Introduction to the International Baccalaureate - Primary Years Programme (IB-PYP)

Sekolah Tunas Bangsa was established in 1999 and became the first in offering international-education in the West Kalimantan region. Its commitment in promoting international-mindedness has brought Sekolah Tunas Bangsa to implement the Primary Years Programme (PYP) from the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). The school has been authorized by IBO to fully implement the programme since April 2008. In 2011 and 2016 the school has been visited for the first and second phase of programme evaluation by the IB evaluation team.

The IB-PYP of Sekolah Tunas Bangsa strives towards developing an internationally minded person who demonstrates the attributes of the IB learner profile as follows:

Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-minded, Caring, Risk-takers, Balanced, and Reflective.

Transdisciplinary and Inquiry-based Learning

The aim of PYP is to create a transdisciplinary curriculum that is engaging, relevant, challenging and significant for learners in the 3-12 age range. In keeping with the PYP commitment to inquiry, the PYP curriculum comprises the three components:

What do we want to learn?
How best will we learn?
How will we know what we have learned?

In the PYP, a balance is sought between acquisition of essential knowledge and skills, development of conceptual understanding, demonstration of positive attitudes, and taking of responsible action.

Knowledge

The PYP programme identifies a body of knowledge for all students in all cultures, in six principal subject domains (groups): language, social studies, mathematics, science, the arts, personal, social and physical education. The program also promotes the use of more than one language besides the mother tongue. At Sekolah Tunas Bangsa, English is the official language and language of instruction, Bahasa Indonesia becomes the host country language and Chinese becomes the additional language. The subject knowledge is integrated using the six transdisciplinary themes.

The programme defines transdisciplinary themes that identify areas of shared experience and have meaning for individuals in different cultures. These themes are part of the common ground that unify the curriculum in all PYP schools, as follows:

Who we are
Where we are in place and time
How we express ourselves
How the world works
How we organize ourselves
Sharing the planet

PYP is committed to the concept-driven curriculum as a means of supporting the inquiry. A set of eight key concepts was drawn up as follows:

Form – What is it like?
Function – How does it work?
Causation – Why is it like it is?
Change – How is it changing?
Connection – How is it connected to other things?
Perspective – What are the points of view?
Responsibility – What is our responsibility?
Reflection – How do we know?

Within their learning throughout the programme, students acquire and apply a set of transdisciplinary skills: thinking skills, social skills, communication skills, self-management skills, and research skills.

These skills are valuable, not only in the units of inquiry, but also for any teaching and learning that goes on within the classroom, and in life outside the school.

In PYP schools, students should demonstrate a set of PYP attitudes as follows:

Appreciation, Commitment, Confidence, Cooperation, Creativity, Curiosity, Empathy,

Enthusiasm, Independence, Integrity, Respect, and Tolerance.

Assessment

The teachers use a range of assessment strategies when gathering information about a student’s learning, such as observation, performance assessment, process-focused assessment, selected responses and open-ended tasks. The assessment strategies may be put into practice using the assessment tools such as rubrics, exemplars, checklists, anecdotal records and continuums.

Evidence of student’s learning is collected in student portfolio. The portfolio is used to show the development of knowledge, conceptual understanding, transdisciplinary skills, attitudes and the attributes of the learner profile over a period of time.

Student’s Conferences

The three-way conference which involves student, parents and teacher, is held in the first semester. In this conference, students will reflect on their learning and set goals for the next semester.

The student-led conference involves the student and the parent and takes place in the second semester. The students are responsible in leading the conference, and also take responsibility for their learning by sharing the process with their parents.