International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme

Innovative Music Educator with over 20 years of experience in international and multicultural settings. Skilled in designing creative, student-centered music programs that integrate seamlessly with STEAM education. Passionate about connecting music to science, math, and technology through hands-on, inquiry-based learning. Committed to inclusive teaching that nurtures curiosity, critical thinking, and lifelong learning. Experienced in curriculum development, performance-based learning, and fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration to enrich the whole-child educational experience.

This study critically explores the impact of integrating the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) with the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) at the Canadian International School of Beijing (CISB). Grounded in constructivist and inquiry-based learning theories, the research examines how curriculum integration influences teaching practices and enhances student engagement and academic achievement in science. Employing a mixed-methods approach over six months, data were collected through classroom observations, teacher interviews, student surveys, and NWEA MAP Growth assessments in science. Findings revealed significant shifts in instructional strategies, with teachers adopting more inquiry-driven, student-centred practices. Student engagement improved substantially, with increased enthusiasm for science learning and higher participation in hands-on and collaborative activities. Quantitative data from NWEA MAP Science assessments indicated notable gains in student performance, with 55% of students meeting or exceeding projected growth targets. Teachers reported both the pedagogical benefits of curriculum integration and challenges related to time constraints and professional readiness. The study concludes that integrating NGSS with IB PYP effectively supports differentiated instruction and critical thinking development, though sustained professional development and tailored support are essential for successful implementation. These findings contribute to international curriculum reform discourse, offering a replicable model for enhancing science education in diverse, multilingual school contexts.

This article analyzes recent developments in the International Baccalaureate (IB) system, focusing on curriculum updates, assessment methods, and educational strategies. The IB has made significant strides in enhancing its programs to reflect contemporary educational research and global trends. Key updates in the Primary Years Programme (PYP) emphasize inquiry-based learning and student agency, while the Middle Years Programme (MYP) has integrated eAssessments for a more holistic evaluation of student achievement. The Diploma Programme (DP) has introduced new Mathematics courses to cater to varied interests, and the Career-related Programme (CP) has expanded its career-related studies. Additionally, there is a notable shift towards digital assessments and a strong emphasis on integrating social-emotional learning (SEL) and inclusivity into the curriculum. This study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining document analysis, surveys, and interviews to provide a comprehensive overview of these changes. Visual representations are used to illustrate these findings, highlighting the IB's ongoing commitment to providing a rigorous, relevant, and inclusive education.

This study investigates the role of school leaders in promoting cultural competence and global mindedness within International Baccalaureate (IB) schools. Cultural competence is defined as the ability to interact effectively with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, while global mindedness involves understanding and appreciating global interconnectedness and acting responsibly on a global scale. The research employs a mixed methods approach, integrating qualitative data from interviews and observations with quantitative survey data to provide a comprehensive analysis. Key findings reveal that school leaders actively promote these values through various curricular and extracurricular initiatives, such as integrating multicultural content, organizing international days, and facilitating exchange programs. Professional development for staff and community engagement, including parent involvement, are critical components of these efforts. However, leaders face significant challenges, including resource limitations, resistance to change, and the need to balance local and global perspectives. The study aligns with existing literature on culturally responsive teaching and global education while providing new insights into the specific strategies and challenges faced by IB school leaders. Recommendations for practice include enhancing community engagement, integrating multicultural content into the curriculum, and providing ongoing professional development. Policy implications suggest the need for funding and resources, comprehensive training programs, and support from IB organizations. Despite potential biases and constraints, such as self-reported data and a focus on experienced leaders in IB schools, the findings offer valuable contributions to the field. Future research should explore the perspectives of various stakeholders, conduct longitudinal studies on the impact of these initiatives, and compare practices between IB and non-IB schools. This study underscores the importance of educational leadership in fostering inclusive and globally minded educational environments, preparing students to be responsible global citizens.

Curriculum is a multifaceted concept and has the potential for different viewpoints, components and models of development. The development of curriculum in schools that implement the International Baccalaureate’s Middle Year Programme, with its requirement for interdisciplinary units of study, is a continuing challenge. Curriculum development can be influenced by a variety of factors, one of which is school culture. This study aims to understand the role that a school’s culture can play in the development of curriculum as well as the corresponding leadership actions and practices that may support and enhance collaborative curriculum development.
This study, conducted in Latin America, adopts a mixed-method research approach. A quantitative survey comprised of questions from the School Culture Survey (Gruenert and Valentine, 1998), as well as questions derived from the curriculum theoretical framework. Following this, semi-structured interviews were conducted to contextualise and develop the perception of school culture with experiences of curriculum development from a range of teachers, middle leaders and senior leaders in different departments across the school.
The results from this study indicate that teachers working in an international school with high levels of collegial support are able to work within their departments to effectively develop the curriculum. They experience high levels of trust, optimism and demonstrate a willingness to help each other. However, effective collaboration is less prevalent in interdisciplinary teams, where issues of psychological safety, autonomy, and certainty arise. While teachers generally perceive leaders to trust their professional judgment and value their ideas, there are concerns regarding teacher involvement in decision-making processes and being rewarded for experimentation in curriculum development. Due to the findings, it is recommended that school leadership fosters a more inclusive and collaborative culture across the entire school implementing strategies to increase trust and build relationships in interdisciplinary teams and lead cultural change in a way that promotes autonomy and engages all members of the school community.

The purpose of this paper was to provide a literary review and to create a manual explaining the difference between an interdisciplinary curriculum and other curriculum approaches. An interdisciplinary curriculum is a holistic approach that links the disciplines by emphasizing relationships and connections. A different approach to curriculum development and one that moves away from the traditional, subject-centered approach is curriculum integration. The three most common forms of integration are multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and interdisciplinary. The multidisciplinary approach connects two or more disciplines such as math and science. In the transdisciplinary approach, the content and the theme are the same, and there is no division between the disciplines. The interdisciplinary approach starts with the disciplines and connects them with each other, the overall theme, or the issues. Each one of the integrated approaches uses issues, problems, or themes to organize the cont...

An integrated curriculum that is transdisciplinary in nature seems to be a good fit for 21st Century learning. There are, however, few examples of transdisciplinary curriculum at the K to 12 level. One exception is the International Baccalaureate's Primary Years Programme (PYP) which features transdisciplinary curriculum for students from ages 3 to 12 around the world. This phenomenological study explored the lived experience of 24 PYP educators to deepen understanding of what such a curriculum looks like in practice. Three main themes were identified. The first, "It's a framework" outlines participants' understandings of transdisciplinary teaching and learning and the freedom a transdisciplinary framework can bring. The second theme, "Get on board", examines participants' thoughts around what is required to successfully implement a transdisciplinary curriculum. The final theme, "Their learning journey", discusses participants' beliefs around the success of a transdisciplinary curriculum. In general, participants appreciated the transdisciplinarity of the program. Concerns revolved around implementation issues. Suggestions on how to implement transdisciplinary teaching and learning in other contexts are provided.

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The integrated teaching is important tool for promoting the development of students' critical and creative thinking, self-cognition, learning and cooperation skills and cultural understanding in a constantly changing world. In Latvia, integrated curriculum has become a challenge for educational reforms, too. Latvian teacher educators are looking for appropriate Curriculum content and strategies, in order to promote pre-service teachers with understanding of integrated learning, courage and ability to implement them in professional activities. The aim of an article is analyze possibilities how to improve the pre-service teachers' readiness to plan integrated lessons for study practice. Methods: qualitative analysis of students' pedagogical practice diaries. In conclusions and discussion, the suggestions for the development of teacher education Curriculum towards strengthening the different approaches to integrated learning in school education.

The aim of this participant observation was to understand the efficacy of a modified International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program for fourth-graders at a public school with a large percentage of language and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Data collection over a five-month period concentrated on teaching interactions including audio-recorded time samplings and observations of the art and regular classroom instruction, and interviews (formal and informal) with students, teachers, and school principals in addition to photographs, classroom portfolios, and other artifacts. The analysis, coding, and triangulation of data aided in understanding the art specialist and classroom teachers’ roles and contributions to the Primary Years Program. A cooperative school environment paved the way for student self-confidence and motivation for learning through (1) opportunities for student choice and decision-making and (2) collaborative, inquiry-based, transdisciplinary, project-base...

Interdisciplinary learning is when students develop understanding approaches to problem-solving and problem-thinking by combining knowledge from a variety of academic areas, (Sudderth, 2022). By allowing students to work on issues that do not fit neatly into one subject, an interdisciplinary approach broadens the scope of what they learn in comparison to traditional methods. It also alters how students learn by requiring them to synthesize multiple points of view rather than simply accepting what a teacher teaches. In the classroom, interdisciplinary learning challenges preexisting knowledge biases and prejudices

Globalization and new technological changes-processes that have accelerated in the last 20 years together behind a new world economy "driven by technology, fuelled by information and driven by knowledge. Extending this new global economy has major implications for the structure and goals of educational institutions. Since the period of topical information continuously decreases and the level of access to it increases exponentially, the educational system cannot remain focused on sending a rigid set of knowledge from teacher to student in a fixed period of time. After Alvin Toffler, "The illiterate XXI century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, learn and learn again." A diversified curriculum by introducing digital information and gain new modern methods of teaching, learning and assessment, will inevitably give character education Romanian knowledge society in which it exists. Design content of school subjects without serious analysis of accessibility and tackling them superficial, remain without positive effects in terms of musical education and, especially, will feel the effects of superficiality.

The main objective of the study is to investigate the effect of inquiry-based learning in the frame of interdisciplinary teaching and learning on English class and the impact that it creates on the IB MYP Emergent and Capable Level students (Grade 5, 6, 7 and 8) in the selected IB continuum school, applying the IB MYP curriculum, in Turkey. Three levels of language proficiency are provided for language classes in IB MYP. The planning is established on the effective choice of a suitable level between Emergent, Capable, and Proficient levels. The set of objectives and each level's needs are used to determine the expectations and set goals for the learners. The study was conducted by using a mixed approach which uses data collected from194 middle school students and 8 IB MYP teachers. Each student completed the questionnaire on Inquiry-based Learning. There are 7 Focus Groups; 5 Focus Groups with a random sampling of middle school students and 2 Focus Groups of related subject area teachers. In line with the purpose of study, the selection of subject-area teachers is limited to English, Maths, and Science which use English as the language of instruction in the selected IB school. The data collected from each participant is analyzed with the help of SPSS 22. Under the light of this study, the answer to the question "How does inquiry-based learning affect the language learning process in the IB MYP Emergent and the IB MYP Capable levels?" is provided. The study is designed to be a comparative case study that focuses on the similarities and differences across the two IB MYP levels; Emergent and Capable and how they connect in terms of inquiry-based learning and language acquisition. It is understood that a student who can benefit from the interdisciplinary learning experience is enriched in terms of the experience of making connections to the real world and showing appreciation of inquiry based learning.

This chapter examines Sequence 6 of the Teaching, Learning and Leading with Schools and Communities (TLLSC) teacher education program at Loyola University Chicago’s School of Education. A core purpose of Sequence 6 is to provide an extended engagement with an experienced, cooperating teacher. By applying a field-based, apprenticeship model, candidates, cooperating teachers, and instructors work together in curriculum planning and instruction in the teacher candidate’s grade level and/or content area specialization. The chapter provides multiple approaches to teaching international mindedness drawing from diverse perspectives of three instructors, International Baccalaureate (IB) coordinators, and selected candidates. IB coordinators play a crucial role in the partnership of TLLSC. Traditionally, IB schools seek out such community partnerships to continuously build the IB community at large. Two IB coordinators contend that the partnership created between Loyola and the partnering IB...

The aim of this participant observation was to understand the efficacy of a modified International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program for fourth-graders at a public school with a large percentage of language and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Data collection over a five-month period concentrated on teaching interactions including audio-recorded time samplings and observations of the art and regular classroom instruction, and interviews (formal and informal) with students, teachers, and school principals in addition to photographs, classroom portfolios, and other artifacts. The analysis, coding, and triangulation of data aided in understanding the art specialist and classroom teachers’ roles and contributions to the Primary Years Program. A cooperative school environment paved the way for student self-confidence and motivation for learning through (1) opportunities for student choice and decision-making and (2) collaborative, inquiry-based, transdisciplinary, project-base...

The main objective of the study is to investigate the effect of inquiry-based learning in the frame of interdisciplinary teaching and learning on English class and the impact that it creates on the IB MYP Emergent and Capable Level students (Grade 5, 6, 7 and 8) in the selected IB continuum school, applying the IB MYP curriculum, in Turkey. Three levels of language proficiency are provided for language classes in IB MYP. The planning is established on the effective choice of a suitable level between Emergent, Capable, and Proficient levels. The set of objectives and each level's needs are used to determine the expectations and set goals for the learners. The study was conducted by using a mixed approach which uses data collected from194 middle school students and 8 IB MYP teachers. Each student completed the questionnaire on Inquiry-based Learning. There are 7 Focus Groups; 5 Focus Groups with a random sampling of middle school students and 2 Focus Groups of related subject area teachers. In line with the purpose of study, the selection of subject-area teachers is limited to English, Maths, and Science which use English as the language of instruction in the selected IB school. The data collected from each participant is analyzed with the help of SPSS 22. Under the light of this study, the answer to the question "How does inquiry-based learning affect the language learning process in the IB MYP Emergent and the IB MYP Capable levels?" is provided. The study is designed to be a comparative case study that focuses on the similarities and differences across the two IB MYP levels; Emergent and Capable and how they connect in terms of inquiry-based learning and language acquisition. It is understood that a student who can benefit from the interdisciplinary learning experience is enriched in terms of the experience of making connections to the real world and showing appreciation of inquiry based learning.

This chapter examines Sequence 6 of the Teaching, Learning and Leading with Schools and Communities (TLLSC) teacher education program at Loyola University Chicago’s School of Education. A core purpose of Sequence 6 is to provide an extended engagement with an experienced, cooperating teacher. By applying a field-based, apprenticeship model, candidates, cooperating teachers, and instructors work together in curriculum planning and instruction in the teacher candidate’s grade level and/or content area specialization. The chapter provides multiple approaches to teaching international mindedness drawing from diverse perspectives of three instructors, International Baccalaureate (IB) coordinators, and selected candidates. IB coordinators play a crucial role in the partnership of TLLSC. Traditionally, IB schools seek out such community partnerships to continuously build the IB community at large. Two IB coordinators contend that the partnership created between Loyola and the partnering IB...

The main objective of the study is to investigate the effect of inquiry-based learning in the frame of interdisciplinary teaching and learning on English class and the impact that it creates on the IB MYP Emergent and Capable Level students (Grade 5, 6, 7 and 8) in the selected IB continuum school, applying the IB MYP curriculum, in Turkey. Three levels of language proficiency are provided for language classes in IB MYP. The planning is established on the effective choice of a suitable level between Emergent, Capable, and Proficient levels. The set of objectives and each level's needs are used to determine the expectations and set goals for the learners. The study was conducted by using a mixed approach which uses data collected from194 middle school students and 8 IB MYP teachers. Each student completed the questionnaire on Inquiry-based Learning. There are 7 Focus Groups; 5 Focus Groups with a random sampling of middle school students and 2 Focus Groups of related subject area teachers. In line with the purpose of study, the selection of subject-area teachers is limited to English, Maths, and Science which use English as the language of instruction in the selected IB school. The data collected from each participant is analyzed with the help of SPSS 22. Under the light of this study, the answer to the question "How does inquiry-based learning affect the language learning process in the IB MYP Emergent and the IB MYP Capable levels?" is provided. The study is designed to be a comparative case study that focuses on the similarities and differences across the two IB MYP levels; Emergent and Capable and how they connect in terms of inquiry-based learning and language acquisition. It is understood that a student who can benefit from the interdisciplinary learning experience is enriched in terms of the experience of making connections to the real world and showing appreciation of inquiry based learning.

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.

She has been a committed researcher and commentator in behaviour change throughout her career, and has conducted ethnographic and mixed method work around children's materialism, childhood physical activity, passive smoking, alcohol cultures and active travel, particularly cycling. Her position as a commentator on behaviour change has been firmly established through the ESRC-funded seminar series she leads around interdisciplinary behaviour change and her edited volume 'Beyond Behaviour Change: Key Issues, Interdisciplinary Approaches and Future Directions', published in March 2016.

She has been a committed researcher and commentator in behaviour change throughout her career, and has conducted ethnographic and mixed method work around children's materialism, childhood physical activity, passive smoking, alcohol cultures and active travel, particularly cycling. Her position as a commentator on behaviour change has been firmly established through the ESRC-funded seminar series she leads around interdisciplinary behaviour change and her edited volume 'Beyond Behaviour Change: Key Issues, Interdisciplinary Approaches and Future Directions', published in March 2016.

Thinking, Teaching, and Learning Science OuTSide The BOxeS Reconsidering interdisciplinarity in science instruction W i l l i a m F. M c Co m a s , G u e s t E d i to r I f Englishman Thomas Young (1773–1829) is known today, he is probably recognized only by students of physics or those with a passion for trivia, for Young is frequently called "the last person to know everything." In spite of competition from other poly-maths, such as Aristotle, Erasmus, da Vinci, Leibniz, Kircher, Gauss, Diderot, Jefferson, and Asimov, one can certainly make the claim that Young is a strong contender for the title. Young was a physician who devised a method for de-termining drug dosage in children and proposed a germ theory of disease. He was also a physicist who worked in optics, color vision, surface tension, and capillary action. Young performed the double slit experiment demonstrat-ing the wave properties of light, investigated elasticity (think Young's modulus here), and defined ...

The International Baccalaureate (IB) programme utilizes an inquiry-based multidisciplinary approach and focuses on the teaching of critical-thinking skills. The IB programme is growing at a rapid rate within the United States, with the overall number of IB schools having more than doubled in the last five years. The purpose of the present study was twofold: (a) to specifically focus on classroom instruction and students' behavior within Texas IB schools, and (b) to highlight the importance of systematic classroom observation as an evaluative method; in particular, the simultaneous use of three observation instruments to illustrate the importance of examining instruction from multiple perspectives. Systematic observations of 85 classrooms from eight Texas IB schools revealed that instruction in most of the schools was active, with teachers often engaging students, exploring new skills and key concepts, explaining, elaborating, and evaluating. Overall, the general instructional pr...

The International Baccalaureate (IB) programme utilizes an inquiry-based multidisciplinary approach and focuses on the teaching of critical-thinking skills. The IB programme is growing at a rapid rate within the United States, with the overall number of IB schools having more than doubled in the last five years. The purpose of the present study was twofold: (a) to specifically focus on classroom instruction and students' behavior within Texas IB schools, and (b) to highlight the importance of systematic classroom observation as an evaluative method; in particular, the simultaneous use of three observation instruments to illustrate the importance of examining instruction from multiple perspectives. Systematic observations of 85 classrooms from eight Texas IB schools revealed that instruction in most of the schools was active, with teachers often engaging students, exploring new skills and key concepts, explaining, elaborating, and evaluating. Overall, the general instructional practices and student behaviors/activities observed were favorable and were higher than those found in similar classrooms in Texas schools. The amount of time that students were observed as being on-task was dramatically higher than the amount of student on-task time measured in other observational studies.

A curriculum is a guideline used to achieve an educational goal, in which a curriculum contains at least four important elements: objectives, materials, methods, and evaluation. This descriptive study aims to describe several types of methods or approaches that are often used in teaching and learning activities. In addition, this paper also describes issues related to curriculum changes and the factors that influence such changes as well as the challenges faced in each curriculum change. The paper firstly elaborates the disciplinary curriculum approach in which it highlights the ideas of exploring a particular discipline science from single-focused lenses relating to such the science without linking it with other connected sciences. After exploring the disciplinary curriculum approach, the paper provides significant information on multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary curriculum approaches that have great potential in enhancing students’ critical thinking skills. This study is end...

• The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) states that students need to learn through addressing real-life issues that cross learning area boundaries • schools are using a wide range of different approaches to inquiry and integrated-inquiry. one reason for this recent growth is a belief that these approaches are well aligned with NZC. • some approaches have more in common with traditional views of students as 'learners in preparation' than with views of students as active 'learners in action'. • 'Learners in action' approaches are more aligned with the messages in NZC. 15 set 3, 2012 t e a c H i n g a n d l e a r n i n g

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Carrier, S. J., Wiebe, E. N., Gray, P., & Teachout, D. J. (2011). Biomusic in the classroom: Interdisciplinary elementary science and music curriculum development. School Science and Mathematics, 111(8), 425-434, which has been published in final form at

This action research case study describes a two-tiered model for integrating middle school curriculum. The model uses two methods of curriculum integration: parallel and integrated thematic. In the parallel model, content area instructors teach their individual content separately integrating the subject matter whenever there is a logical connection between disciplines. Periodic integrated thematic units bring together the full range of the school's curriculum and allow students the opportunity to engage in deliberate, in depth integration. The combining of two integration options allows students to address content areas within a scope and sequence of skill development and to be exposed to key ideas and principles across disciplines. A year-long theme provides the curriculum focus for the study.

This article investigates commonalities and differences between two planning frameworks: Understanding by Design and the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. The authors discuss the major features of each framework and compare their approaches to curriculum, assessment and instructional planning. Readers are invited to participate in an on-line forum for ongoing discussions about the conceptual and practical connections between UbD and PYP. Educators throughout the world work in schools and districts that have adopted the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) (2000) or Understanding by Design (UbD) (Wiggins and McTighe 1998) to promote student inquiry and meaningful learning. Both the PYP and UbD provide frameworks for planning curriculum, assessment and instruction, built around a 'backward design' construct. Indeed, they are complementary, but not identical. This article explores the major features of PYP and UbD and highlights key similarities and differences in terms of their goals and approaches to content, assessment and instruction.

In this article, we describe the initiative of one university's teacher education program to incorporate the International Baccalaureate Teacher Certificate. Responding to the growing number of public and private International Baccalaureate World Schools in urban and suburban settings in our region, the program aims to prepare teachers to meet the needs of diverse learners within a rigorous and global approach to curriculum and instruction. Writing for teacher educators considering the integration of this internationally minded teaching and learning framework, we explain the redesign of our teacher preparation program that was intended to target and integrate the principles and practices of the International Baccalaureate.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) programme utilizes an inquiry-based multidisciplinary approach and focuses on the teaching of critical-thinking skills. The IB programme is growing at a rapid rate within the United States, with the overall number of IB schools having more than doubled in the last five years. The purpose of the present study was twofold: (a) to specifically focus on classroom instruction and students' behavior within Texas IB schools, and (b) to highlight the importance of systematic classroom observation as an evaluative method; in particular, the simultaneous use of three observation instruments to illustrate the importance of examining instruction from multiple perspectives. Systematic observations of 85 classrooms from eight Texas IB schools revealed that instruction in most of the schools was active, with teachers often engaging students, exploring new skills and key concepts, explaining, elaborating, and evaluating. Overall, the general instructional pr...

Integrated curricula lias gained a great deal of acceptance among educators. Many educators provide testimonials about the effectiveness of units they teach, and many professional organizations stress integration across the curriculum. However, few empirical studies exist to support the notion that an integrated curriculum is any better than a well-designed traditional curriculum. Some educators question integration across the curriculum, because in the effort to integrate topics, science and mathematics content becomes superficial and trivial. This paper presents a review of the literature on integrated curricula. It concludes with a call to action for members of School Science andMathematics Association. Curriculum integration has become incredibly connections rather than through fragmented bits and pieces of information (Beane, 1996). However, in the midst of this rush to support an integrated curriculum, many educators question the effectiveness of an integrated curriculum and cite the Volume 99(8), December 1999

This chapter traces the development of STEM advocacy as a globalizing modernist discourse based in national competitive wealth creation agendas. It therefore addresses the drivers for STEM in schools by way of understanding state and industry intentions and curriculum reform. The chapter describes a dual research program consisting of an examination of research, policy and public literatures, as well as an exploration of teacher and student discourses and experiences of interdisciplinary STEM in two schools. The latter exploration seeks to understand the catalysts of policy advocacy for interdisciplinary STEM in schools; the promises and challenges of interdisciplinary STEM practice; and the relation of STEM to individual STEM subjects. From the document analysis, the chapter argues that STEM is a complex construct that in its implementation in schools is captive to a range of subject and schooling political agendas. Analysis of STEM advocacy uncovered a number of key drivers, including: wealth creation; STEM as a powerful 'meta-discipline'; innovation and critical thinking; and advocacy of interdisciplinary STEM as 'skills' preparation for work futures and everyday life. Examples of interdisciplinary curriculum practice in two case schools illustrated a number of themes: student engagement with new ways of thinking as a driver of change; development of more student-centred, project-based pedagogies; student engagement in deeper learning of disciplinary knowledge through meaningful problems-solving; and, the importance of temporal relations between subjects as they are conscripted to solving authentic problems. Finally, the chapter addresses the contradictory nature of STEM advocacy; that it represents, on the one hand, a narrowing utilitarian conception of curriculum that leads us away from notions of education as the development of personhood, but, on the other hand, that it opens up possibilities for more meaningful engagement of students in learning for ethical and productive lives. The chapter argues that interdisciplinarity is most advantageously practiced in terms of temporal relations between distinct STEM disciplines rather than as an undifferentiated meta-disciplinary amalgam of these distinctive ways of practising and knowing. In this sense, an argument is presented that the key challenge for STEM education is to reform STEM subject pedagogies to more meaningfully represent disciplinary epistemic practices in authentic interdisciplinary settings. These arguments have implications for international STEM education and for global advocacies of interdisciplinarity in STEM.

This research is a quantitative study using path analysis, which aims to measure the effect of work motivation, classroom management and critical thinking skills towards teachers’ competence in IBL. The subjects involved in this study are 34 teachers at XYZ School. Data collection was obtained by distribution of questionnaires as primary data, analyzed using SmartPLS. Interviews and observation using checklist as secondary data were also recorded to observe data triangulation. The research was conducted on 28th March 2016 until 1st April 2016. The results obtained are that work motivation, classroom management and critical thinking skills has an effect of -0.619, 0.409, and -0.174 towards teachers’ competence in IBL respectively. Work motivation has an effect of 0.082 and 0.147 towards classroom management and critical thinking skills respectively. Critical Thinking Skills has the strongest effect of 0.708 towards Classroom Management.

Transdisciplinarity leads to intensification of relations between disciplines and discovering new horizons of knowledge. Transdisciplinary research is radically distinct from disciplinary research, among them being a complementary relationship. Forming adolescents for life by valuing self-organization approach to personality is possible by employing an innovative learning that takes place in a context created formative personal development program based on values and principles of transdisciplinarity. Theoretical and practical basis of such a formative approach presented in this paper. The values, the specific aims of the program, its content elements and methodological and formative assessment are used predetermine the value of the program.

This study investigates how schools in different Australian states have incorporated the requirements of the National Curriculum into the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) framework, focusing specifically on science teaching and learning. The findings indicate that there are no major obstacles for individual Australian primary schools incorporating the science teaching and learning requirements of the PYP into the science requirements of the Australian Curriculum.

While the International Baccalaureate’s Middle Years Programme (MYP) is growing in popularity in Australia and across the globe, few studies have examined the benefits and challenges of this IB programme for supporting student learning. Using a qualitative case study design of three Australian schools that formerly offered the MYP, we investigated teacher and school leader perceptions of the MYP for promoting student learning. Perceived benefits included high achievement and skill development through the MYP’s emphasis on inquiry-based learning and real-world relevance; criterion-referenced assessments; and a healthy balance between core and elective learning areas. Challenges for students stemmed primarily from operational difficulties and possible systems-level constraints impacting teachers, including integration of the Australian Curriculum with the MYP; ability to meet the MYP’s demands; confusion about MYP terminology and grading systems; and understanding interdisciplinary un...

The report was commissioned by the IB and builds on existing studies on the Middle Years Program. It is the first study to comprehensively examine key ‘insider’ stakeholder perspectives of the benefits of the MYP for teaching and learning in Australia. Specifically it examines the perspectives of seventeen MYP teachers, five MYP Coordinators and six school principals from three public and two private schools, and four representatives from governing bodies and public education authorities. A qualitative research design involving case studies, semi-structured interviews and document analysis was used to gather rich data about insiders’ and key stakeholders’ perspectives of the impact of MYP on teaching and learning addressing the following research questions: 1) What are the impediments and enablers of offering the MYP? 2) What are the benefits of the MYP for teaching and learning? 3) What are the challenges of the MYP for teaching and learning?

An integrated curriculum that is transdisciplinary in nature seems to be a good fit for 21st Century learning. There are, however, few examples of transdisciplinary curriculum at the K to 12 level. One exception is the International Baccalaureate's Primary Years Programme (PYP) which features transdisciplinary curriculum for students from ages 3 to 12 around the world. This phenomenological study explored the lived experience of 24 PYP educators to deepen understanding of what such a curriculum looks like in practice. Three main themes were identified. The first, "It's a framework" outlines participants' understandings of transdisciplinary teaching and learning and the freedom a transdisciplinary framework can bring. The second theme, "Get on board", examines participants' thoughts around what is required to successfully implement a transdisciplinary curriculum. The final theme, "Their learning journey", discusses participants' belie...

The report was commissioned by the IB and builds on existing studies on the Middle Years Program. It is the first study to comprehensively examine key ‘insider’ stakeholder perspectives of the benefits of the MYP for teaching and learning in Australia. Specifically it examines the perspectives of seventeen MYP teachers, five MYP Coordinators and six school principals from three public and two private schools, and four representatives from governing bodies and public education authorities. A qualitative research design involving case studies, semi-structured interviews and document analysis was used to gather rich data about insiders’ and key stakeholders’ perspectives of the impact of MYP on teaching and learning addressing the following research questions: 1) What are the impediments and enablers of offering the MYP? 2) What are the benefits of the MYP for teaching and learning? 3) What are the challenges of the MYP for teaching and learning?