Middle Years Programme (MYP)

As part of the International Baccaleaureate (IB) continuum of international education, Harare International School (HIS) is proud to have an authorized Middle Years Programme (MYP).

The three IB programmes (PYP, MYP, DP) share a common philosophy and a commitment to a high quality, international education that HIS believes promotes our ability to thrive and reach for excellence.  Across the continuum, our teachers are committed to the principles of an IB education, promoting inquiry-based teaching strategies and conceptual-based learning that support the IB Learner Profile and foster students’ growth in the Approaches to Learning (ATLs).

At HIS, students in grades 6-10 participate in the Middle Years Programme (MYP) across all of the subject groups.  Through the MYP students find a sense of belonging in an ever-changing and incresingly interrelated world.  The MYP also:

provides a framework of learning which encourages students to become creative, critical and reflective thinkers. The MYP emphasizes intellectual challenge, encouraging students to make connections between their studies in traditional subjects and to 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. (IB Middle Years Programme.  Web. International Baccalaureate. 27 August 2013.)

Through thoughtful and purposeful implementation of the MYP, we believe students will adopt a positive view of their subjects and embrace the attitudes necessary to foster lifelong learning.

Students are at the center of an IB education and, as such, we recognize their importance in the learning process through our instructional strategies.  Learning in the MYP takes place in subject groups that are similar to those found in schools around the world; studies in Language and Literature (English), language acquisition (French or Spanish), Individuals and Societies (social studies/history), Science, Mathematics, Visual Arts, Physical and Health Education, and Design.

In each of these subjects, an emphasis is placed on the understanding of key concepts within a global context.  Students are challenged to explore these concepts through inquiry-based learning practices that help them answer factual, conceptual, and debatable questions.  The level of higher order thinking fostered by the MYP and the further development of transferrable skills provides a strong foundation for students’ work in the Diploma Programme (DP) and beyond.

To help ensure that students are the center of the learning process, assessment in the IBMYP is referenced against criteria. Each subject group assesses using four criteria, which reflect aspects of student learning that are crucial to student development and growth.  The levels of achievement reached by the students in each of these four areas are used to award the student a grade at the end of the semester.  For further information on assessment in the MYP, please read through this information.

For further information about the IB and its programmes, please visit https://www.ibo.org

If you would like more information on the IB Middle Years Programme at HIS, please contact Secondary School Principal. 

When we use the term curriculum in our Middle Years Programme (MYP), we are referring to the many parts of our written teaching and learning documentation, as reflected on our unit planners.

As an IB Continuum school, we use the IB framework for teaching and learning to shape our unit planners. These planners incorporate the chosen departmental standards* which, in conjunction with the global contexts and the key and related concepts, guide the content we choose for our inquiry questions (factual, conceptual, debatable).

Within the scope of this larger framework, we utilize backwards design to create our unit planners. To this end, we design authentic and developmentally appropriate assessments and use relevant approaches to teaching strategies. We further embed the development of our students’ approaches to learning (AtL) skills and IB Learner Profile attributes in our lessons and unit planners.

All of these aforementioned individual elements are combined symbiotically to form our MYP curriculum.

Every MYP parent at HIS has access to an overview of their child’s curriculum via ManageBac (MB). We encourage parents to use MB to explore what their MYP student is learning by looking at the individual unit planner overviews for each course.

As part of our curriculum, MYP students participate in the HIS CORE program. Through the CORE, students engage in MYP action, as well as ATL skill building, academic enrichment, and pastoral care. Information about this program is outlined in our CORE selection guide.

If you would like more information on:

• The CORE program, please contact the MYP CORE Coordinator at ccharsley@his.ac.zw/ kreeler@his.ac.zw
• Your child’s courses, please contact his/her teachers directly.

 

* Our HIS standards are adapted to suit our students and the subject-groups they are studying.

In mathematics and language and literature, our standards come from the Common Core. The standards for our science, arts, and individuals and societies courses are based upon those from AERO (American Education Reaches Out). Modern language teachers use ACTFEL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) standards in their courses and the standards for our health and physical education courses are based upon SHAPE America.

For general information on the standards we are incorporating into our curriculum, please click on the links above.

For more specific information about the standards and benchmarks our students encounter in each subject area and how these benchmarks build upon previous skills and knowledge, please click on the links below.

Language and Literature standards
Language Acquisition standards

For ease of viewing, the science standards are divided into three areas: life science, physical science and the nature of science.

Life Science Standards
Physical Science Standards
Nature of Science Standards
Individuals and Societies Standards
Mathematics Standards
Music Standards
HPE standards

At HIS, we believe that the concept of assessment is multi-faceted and broader than a narrow set of pedagogical guidelines. In line with our IB framework for teaching and learning, we believe assessment is a continuous, ongoing process to be used for 1) the assessment of student learning and growth, i.e. summative assessment, and 2) for the purposes of shaping student learning experiences and teacher planning, i.e. formative assessment. We have, therefore, organized our conceptual understanding of assessment around the broad ideas of formative and summative assessment. While these two categories of assessment provide us with a framework for shaping our assessment philosophy and practices, we acknowledge that assessment is much more than the brief definitions provided above. We are currently in the process of reviewing our HIS MYP/DP Assessment Policy, which will be posted to the website once it is completed.

Please refer to the Guide on MYP Assessment at HIS for more general information on assessment in the IB MYP. For assessment information specific to your child’s courses, please contact his or her teacher directly.

Grade 9 students working with Grade 5 students

During the grade 5 PYP unit on Sharing the Planet, our 9th graders worked with our 5th graders on debate techniques and how to use evidence to support a perspective on various global issues.

During their time together, our grade 9 students helped the grade 5 students organize their ideas and choose information to support their arguments. Through this activity, our 9th graders had to articulate their own knowledge of argumentation, effective research, and how to use evidence to support ideas in a voice appropriate for 5th graders. Many of our 9th grade students commented on how much deeper their own knowledge became as a result of having to explain it to someone else.

The Fair Trade Trade Fair

The Fair Trade Trade Fair is organized by our students in grade 8 and open to our school community. It is the end result of a unit on fair trade, marketing, and ethical consumerism.

The descriptions below were written by our students after the fair and the images you see were created by our students to advertise the fair trade/green-focused businesses in attendance.

When we first got the assignment of the fair trade trade fair, everyone was excited. From the entire unit everyone learnt a massive amount ranging from advertising techniques, being a helpful employee of a business, to interview tips and tricks! Now being masters of the techniques needed to organize such a fair, we can’t wait to see the next grade 8s do this unit. 

It was hard work, but the end result was worth it! The entire experience was fantastic thanks to all the people who contributed and helped out. A big thanks to Mrs.Tobin who organized the entire unit!

The overall fair was a huge success! A huge thanks to everyone who helped out on the day, even just showing up was helping the businesses as it shows support! 

We supported ethical companies and local businesses that really need support. It would be great to see them grow and continue to encourage ethical consumerism and the positive things they stand for. Many people said they would like to purchase from the businesses in the future, so they can hopefully expect many customers to come.

HIS would like to thank the businesses for working with the grade 8s! We hope to see them again next year.