Tag: Primary

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”.

The inauguration of Heritage International School in 2017 was a novelty in the educational market in the Republic of Moldova, as it came with a more modern, innovative air and the curriculum was not known in our country. Implementing the IPC was a big challenge; we wanted to include our youngest learners and both the English and bilingual sections of the school.

For the classes where subjects are taught in English, we could easily adapt and implement the IPC. The challenge was to accomplish this in the bilingual classes, which follow the national curriculum. Learning takes place in the native languages of Russian and Romanian; English is taught as a second language. Teachers had to implement the IPC while respecting all the requirements of our national education system. Cross-reference research was completed where experts from our institution identified the common learning goals between our national curriculum and the IPC. From this starting point, we were able to achieve our aim of a mixed curriculum.

To implement the IPC and develop students’ ESL competencies, it was decided to select six units for each academic year. We selected units to inspire children’s curiosity and motivate them to discover more about the world. The biggest challenge was how to ensure we improve learning when teaching the themes in a foreign language. Cooperation between ESL and homeroom teachers was needed to develop students’ holistic perception of the world and to show children that what they are learning is relevant beyond their English classes, it is related to the challenges and reality of the world around them.

All the IPC units are created to guide learning and encourage learners to ask themselves relevant questions. They know that they are going to do research work, investigate, collaborate, and try to find answers to achieve a common goal. They learned to apply their language skills from the very first unit where they study with ‘Brainwave’. While students learned about the brain and how it works, they developed language skills using vocabulary specific to their milepost. This enabled them to talk about their knowledge and express their understanding of the theme.

In the 4th grade unit ‘Myths and Legends,’ we learned about types of stories and how people used these to explain natural phenomena through IPC and language lessons. During language learning, students discovered that many countries have similar stories, legendary figures, or mythological creatures that are connected to shared areas of the human experience. For example, a spirit that takes care of the house when people are not home or while they are sleeping, in Moldova it is called “Spiriduș”, in Slavic traditions such as Russia and Ukraine it is ”Domovoy”, “Hob” in Northern England and “Kobold” in Germany.

Children were so impressed that they decided to make their own superheroes which would help not only their country but the whole world. Through the ESL, Romanian and Russian lessons they learned about the structure and features of legends and myths, reading stories in different languages. They reinforced their knowledge by studying other World mythology in the IPC tasks.

A major success is seeing children being curious about research or impatient to present their findings and share their learning with their peers. Our students like helping each other and praising each other’s work; but our favourite moment is when they celebrate not only the result but also the learning process. Another achievement is when they realise that the theme connects learning across the subjects including ESL, Romanian, Russian, Mathematics, and Science, etc., this is the moment they understand that all these pieces are parts of a whole.

Learners enjoy sharing their experiences with parents and siblings. They look forward to planning the Exit Point, so they can present their new knowledge, demonstrate their skills, and share their deepening understanding. They use their newly acquired English for the Exit Points when they invite the community to share in their findings and view projects.

The Sustainable Learning Goals symbolises the main issues that we are facing around the globe as we are striving for a better future. In the IPC, the learners are given the opportunity to develop the global competence through interesting and exciting challenges that are linked to the Sustainable Development Goals.

At Straits International School, Rawang, while working on our Year 3 unit ‘Different Places, Similar lives’, we came across the International Task that highlights two learning goals: Know about organisations that help others and be able to associate cause and effect related to global events and/or issues. The children first researched organisations that help people in need in Malaysia. We came across a few of them and contacted them. We were lucky enough to get a response from one of the global charities ‘The Lost Food’. They were very happy to come to our school to share about what they do during our Key Stage assembly.

It was interesting to hear about the numbers and information that was shared with us. Almost 1/3 of food produced in the world is either lost or wasted. In Malaysia 3000 tonnes of edible food is thrown away each day. This is enough to feed 10 million people. This organisation help rescue an average of 10 tonnes of food per week from going to the landfill and unfortunately is it still not enough. To be able to help and support this global issue, we need to start now, and the best place is from school where children are given to opportunity to learn and understand what is happening around us.

After this talk, we started the ‘Clean your plate challenge’, where we paid attention to how much food the children eat and waste. We took some pictures of the bin to help them see how much we waste. We continued this process for three weeks, and we could slowly see some changes where children started to take smaller amounts of food, checking the time before going for a second round, encouraging each other and becoming more aware of how much they really need to eat and understanding the concept of ‘what we want, and what we really need’. 

To keep the momentum going, we continued this process by carrying out ‘The Food Drive’ where the children rescued some of the food items that they don’t need or are nearly expired in their own homes. The Year 3s helped to organise the items into different categories to see what type of food were being donated the most. It was then donated to the lost food charity. Learning experiences like this is something that our children will always remember, and I hope these little things that we do in school can inspire them to do more in the future for a better world. I truly appreciate ideas like this!

We are delighted to share that the International Primary Curriculum was named Overall Supplier of the Year at the Education Today School & Supplier Awards 2022. 

A fantastic evening celebrating learning, meeting inspirational people and presenting a well deserved award to the primary school of the year, Kirton Primary School. 

We would like to thank everyone who voted for the IPC and those who have contributed to content over the years. Jacqueline Harmer, Head of IPC says she was, 

“Proud to represent the IPC community of educators who contributed to the extensive review of the IPC.”

A big thank you to all our subscribing schools who embed the IPC in their schools and continue on the path to help improve learning. We wouldn’t be where we are without you.

With over 20 years of experience in delivering the world-renowned International Primary Curriculum (IPC), the forward-thinking IPC2020 curriculum was launched for learners aged 5-11 years old, with the aim to help prepare children for opportunities and challenges that occur now and in the future. 

The primary curriculum encourages learners to be globally competent, socially conscious, and motivated to positively contribute within a local and/or global context, something that has become increasingly essential over the last few years especially during this historic moment in time.

Boothferry Primary School in Yorkshire (UK) has over 16 different nationalities, languages and cultures which makes us naturally outward facing to the world. Within our school, we utilise the 8 IPC learning goals of: enquiry, communication, thoughtfulness, adaptability, cooperation, resilience, respect and morality, but a recent addition of a 9th goal, international mindedness, truly reflects the multicultural faiths our school exhibits, which in turn fosters a curiosity amongst children and teachers alike. This is summarised in our school motto ‘Embracing diversity, building a brighter future together!’.

In 2019, I was awarded a grant from the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity Education Committee, who provide funds for teachers to be able to research a project based on an area of their educational interest. My project primarily focused on how music education was delivered in Finland and was inspired by the 2019 government warning in the decline in music education in the UK [1]. I wanted to visit schools around the country and bring back ideas and inspirations that would develop my teaching, but also inspire the children in my class to show how children learn in another country.  

First Impressions

I quickly realised the context of cultural principles was paramount. It would be unrealistic to implement the routines and policies from Finland immediately into my school in the UK, primarily due to the priorities of the society and traditional aspects of the country. The first impression I got from visiting schools was the attitude amongst teachers and students was very much more relaxed compared to schools in the UK. Aided by the non-wearing of uniform, frequent learning breaks (each 45-minute lesson ended with a 15-minute break) and earlier start and finish times (8.15 am until 2.15 pm), helped to create an atmosphere within class which made learning comfortable and enjoyable, allowing each child the opportunity to flourish. Another important difference was that each child was provided with a free school meal each day, which lasts throughout the entirety of their education up to 18. This not only has important health benefits, but also decreases the financial burden for parents, ensuring that all aspects of a child’s education are taken care of by the state.

Teachers

The profession of teaching is given a high status within Finnish society. As a result, teachers are given far more autonomy and trust to find the best way of teaching, and they can reflect constantly on how they can improve and develop their pedagogy.  I found that they have more time to reflect on their practice because they are released from the constraints of inspections, monitoring visits and scrutiny which can become a continuous burden for teachers.

Indeed, this freedom of thinking and working is encouraged in the pupils, who I found to be working in corridors, listening to music or taking short learning breaks to do pull ups on gym equipment that had been installed in the corridor, but yet still remain engaged in completing the task set by the teacher.

Teacher Training

One of my focus areas was how teachers are trained. While visiting the University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, I was amazed to see the amount of investment that was put into training teachers. Prospective teachers are rigorously trained for 4 years up to a Masters level of education, where they can choose their thesis to focus on any area of teaching, such as special education or on a specific subject area.

I was delighted to see that all trainee primary teachers are required to learn a musical instrument, either the guitar or piano, to a basic level. The musical skills of primary teachers were evident in the lessons I saw when I visited schools around the country, where teachers could confidently accompany children when singing and performing. 

Inspiring my pupils

When I returned from my trip, I instinctively used my visit as an opportunity to collaborate between the two cultures. Our children exchanged letters with the children in Finland and a video call was set up to ask questions that the children had created. This matched perfectly with our IPC unit ‘Different Places, Similar Lives’ where the children could directly ask the questions they had generated from their knowledge harvest. The relationships I formed with the schools that I visited will continue in the future due to the connections and friendships that I made during my visit. 

Through studying the IPC unit of ‘Different Places, Similar Lives’, aided by the experiences on my trip, my pupils have a more accurate and realistic approach to life in another culture, enabling them to genuinely ‘embrace diversity and build a brighter future together’.