Want To Know PYP? You Should Start With An Inquiry

The idea that when teaching children we should be focusing on the 'bigger picture' rather than the smaller details is known as Concept Based Learning.

Although Concept Based Learning allows learners to focus on the “big idea” rather than subject-specific content, one of the most important considerations is that it is not intended to replace content, rather it is used to provide authentic context to this content.

In the Primary Years Program (PYP), this is considered as best practice and it is the stance that the International Baccalaureate (IB) has taken to support their philosophy of how children learn. In fact, a whole framework has been built by the IB team of researchers and educationalists to assist in the implementation of teaching concepts at a primary level. (I will provide further insight to this framework at the end of this blog). The IB has called this the Primary Years Program or PYP.

The question then comes to mind, if we are teaching concepts, what is the best approach?

In answer to this question and the method that the IB has chosen to embark on a journey of discovering concepts is that of inquiry based learning.

Inquiry based learning relies upon the idea that individuals are able to learn by investigating scenarios and problems through social experiences. Rather than having to memorize information from printed materials, instructors encourage their students to conduct investigations that would satisfy their curiosity, help them broaden their knowledge base and develop their skills and mental frames. (E-learning History)

There are four forms of inquiry that are commonly used in inquiry based learning:

·        Confirmation inquiry

·        Structured inquiry

·        Guided inquiry

·        Open inquiry

I have not allowed myself the time to go into detail regarding each type of inquiry so for the purpose of this blog, the figure below (taken from Banchi & Bell)) gives a concise view of the differences between the 4 types.

On the surface, it is easy to be confused between the guided approach and the structured approach but it is imperative for any person interested in the PYP Program to understand that the PYP program is highly structured.

According to Heather Banchi and Randy Bell, "…in a Structured inquiry, the question and procedure are still provided by the teacher; however, students generate an explanation supported by the evidence they have collected." (Banchi & Bell)

The PYP framework fits this definition as follows; the concepts to be inquired come in the form of the themes or central ideas. The questions and procedures are given in the form of key concepts, transdisciplinary skills and other tools supplied by the framework whilst the explanation is that of action taken by the learner.

A guided inquiry would not allow any of these practices or procedures to be given to the learners so the learners would be required to discover their own procedures in order to understand or solve the central Idea.

Although the IB PYP framework is highly structured, its implementation of inquiry allows scope for the different types of inquiry. Understanding these types of inquiry and what they look like is one of the first steps that a newbie to IB should consider.  

This is why any person who is interested in or working at an IB accredited school or how the IB program works, should become familiar with the manual (I use the term manual loosely) 'Making the PYP Happen'. I have purposefully not used any quotations from this manual in the hope that I have sparked your interest into this framework. To find out more about this framework, please feel free to download the manual from the IB official website https://www.ibo.org.

References

Banchi, H., & Bell, R. (2008, October). The Many Levels of Inquiry. Science and Children, 26-29. Retrieved June 20, 2016, from https://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/lessons/files/2013/05/The-Many-Levels-of-Inquiry-NSTA-article.pdf

https://elearningindustry.com/inquiry-based-learning-model