Swan Christian College - International Baccalaureate - Middle Years Program

Middle Years Program - International Baccalaureate

International BaccalaureateMiddle Years Program

2 | International Baccalaureate - Middle Years Program

Swan Christian College

Develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people

Middle Years Program - International Baccalaureate | 3


Swan Christian College is a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Program and, will be pursuing authorisation as an IB World School. IB World Schools share a common philosophy—a commitment to improve the teaching and learning of a diverse and inclusive community of students by delivering challenging, high quality programs of international education that share a powerful vision.

International BaccalaureateThe International Baccalaureate® (IB) is a non-profit educational foundation, motivated by its mission, focused on the student. Their four programs for students aged 3 to 19 years help develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalising world.

Founded in 1968, the IB currently works with 3,698 schools in 147 countries to develop and offer four challenging programs to over 1,151,000 students.

Mission StatementThe International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the organisation works with schools, governments and international organisations to develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment. These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

Middle Years ProgramThe Middle Years Program (MYP) provides a curriculum framework of learning that encourages students to become creative, critical and reflective thinkers. The MYP emphasises intellectual challenge, encouraging students to make connections between their studies in traditional subjects and the real world. It fosters the development of skills for communication, intercultural understanding and global engagement, qualities that are essential for life in the 21st century. The MYP is a holistic program that takes into account academic and non-academic aspects through the Personal Project and community and service activities.



The MYP Curriculum ModelThe circle below represents the MYP curriculum model. Teachers at Swan Christian College teach from a Christian worldview. One of the MYP emphases is to raise students up with a global perspective engendering a sense of inclusivity. The opportunity to develop this outlook in students is well suited to Swan Christian College as we maintain a Christian worldview throughout our curriculum as well as to engender thoughtfulness and responsiveness to the needs of others and to develop the whole person.

© International Baccalaureate 2013

What is an IB School?One of the features of the IB that makes it distinctive from other curriculum models is its desire to develop well rounded students who will be responsible members of local, national and global communities. These qualities and attributes are then expressed through the IB Learner Profile.

Swan Christian College aims to develop students who demonstrate the attributes expressed in the Learner Profile:

• Inquirers• Thinkers• Communicators• Principled• Caring

These attributes underpin all elements of the MYP and are central to what it means to be internationally minded.

MYP and the Australian CurriculumThe MYP provides a model for teaching and learning and allows for the Australian Curriculum to be taught through inquiry. As such, students joining Swan Christian College during the MYP years are not disadvantaged. The MYP ensures curriculum differentiation.

• Open-minded• Balanced• Reflective• Risk takers• Knowledgeable



Centred around student learning



Participate in a broad and balanced choice of subjects in every year of the program



Core Concepts of the MYPAdolescents are confronted with a vast and often bewildering array of choices. The MYP is designed to provide students with the values and opportunities that will enable them to develop sound judgment. From it’s beginning, the MYP has been guided by three fundamental concepts that are rooted in the IB mission statement. These three fundamental concepts are:

1. Holistic learning—representing the notion that all knowledge is interrelated and that the curriculum should cater to the development of the whole person, the attributes of which are described by the IB learner profile.

2. Intercultural awareness—representing the notion that school communities should encourage and promote international-mindedness by engaging with and exploring other cultures, a key feature of international education as reflected in the attributes of the IB learner profile.

3. Communication—representing the notion that schools should encourage open and effective communication, important skills that contribute to international understanding as exemplified by the attributes of the IB learner profile.

At Swan Christian College our students will participate in a broad and balanced choice of subjects in every year of the program, organised into eight subject groups:

• Arts through Drama, Music, and Visual Arts • Design and Technology • Humanities focusing on the study of Geography and

History• Language A (English)• Language B (French or Japanese)• Mathematics• Physical Education where students learn a range of

sporting skills and participate in a Health Education program.

• Sciences where students explore Biology, Chemistry, Human Biology and Physics

Language A (English), Sciences, Mathematics and Humanities are differentiated to take into account student ability.

At Swan all students will continue to participate in the Christian Living program, in addition Year 9 and 10 students will study Development and Values Education (DAVE).

The MYP’s core features five contexts for learning that provide powerful opportunities to engage in the study of issues that affect students today. Using a common language, teachers organise teaching and learning through the following areas of interaction:

• Approaches to Learning (ATL) represents learning skills that students will develop and apply during the program and beyond.

• Community and Service considers how students can learn about their place within communities and be motivated to act in new contexts.

• Health and Social Education is designed to help students identify and develop skills that will enable them to function as effective members of societies. They also learn about how they are changing and how to make informed decisions that relate to their welfare.

• Environment explores how humans interact with the world at large and the parts we play in our virtual, natural and built environments.

• Human ingenuity deals with the way in which human minds have influenced the world and considers the consequences of human thought and action.

The Personal ProjectIn the final year of MYP students undertake a personal project under the guidance of a mentor. The Personal Project is a significant body of work and aims to assess a student’s ability to use the skills and values developed while studying the MYP. It is a product of their own initiative and provides an opportunity for them to produce a creative piece of work and to demonstrate the skills they have learned in Approaches to Learning.

The Personal Project holds a very important place in the MYP. It provides an opportunity for students to select a topic about which they are enthusiastic, to show commitment to the completion of their own project and is designed to assess their ability to organise and create.

For More InformationPlease contact Mr Terry Eason our IB Coordinator through Administration on 9374 8300 or by email at [email protected]. Alternatively visit http://www.ibo.org/

International Baccalaureate - Middle Years Program

Documents

Swan Christian College - International Baccalaureate - Middle Years Program