19.04.2022

IB Continuum is the theme of a family meeting

By Lais Carvalho

In this edition of “Café & Educação”, the coordinators of the school’s International Baccalaureate (IB) programs explained the similarities and differences between the Primary Years Programme (PYP), from Early Childhood Education to Year 5; the Middle Years Programme (MYP), from the Middle School; and the Diploma Programme (DP), from High School.

Aiming to show parents the path of an IB student in the school environment, involving his achievements and connections, and how to raise a citizen with an international mindset, the meeting promoted a rich exchange of experiences between family and school.

The coordinators emphasized how Beacon’s mission is connected to the IBO mission, since we were born with the goal of being a school that would promote the education of insightful, sensitive, questioning, and curious citizens of the world, in addition to valuing and understanding concepts such as ethics and diversity. 

The first points raised were about the similarities between the programs. All of them put the student at the center and have the perspective of working with the student’s profile, some of them being: caring, reflective, researchers, and communicators.

There is also great similarity in terms of teaching and learning approaches. Teachers are trained to plan their lessons and make explicit to students which approach is being assessed, such as: social skills, research skills, communication skills, self-regulation skills, and thinking skills.

While the PYP is a fully transdisciplinary program that places the elements of the curriculum and the BNCC as part of each Unit of Inquiry, the MYP contemplates a mix between global concepts and disciplines. The PD, on the other hand, brings not only the possibility of subject choice, but also has the heart of the program composed of TOK (theory of knowledge), EE (extended essay) and CAS (creativity, activity and service).

The lecturers also showed how a specific theme can be worked on in Early Childhood Education, in Elementary School, and in classes of different subjects in Middle School and High School, giving the families present a greater perspective of the program’s dimension and how the student develops.

At the end, the coordinators spoke briefly about university admissions in Brazil and abroad and how the IB student’s profile is valued and fundamental in this process.