KEY CONCEPTS
IB schools organize their questioning units to allow opportunities to delve deeper into all of the seven key PYP concepts with the following sample open ended questions. At each grade/year level, all of these right key concepts are dealt with in the questioning program. The listing of the concepts in the questioning program (key concepts and related concepts) helps the units focus on a certain direction, and frame the content to be taught. While deepening the understanding of the classes, on the other hand it allows additional opportunities for the establishment of connections between transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary learning. PYP key concepts provide opportunities for students to get a better depth of understanding of the main idea.
In the centre of the PYP philosophy, is the principle that purposeful and regular questioning, is a strong tool for the development of meaning for learning and forcing students to be interested in important subjects. For this reason, in PYP there is a commitment to a concept driven curriculum as a way of supporting questioning.
The Place of Key Concepts in the Curriculum
The concepts in the centre of the curriculum are presented in the form of key questions. They have the ability to shape the unit and give it direction. The natural way to present key concepts is through asking comprehensive, open ended questions. Open ended questions free the minds of teachers and students. Thus each student can be reached regardless of their special skills.
In summary, PYP concepts support the research and questioning of students.
Examples of open ended questions aimed at PYP key concepts are given below.
