Tag: All

At the centre of any sustainable school culture is a clear vision and mission that values environmental stewardship. Schools must embrace a vision that integrates ecological principles into all aspects of their education and school ecosystem. This vision should go beyond the superficial, aiming to instil in students a deep understanding of the interconnectedness between human actions and the environment.  

Panyaden International School in Chang Mai, Thailand has sustainability at its heart, from the rainwater collection system to the bamboo buildings designed to have a low carbon footprint. Sustainable schools set ambitious goals to become carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative. They establish greenhouse gas reduction targets, implement energy-efficient practices, and explore renewable energy options. Additionally, they promote sustainable transportation by encouraging students to walk, cycle, or carpool to school.  

By involving students in these initiatives, the IPC and Climate Action Schools empower them to be part of the solution and foster a sense of environmental responsibility. Panyaden’s initiatives include a vast recycling program, a rainwater collection system, a rice-field lifecycle system and eco-friendly buildings. From an operational perspective, by implementing effective waste reduction systems and prioritizing recycling and composting schools can significantly reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills. This not only benefits the environment but also sets an example for students to follow in their personal lives. Students at Panyaden are involved in composting and gardening, meatless meal days and food waste reduction programs. 

Growing and greening a sustainable school culture is a multifaceted endeavour that involves embracing a mission of environmental stewardship, aligning financial and policy decisions with ecological principles, and actively participating in the sustainable development goals as well as in climate action education such as in the Climate Action Schools program. Sustainability is at the forefront of Panyaden’s organisation, but also their educational vision. 

“By offering a Genuine Values-based Education for a Sustainable Planet, our vision is to see that our children excel academically, enrich their physical, social, emotional and intellectual well-being and develop a caring and compassionate understanding of the environment, to benefit themselves, the people they meet and the planet.”  (https://www.panyaden.ac.th/academic-programme) 

As a new partner of the ICA, the emergence of the Climate Action Schools (CAS) program (by Take Action Global) has become a significant driving force in growing and greening sustainable school cultures. In 2022 CAS completed their first school year with 100 member schools in their first cohort chosen from around the world. The outcomes have been hugely impactful for the students, teachers and school community. The program is led by a designated and trained school Climate Champion and provides professional development certification to train all teachers in learning about climate action education. Climate Action Schools encourage community engagement and collaboration. Schools forge partnerships with local organizations, governments, and businesses to create a network of support for sustainability initiatives. This community involvement allows schools to access additional resources and expertise, amplifying the impact of their efforts. 

In October 2022, Panyaden began its journey with Climate Action Schools. Through the CAS audit, the primary students identified that bamboo is their signature species and IMYC students began composting projects. Becoming part of the CAS community helped to provide some focus and guidance to teachers and students regarding sustainability. In the primary, the CAS initiative was highlighted and presented in several staff meetings. The CAS framework allowed the community to recognize the strengths and areas for growth providing a common goal including a focus for learning.  

Students also learn to understand their environment through field trips, service-learning projects, and being part of the community. In addition to curriculum integration, schools can establish environmental clubs or student-led initiatives that engage students directly in sustainability efforts. These groups can organize tree planting drives, waste reduction campaigns, or even establish school gardens to promote the connection between food and the environment. Such activities foster a sense of ownership and responsibility, empowering students to actively contribute to a greener school environment. Examples include: 

Service Learning and Climate Action School projects 

• Composting 

• Planting trees and gardening 

• Repurposing clothing 

• Animal welfare  

IPC/IMYC Field trips/projects 

• Year 1 Organic farm and composting 

• Year 4 visit to hydroelectric plant, sustainable bamboo city design 

• Year 5 Making brooms from recycled bottles 

• Year 6 visit to solar energy centre, solar panel, and rainwater pond cleaning 

• Year 7 organic farm and composting 

• Year 10 animal welfare and habitat restoration 

By integrating sustainability into the curriculum, empowering students to take action, and pursuing environmentally friendly practices, schools can play a vital role in nurturing a sustainable future. Through these collective efforts, we can foster a generation of environmentally conscious individuals who will, as Panyaden International School’s vision exemplifies, “develop a caring and compassionate understanding of the environment that will benefit themselves, the people they meet and the planet.”

Many national curricula around the world publish learning outcomes to be achieved within a certain age range, this concept of curriculum provides teachers and leaders with the ‘what’ of the curriculum but none of the ‘how’ and ‘why’. The International Curriculum Association has recently published a definition of curriculum encompassing four distinct facets – written, planned, experienced, and evaluated. The combination of these aspects provides schools with a comprehensive concept of curriculum encompassing philosophy and pedagogy alongside detailed Learning Goals.

Schools that choose to or are required to teach national or regional curriculum outcomes need to make research-informed choices to help make learning happen or select a curriculum solution that can meet the needs of both their learners and teachers while fulfilling any outcome requirements. By integrating subject areas, educators can create a more holistic and interconnected approach to teaching and learning, which can provide benefits for students. Below two established international schools in the Middle East share how they have integrated the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) with the English National Curriculum (NC).

At Brighton College, Dubai, rigorous inspections ensure curriculum coverage including checking attainment and progress in core subjects. For the foundation subjects they use the IPC which has allowed them to follow the structure/style of the English National Curriculum but select topics of more relevance to learners in the Middle East. Sarah Brannon shared how pupils were having difficulty relating to NC topics like ‘The Great Fire of London’ but the IPC unit ‘Moving People’ was fascinating and sparked incredibly thoughtful discussions and action projects. She states, “The benefits of using the IPC are very much related to the international context of our school, the relevance of the units to the pupils’ own experiences supports their interests and motivates learning.”

Each IPC unit can include learning related to the host, home, or heritage countries, with which learners have a connection. This brings a world perspective and develops local and global cultural understanding. This aligns with the KHDA (Knowledge and Human Development Authority) expectation for learning about the heritage and culture of the UAE as well as learners’ understanding and appreciation of their own and other world cultures.

Sarah Dillon from Compass International School, Doha, explains how they have integrated the IPC with other curriculum areas.

“We have meticulously mapped the IPC units and planned learning across each Milepost to ensure complete curriculum coverage that meets the NC requirements. We have also made a conscious effort to align our English learning with the IPC units integrating a range of English NC genres into the units of learning.”

Sarah credits the IPC thematic approach and its focus on International Learning with ensuring that NC requirements are met in an engaging, creative, and innovative manner that truly ignites the children’s passion for learning.

Fostering enthusiasm for learning is important at both Brighton College and Compass International School. Various studies have found evidence that intrinsically motivated students have higher achievement levels. At Brighton College, they recognise motivated teachers lead to motivated learners and improved learning. “Teachers like using the IPC because they can choose units in which they and the learners are interested. Teachers who are enthusiastic and excited about what they are teaching will transfer this to the pupils and learning becomes a dynamic process of exploring and finding out together about new topics.” Compass International acknowledges the role in the Process to Facilitate Learning that all IPC units follow as a motivating factor. During the Entry Point, the children’s memory of previous learning connected to the new unit should be activated. Following this, in the Knowledge Harvest, learners identify what they know and what they want to know, this learner agency motivates them to continue learning throughout the unit. This agency extends choice within learning, pupils can often select how they would like to learn or demonstrate their newly acquired knowledge. Regular reflection develops understanding and promotes metacognitive thinking, encouraging children to consider if their learning choices were effective.

The brain, metacognition and learning about learning are the focus of two IPC units in each milepost as Sarah Brannon explains, “the ‘Brainwave’ units at the start of each year provide an opportunity for pupils to find out about learning methods, to develop a growth mindset and to be involved in open and deep conversations about their aspirational learning goals.” These units aim to empower learners to plan, monitor and evaluate their learning. This research-endorsed approach, known to be more effective when “applied to challenging tasks rooted in the usual curriculum content” (i) transfers from the science of learning units to be utilised across the whole curriculum. Sarah Dillon appreciates that this focus on understanding how their brain works and how children like to learn is unique to the IPC.

Both Compass International and Brighton College are confident that their choice of curriculum solution improves learning through engaging, relevant content and research-informed pedagogy. Beyond the unit content, Personal Learning Goals contribute to the development of individuals and the school’s philosophy and culture. The 8 dispositions detailed in the IPC support learners with self-regulation, knowing themselves as learners and forming positive relationships. If learners are to flourish and overcome challenges, their dispositional qualities must be a key area of focus for teachers and school leaders. Enhancing academic learning with a suite of non-cognitive skills has also been associated with academic and life success. (ii) Personal learning cannot be confined to curriculum-specific activities or moments on the timetable; to be successful this learning needs to pervade across all aspects of the curriculum and the school community.

How do you know which curriculum solution will improve learning in your school?

Leaders should consider both the quality of the product but also how well it will fit with their school’s context, vision, and mission. Some questions that need to be asked and answered include the following.

• Does the research basis of the curriculum align with those valued by the school?
• Is the activity design based on research to best suit the age range of the learners?
• Are learning experiences based on authoritative, researched pedagogy?
• Does it make the teachers’ job of planning and delivery easier?
• Is the curriculum flexible and adaptable to meet learner needs and engage with learner interests?
• Does the curriculum provide opportunities for learners to ‘see’ themselves in the curriculum?
• Does the curriculum meet the requirements of any chosen/assigned written curriculum?
• Is it ambitious?

Whichever curriculum integration solution you choose, ensure that in the words of the OECD, “it maximizes the potential for the effective enhancement of learning.” (iii)

With thanks to Sarah Brannon, the Head of Preparatory School at Brighton College in Dubai and Sarah Dillon the Head of Primary, Madinat Khalifa campus at Compass International School in Doha, an IPC Accredited School.

(i) Metacognition and self-regulation

(ii) The impact of non-cognitive skills on outcomes for young people

(iii) What Makes a Quality Curriculum?

While big questions are becoming more common in classrooms, it’s important to note that there is currently no one-size-fits-all definition. Some schools may define big questions as overarching, broad questions that guide learners through an entire unit or semester, while others may define them as specific questions that help their children connect ideas within a smaller scope. Ultimately, the definition of a big question will vary from school to school, and even from teacher to teacher.

The questions themselves should be designed as open-ended and thought-provoking, encouraging learners to think deeply about the subject matter and develop a deeper understanding of the world around them. The key is to identify questions that challenge students to think critically, make connections, and apply their knowledge in meaningful ways.

Big questions were included in a small selection of IPC units, however, these task-based questions were not big enough to connect learning. The big question concept continues to be developed by IPC teachers in their classrooms and applied in different ways. In this article, we will explore how four teachers from different IPC schools in Asia use big questions in their classrooms to improve learning.

Life worthy questions in Vietnam

Yvette Jeffrey, Principal at TH School in Vietnam, believes that the key to effective big questions is to make them “life worthy” and relevant to the children’s lives. In the unit “Existing, Endangered and Extinct,” TH School’s big question is “Can we preserve biodiversity on this planet?” This question encourages their children to think about their impact on the environment and how they can take action to preserve the natural world. By posing a big question that connects to the learners’ passions, they are empowered to take action and make a difference.

Evaluating understanding in Malaysia

At Nexus International School in Malaysia, Janine Grassby, a Year 3 teacher and IPC leader, uses big questions to measure and evaluate understanding. Nexus’ big questions can be answered with a yes or no, but students must always justify their answers by making connections to knowledge and experience. By using an “understand-o-meter,” the children can place themselves on a continuum in answer to the question and adjust their thinking as the unit progresses. The school believes that big questions provide an opportunity to connect learning and reveal the interdependence of subjects.

Accessibility and relevance in Japan

Tom Greene, a Year 3 teacher and primary coordinator at St. Michael’s International School in Japan, presents big questions when explaining the theme of a unit and revisits it before each task. A recent big question at St Michael’s was “How do forces help us live?” By making the big question accessible and life-relatable, the children are encouraged to connect their expanding knowledge to the question.

Daily learning links in Brunei

Maura Murphy, IPC Leader for Learning at Panaga School in Brunei, uses big questions to guide the direction of a unit and make learners think. At Panaga, the children are introduced to the big question after explaining the theme, and daily learning links are made to the question. To prepare for the Exit Points, children use the big question as a scaffold, explaining their learning from the unit in a coherent way.

As these IPC schools highlight, big questions can be a powerful tool for guiding student learning, promoting critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity in the classroom. By encouraging children to explore complex and multifaceted issues, they are able to apply their knowledge. In doing so, as educators we can help them to develop a deeper understanding of the world around them and to build important skills that will serve them well throughout their lives.

Big questions can challenge students to engage with content in a meaningful way and become active, lifelong learners. As such, they can become a component of thematic learning, strengthening connections within and between subjects.

In the IPC lessons, teachers implement various international projects, as the curriculum allows us to adapt the lesson activities to students’ needs and interests. Heritage International School has been involved in the Climate Action project, Plastic Project and SDG projects for many years. Recently the SDG 2023 project started and as we were learning about inventions in IPC and ESL it was very easy to involve the students. We helped them realise how inventions have changed people’s lives and what can potentially be invented, to make the world even better.

Heritage International School has been involved in the Climate Action project, Plastic Project and SDG projects for many years. Recently the SDG 2023 project started and as we were learning about inventions in IPC and ESL it was very easy to involve the students. We helped them realise how inventions have changed people’s lives and what can potentially be invented, to make the world even better.

It was a surprise when on the second day, one of my students entered the room and exclaimed: “This IPC is such an interesting thing. It helps us explore the world”. Students like learning when they understand why they do it.  The projects connect with the famous Benjamin Franklin quote: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.”

Heritage International School has also become a Climate Action school. This means that all the teachers cooperate to involve students in learning activities that awaken their responsibility as global citizens. In order to help learners to achieve a better comprehension of environmental problems, ESL teachers cooperate with homeroom teachers to organize various shared activities. This might be inviting a specialist in the field to explain the problem from a professional point of view, going on a field trip, or leading lessons together.

Last year, within the SDG project we learned about the third global goal “Good Health and Wellbeing”. Students did research into various situations using texts from both their native language and English. They also had online meetings with professionals in the field, such as a nutritionist and psychologist; a field trip to the Botanical Garden and other activities supported the aim to consolidate students’ knowledge and understanding. For trips and meetings, learners would use the English language for communication as the ESL groups are formed of students of the same age, but from the Russian and Romanian classes.  Their common language is English, by mixing the IPC/ESL groups with six students from the Romanian class and six students from the Russian class the children are motivated to use English while being empathetic to the different communication skills. Learners recognize that English is an effective way to present their knowledge and share their projects with our international community.  They can extend research by using English to communicate with their peers from various corners of the world. By understanding the power of the medium, they become more conscious of their learning and more motivated.

For five years, the IPC brought us only positive experiences, when learners engage through the different subjects, they are very happy and willing to learn more and more about the unit topic.  It is of paramount importance that learning from one year to another increases, both within and beyond the IPC. Learners will continue to improve their language proficiency through repetition and reinforcement of previously acquired knowledge and broaden it with fresh information and comprehension from one academic year to the next.

 We are delighted to hear about students’ enthusiasm for learning. They say that they only learn interesting and useful knowledge in the IPC, which will help them in their future life. What can be more rewarding than seeing learners’ inquisitive minds being fulfilled? As Iwan Welton Fitzwater said, and what I also truly believe, “The future of the world is in my classroom today”.