IB Reflective Activity 4
The Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) and the Primary Years Practice (PYP) have many similarities. Engagement is a key area for both curricula with student centred learning being a method both employ as a way to achieve this participation.
PYP is built around 10 core attributes for the pupils to focus on as they grow and develop into inquiring, knowledgeable and caring people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. In teaching the learning is delivered in a transdisciplinary manner to add more relevance to the learning. Cross-curricular teaching can also be found in CfE where learning is given more breadth in teaching students more than one subject at a time. By teaching this way students are able to see the applications for their learning out with the school environment, leading to more engagement and hopefully more learning taking place.
As PYP is designed to be delivered across the globe, one major element to it is encouraging pupils to make connections with their learning and begin to understand the world they live and participate in. In investigating and understanding their own culture pupils can contrast, compare and have compassion for other cultures they come across in their life. CfE does not look outward in the scale PYP does. Despite this within CfE Religious and Moral Education offers a time and place to explore and develop pupils’ knowledge of the world around them and their place in it. Comparing the two curricula, PYP has more of an emphasis on this aspect of education however it is not lacking from CfE, just not as central.
In CfE Technologies is highlighted as a subject in itself that can be taught as an interdisciplinary lesson, or by itself however in PYP there is no subject for technologies. In PYP it is expected each lesson should include technologies in some way and pupils should gradually learn the technology skills they need throughout their time in PYP.
Overall both curricula equip pupils with the skills they need for life after and above school. Both curricula encourage an environment centred around life-long learning and constant improvement.
| PYP Curricular Areas | CfE Curricular Areas |
| Language | Language and Literacy |
| Mathematics | Mathematics and Numeracy |
| Science | Sciences |
| Social Studies | Social Studies |
| Arts | Expressive Arts |
| Personal, Social and Physical Education | Health and Wellbeing |
| Technologies | |
| Religious and Moral Education |
