Thoughts from the Chatsworth Primary Hallway

Educators (and parents) are charged with preparing students for life after school.  For some that means university while others will go different route.  No matter which path students decide to follow, there are various skills and attributes that need to be developed within them ensuring they experience success in whatever they decide to do.  

The Primary Years Programme (PYP) has identified five skills (Thinking, Social, Self-Management, Research and Communication) and sub-skills that PYP teachers should strive to develop within their students.  In the PYP publication Making the PYP Happen, it states, ”… in order to be well prepared for lifelong learning, students need to master a whole range of skills beyond those normally referred to as basic” (p21).  In doing so, students realize that the skills are not “pigeon-holed” to one discipline.  In fact, they soon learn that these skills can be transferred to a multitude of situations. The PYP also believes to enhance these skills, they should be taught authentically in a transdisciplinary manner.  Although teachers report on the skills in the context of the units of inquiry, it is important to remember that these skills are utilized in all areas of the curriculum.  In the near future, these transdisciplinary skills will be referred to Approaches To Learning (ATL) skills that will permeate through the three IB programmes, PYP, MYP and DP.

In the written reports for the Primary School, our teachers report on these important skills explicitly. They are also at the forefront of the teachers planning for teaching and learning. When planning lessons, teachers develop activities that support the development of transdisciplinary skills. Daily opportunities are provided at school for students to practice using the transdisciplinary skills and to reflect on how they are applying them to their learning. Parents can support student use of these skills outside of school by referring to them with their children. As with any tool, the more purposeful, guided opportunities we have to use them, the more skilled we become in its use.

Dr Michael Berry
Head of Primary