedagogically constructivist, based on the idea that knowledge is constructed through learners' experiences and interactions with the world around them. MYP strives to provide optimal conditions and use the best tools to support students in reaching their full potential. Consequently, the MYP curriculum aims to develop the whole person in all aspects, fueling constructivist pedagogy (IBO, 2010).
Constructivist pedagogy encourages students to become part of a broader community, fostering flexibility and allowing students to engage in convergent and divergent thinking. This environment is conducive to meaning-making and the development of new ideas. The MYP curriculum is meticulously designed to merge concept-driven education and inquiry-based learning. Concept-driven inquiry enhances student engagement and serves as a catalyst for students to transfer their knowledge, skills, and experiences within and across disciplinary borders. This synergy facilitates synergistic thinking, empowering students to construct knowledge in various settings. Additionally, when combined with global contexts, it promotes intercultural understanding (Harrison, 2015).
Despite the MYP offering a comprehensive curriculum to promote international-mindedness and global citizenship, its success relies on accommodating a diverse student population. This is achieved through inclusion and emphasis on mother tongue language (IBO, 2014). The criterion-referenced assessment model in the MYP helps teachers collect evidence to understand each student's learning, guiding them to reach every student, regardless of individual abilities, thus promoting inclusion (IBO, 2014). Additionally, employing affective scaffolding strategies that strengthen ATL skills further supports inclusion in the classroom (Gxilishe, 2013). However, these are not the only means of inclusion that teachers can employ.
As long as teachers maintain positive attitudes and appreciate the multilingual and multicultural diversity of their students as a resource, the MYP curriculum provides numerous opportunities for inclusion. For instance, the MYP encourages and guides schools and teachers to enhance all students' language literacy skills, making the curriculum accessible to all students, particularly those whose mother tongue is not English, while maintaining academic rigor and promoting cognitive academic language proficiency development (Cummins,1979) through interdisciplinary concept-based inquiry across all subjects offered in the MYP. Therefore, the IBO published "Second Language Acquisition and Mother-Tongue Development" to support schools and stakeholders uniquely, as ensuring curriculum accessibility to everyone is crucial, not only for language acquisition or academic proficiency but also for cultivating intercultural understanding and global citizenship (Cummins, Wyatt-Smith, Ryan, & Doig,1999; IBO, 2014).
The MYP curriculum framework is dedicated to meeting the needs of 21st-century young adolescents aged 11 to 16 and preparing them for a rapidly changing and unprecedented future. Middle school educational pedagogy resembles a roller coaster that never repeats itself. The only constant is the fleeting moments of our micro-history, inevitably merging with their context.
The advent of the internet and social media has fundamentally transformed our lives, connecting us like never before. A growing body of literature demonstrates a strong association between long-term internet usage and its impact on human cognition and language capacity (Takeuchi, Taki, Asano, Asano, Sassa, Yokota, Kotozaki, Nouchi, & Kawashima, 2018; Loh, & Kanai, 2015). These findings raise questions about how they might influence middle school curriculum design.
As the world begins to understand brain function through neurological evidence and applies this knowledge to improve education, frameworks like the Universal Design for Learning have emerged. The IB has promptly responded by publishing "Learning Diversity and Inclusion in IB Programmes" in 2016, merging two approaches to make its curriculum even more accessible for all programs.
While the IB's reputation remains steadfast, significant tensions loom over the MYP curriculum, notably regarding teacher inadequacy and leadership inefficiency. Many teachers struggle to integrate the local curriculum within the MYP framework (Dickson, Perry, & Ledger, 2020). The MYP has been and continues to be criticized by some teachers who believe that the program places excessive emphasis on interdisciplinary teaching at the expense of disciplinary rigor (Dickson, Perry, & Ledger, 2020). However, Verónica Boix-Mansilla, in collaboration with the Harvard Graduate School of Education, conducted extensive research and published the "MYP Guide to Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning," providing scientific evidence to address these criticisms.
Ultimately, the International Baccalaureate continually responds to the rapidly changing world and adapts to the needs of the 21st century through research, scientific evidence, and professional development opportunities for teachers and educators. The IB remains adaptable and flexible, ensuring that it consistently meets and even exceeds the needs of young adolescents, contributing to the creation of a better and more peaceful world.
However, the actual teaching occurs in the classroom, and it is the teachers who bring it to life. Unless theories are transformed into practice by teachers and educators, there will be no progress, and individual failures may be perceived as failures of the MYP.
The IB provides clear guidance to all stakeholders to avoid misconceptions. All stakeholders must recognize and remove barriers to teaching and learning, such as toxic school culture, barriers caused by a lack of teacher training, inefficacy in approaches to learning and teaching, and even the school building itself (IBO, 2016).
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In summary, the MYP curriculum framework leaves no questions unanswered and will undoubtedly continue to evolve, offering rich, meaningful, and purposeful education to young adolescents worldwide.
References
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