International Baccalaureate
ISP has been an authorized IB World School since March 2010. It was the first school in the Pacific Northwest authorized to offer the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP).
The IB Primary Years Programme
The IB PYP, offered at over 900 authorized schools worldwide, is a guided inquiry-based teaching method that centers on student questions. Rather than working through a standard lesson and learning facts, students study a central idea by creating and exploring their own questions.
Through this concept-driven process, students gain deep content understanding while learning the skills to acquire, organize, and communicate knowledge. It is those skills that enable children to become independent learners, capable of pursuing knowledge beyond the classroom and throughout life.
“My favorite part is the students’ questions,” says ISP Japanese Kindergarten teacher Hideko Forzley. “In the IB, when the students ask questions, I don't usually tell them the answers. Instead, I give them tools to do the research and we all learn together.”
The Inquiry Cycle
The IB PYP uses six trans-disciplinary themes as a framework for exploration and study:
- 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.
Each PYP unit begins by assessing students’ prior knowledge on a central idea and pre-determined lines of inquiry. Then the students formulate questions based on what they want to know about the topic. Those student questions start the cycle of inquiry that guides every PYP lesson.
Within each theme, teachers create an age-appropriate central idea that concisely expresses an enduring understanding. It is substantial enough to generate in-depth inquiries, promote critical thinking, and extend students’ prior knowledge. The central idea becomes the basis for a unit of inquiry.
Teachers support the student-led inquiry with age-appropriate resources and activities to guide and structure the learning. It’s an approach that works at every grade level to provide challenges for every student.
Please click on the image below to review the cycle of inquiry
The IB Learner Profile Traits
As a component of ISP's official values International Baccalaureate Learner Profile is an important part of our school culture. The Learner Profile establishes a common vocabulary and expectations that guide how students, staff, and parents interact.
As IB Learners we strive to be:
- Inquirers
- Thinkers
- Principled
- Open-Minded
- Caring
- Knowledgeable
- Communicators
- Risk-Takers
- Balanced
- Reflective
Learner Profile Spotlight
What does it mean to be Principled?
We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.
We use less textbooks and do more real stuff. Instead of just reading about something, we do it.
ISP FOURTH GRADER