International Baccalaureat - Middle Years Programme

Posted

on Nov 05, 2014

Leslie Vecchiotti introduced our guest speaker, Pam Wagner (l), from the Palmyra-Macedon High School.

We were joined today by Pam Wagner, from Pal-Mac High School. Mrs. Wagner is the coordinator for Pal-Mac’s newly-begun International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IBMYP). She told us about the ways the IBMYP is being introduced to the students at Pal-Mac.

The goal of the IBMYP is to promote and encourage creative, critical, and reflective thinking in students in grades 6 through 10. The program runs concurrently in all subjects; concepts presented in math, for example, will also be presented in social sciences and so on. Emphasis is placed on intellectual challenge. Students are encouraged to connect their studies in traditional subjects to the real world.

Students are encouraged to complete a Learner Profile for themselves. They select the traits that apply to them from the following list: Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Resilient, Open-Minded, Caring, Risk-Takers, Balanced, and Reflective. They list which attributes they feel they possess and provide examples which show those traits.

Through the Middle Years Programme, Pal-Mac and International Baccalaureate hope to foster in students the skills for communication, intercultural understanding, and global engagement. These are essential qualities for young people becoming leaders in our global community.

More information is available from the International Baccalaureate website: http://www.ibo.org/myp