Monthly Archives: September 2019

IB Reflective Activity 4

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Differences and similarities between the IB and the CfE in terms of Primary Education

IB PYP and CfE both aim to help children develop into independent and successful lifelong learners who respect and value opinions of others. Both curricula encourage learners to be active, creative and determined to achieve their goals.

Not only teachers but children as well are part of the learning process and can have an impact on what they learn and how. Teachers collaborate and work together to create engaging, relevant and challenging lessons.

On top of that, IB is internationally-focused and aims to educate learners in such environment that provides opportunities to understand different cultures and languages.

The IB Primary Years Programme identifies 6 subject areas:

  • Language
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Social studies
  • Arts
  • Personal, social and physical education

They are discussed via 6 transdisciplinary themes:

  1. Who we are
  2. Where we are in place and time
  3. How we express ourselves
  4. How the world works
  5. How we organize ourselves
  6. Sharing the planet

 

Whereas, in the CfE, there are 8 subject areas:

  • Languages
  • Mathematics
  • Sciences
  • Social studies
  • Religious and moral education
  • Technologies
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Expressive arts

What children should learn in each subject area (in the CfE) is described in Experiences and Outcomes documents. These documents specify what knowledge and skills should be developed throughout each school year. It is divided into three levels – early, first, second. This allows the interconnection of information and building of knowledge. Benchmark documents explain this even more allowing teachers to fully understand what concepts should be discussed and what knowledge and skills should be acquired.  Furthermore, in the Curriculum for Excellence, literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing are considered to be responsibility of all teachers.

Whereas, the IB is known for its transdisciplinary-themed curriculum and making links and connections between subject areas. Knowledge, skills and concepts are acquired through six themes mentioned above. However, some subjects may be studies separately e.g. Physical education or Music Education. This International Primary Years Programme focuses on acquiring knowledge, skills, concepts, attitudes and action. The curriculum is inquiry-based meaning children themselves create a hypothesis about a picture/information and by finding out further information themselves, they learn about the topic/issue and slowly develop into and become critical thinkers. A huge focus is on learning through exploring big ideas and larger concepts from various points of view, which help students understand the world around them. An emphasis is then placed upon reflection on children´s  learning.

CfE as well encourages and implements interdisciplinary learning for children to develop the ability to apply knowledge and skills in other contexts.

In the CfE, there are also seven principles for teachers to consider when planning lessons:

  • Challenge and enjoyment
  • Breadth
  • Progression
  • Depth
  • Personalisation and choice
  • Coherence
  • Relevance

From my point of view, CfE as well as IB curriculum allow teachers to prepare such lessons that are engaging, challenging and relevant for the pupils in a way that best suits them. Teachers can and are encouraged to get to know their students as much as possible which then enables them to fully understand how they learn best and plan lessons accordingly. Experiences and outcomes documents that are part of the CfE help teachers to understand in detail what it is that need to be taught at each grade. I enjoy the flexibility of the Curriculum for Excellence. It is up to the teacher how a concept will be learnt. This allows teachers to create lessons according to their learners´ preferences, which help students feel they also play a part in the learning process and their ideas are valued and possibly taken forward.

I really enjoy the fact that the IB curriculum is international inviting all people from various cultural background to become a part of this learning community. It brings people together, which, I believe, could also become an element of the Scottish education, for example in the form of partnership and projects with other schools. It is incredibly important to understand other cultures in order to become a critical thinker and have a general overview of the world and what is happening around us.

I am really looking forward to learning more about the IB Primary Years Programme.

IB Reflective Activity 3

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Which progressive trends align with CfE?

 

IB Progressive Trends

Critical analysis

Student choice

Transdisciplinarity

Range of skills testing

Constructivism

Child-centred

Education of the whole child

Criterion-referenced

AV and AL (languages)

Open plan rooms

Multiple perspectives

 

Curriculum for Excellence’ purpose is to help children become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors. The IB Curriculum is known for its inquiry-based learning and encouraging understanding and respect towards people from different cultures and backgrounds. Both curricula are child-centred and follow a holistic approach towards education. As such, CfE and the IB overlap in many ways in terms of education trends.

Students are encouraged to look for and find out information and facts for themselves with a discussion followed, which enhances their critical thinking ability. However, in the IB this method is more common.

Regarding the student choice, in both systems, which are child-centred, learning is often based around students’ feedback and what they would like to learn and how. This goes hand in hand with getting to know children very well to be able to prepare such lessons that will be engaging, challenging and children will be motivated and inspired to learn. In both education systems, an individual approach is taken towards education of each individual child. Teachers are encouraged to get to know their learners as much as possible to be able to provide them with such lessons all children will find interesting. Therefore, many and various teaching methods are to be adapted when planning lessons to ensure all children will be able to learn in the way that best suits them.

In the IB, learning is more transdisciplinary–based than in the Curriculum for Excellence. In Scotland, subjects are separate e.g. English Language, Maths, .. ,however, in the IB, what children learn is based around six themes: Who we are; Where we are in place and time; how we express ourselves; How the world works; How we organize ourselves and Sharing the Planet. This structure allows for phenomenon-based learning, which means that when a concept is studied e.g. Water cycle, it can be discussed from many points of view – linguistical, mathematical, … This allows for more holistic approach.

To ensure the health and wellbeing of students, GIRFEC, Getting It Right for Every Child, a national approach, is there to support each individual child. GIRFEC is interwoven with educational organizations and institutions. This enables teachers and other staff at school to realise if there is something wrong and the concern can be taken further.

During my first placement in Scotland I have experienced open plan rooms when community groups were taking place. Children from grades P5-P7 were divided into six groups. Each group  had a different task and goal to achieve. For example, the group I was observing focused on growth mindset development. Children first read a book encouraging the growth mindset development and then created special puppets based on the story in the book. The next step was a play, which they performed to younger classes. At the end, they were reading the story to the younger ones and helped them to create their own puppets.

IB Reflective Activity 2

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Compare and Contrast the IB Learner Profile attributes with CfE´s four capacities.

                             IB                                                                                                                         

There are 10 core values/attributes. IB learners are encouraged to become:

  • Inquirers
  • Knowledgeable
  • Thinkers
  • Communicators
  • Principled
  • Open-minded
  • Caring
  • Risk-takers
  • Balanced
  • Reflective

                           CfE

Whereas, the CfE specifies 4 capacities to help children become:

  • Successful learners
  • Confident individuals
  • Responsible citizens
  • Effective contributors

 

It is highlighted that lessons should be engaging, relevant and challenging in order to motivate pupils and therefore encourage students to become successful lifelong learners who can contribute, have a great impact and make a difference in the 21st century.

In both curricula acquiring knowledge is hugely important. Knowing what we are learning is as important as knowing why we are learning it and where we can apply it in the future. This helps children make informed decision and develop their critical thinking skills. Observing my class, I have seen them do many problem-solving activities such as mathematical problems or various literacy tasks.

To encourage children in their thinking skills, in the first week of my placement, my class took a trip to a Science Centre, where they were exposed to many scientific ideas and learnt about Mars. They were engaged in whole-class and groups discussions, which encouraged their thinking.

Creativity plays a great role as well. In the classroom I was in, it was stimulated by many different teaching methods throughout their education and also via participating in a project about planets, which consisted of planning and creating artworks, finding information using digital technology and playing a part in a special play about planets performed for parents.

Great importance in both IB Learner Profile and CfE Four Capacities, is placed upon learning how to be an independent and responsible learner as well as a a good communicator and listener when being a part of a group sharing ideas and discussing various topics. To become a responsible citizen means also being interested and wanting to know more about the world around us from the local as well as the global point of view.

Developing a sense of physical as well as emotional wellbeing is significant for both, IB and CfE curricula. Moreover, in the CfE Health and Wellbeing is a responsibility of all those working in schools, not only teachers. This also applies to Literacy and Numeracy. Whereas, in the IB Curriculum, a greater emphasis is placed upon helping learners develop into inquirers through inquiry-based learning.

Even though the IB is more internationally-focused, CfE itself also tries to help children understand the importance of knowing different cultures, languages and how people live around the world. This enables children become respectful to others and open-minded to new ideas, thinking and information coming from different parts of the world and being able to assess such information, which enhances critical thinking skills. However, through IB programmes, students often have a direct contact with people from around the world which allows them to create international learning communities. Very important values that are being promoted as well are honesty and fairness.

Confidence is hugely important and built when children are responsible for the learning process, or a part of it, their ideas and opinions are valued by teachers and their classmates and it is acted upon their feedback. Studying in various countries, I was learning about the importance of risk-taking activities and the positive effects it can have on children´s confidence.

IB Reflective Activity 1

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IB education provides international education to children and students from 3 to 19 years old in over 156 countries. There are over 5,000 schools offering 4 high-quality programmes:

  • Primary years programme (PYP)
    • Age range: 3-12
  • Middle Years Programme (MYP)
    • Age range: 11-16
  • Diploma Programme
    • Age range: 16-19
  • Career-related Programme
    • Age range: 16-19

(https://www.ibo.org/programmes/)

There are similarities as well as differences with the Curriculum for Excellence, which is Scotland´s national curriculum since 2004 provided to students from 3 to 18 years old. Both curricula which are student-centred focus on helping students become open-minded, enthusiastic and lifelong learners. They also develop critical thinking, decision-making as well as creativity skills, much needed in today´s world. Confidence, persistence and resilience are significant attributes students acquire through both curricula. At Ballumbie Primary School, where I undertook my first placement, I have seen tasks and activities to support such skills. To develop these skills was also one of the goals throughout my education back home in the Czech Republic.

Lessons should be engaging, challenging and relevant to children´s everyday lives. Both curricula place a great emphasis on acquiring skills for students to be able to work together, communicate, listen to each other and understand the concept of cooperation. I have observed and taught lessons designed for cooperative groups. My mentor has taken a course in cooperative teaching, therefore, I was able to see how this particular teaching method worked. I was observing how working in groups, in this case cooperative groups, was helping children to learn from one another and discuss topics and issues together. It also encouraged children to feel as a part of a team and as such to bear a responsibility for the tasks needed to be done. This method also supported the ones less able as they had a chance to discuss everything in their teams before questions were asked or the whole-class discussion began. It also encouraged the more able ones to learn by explaining and demonstrating concepts to their classmates.

Both curricula encourage students to become responsible for their learning. “Knowledgeable” is an attribute highly important for both. However, IB curriculum is more globally focused allowing children to explore issues on a local as well as a global level. The IB curriculum is also more inquiry-based, which is a significant aspect for this curriculum. IB learners are taught through inquiry, action and reflection. Another important aspect of the IB curriculum is making links between various fields of study and therefore, allowing children to understand concepts from many different points of view. On top of that, it supports the development of intercultural understanding and respect towards each other and the ability to communicate and work together regardless where we all come from or what language we speak. IB schools work together and collaborate to connect various ideas. This help to create international. learning communities and therefore gives IB learners the opportunity to become more globally engaged through many different languages and cultures. CfE as well focuses on acquiring the knowledge and skills of another language through Modern Languages curricular area.

 

Resources:

https://www.ibo.org/

https://www.ibo.org/programmes/

https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/What%20is%20Curriculum%20for%20Excellence