A Transdisciplinary programme of inquiry

In January 2018, the elementary teachers in our district's two PYP schools set out to explore the enhanced PYP content that make up the document "PYP: From principles into practice." Many thanks to elementary teachers and guest bloggers, Paulette Spafford and Dianne Spannbauer for authoring this post on a transdisciplinary programme of inquiry.

A Transdisciplinary programme of inquiry

Through the use of a transdisciplinary programme of inquiry, students in a PYP setting will be offered a balanced learning experience rooted in conceptual understanding and given opportunities to explore human commonalities. Teachers will work collaboratively to develop and continuously improve the six transdisciplinary themes in their programme of inquiry. The goal being that students will revisit the six transdisciplinary themes throughout their years in school and be provided an opportunity to extend their understanding on the themes.

Teachers in a PYP setting should be familiar with the six transdisciplinary themes. They are:

Transdisciplinary themes	Description
Who we are	An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships, including families, friends, communities and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.
Where we are in place and time	An inquiry into orientation in place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between, and the interconnectedness of, individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives.
How we express ourselves	An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.
How the world works	An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.
How we organize ourselves	An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.
Sharing the planet	An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.

Figure POO1: Transdisciplinary themes

Our Recommendations:

1. In planning and preparing for the units, teachers and stakeholders in the community, should reflect on their current community of learners to better plan units that will meet the needs and honor the experiences of the learners. The teachers must also plan the units collaboratively, either vertically or horizontally.

All six units in the POI need the following:

• Transdisciplinary Theme 
• Central Idea 
• Key Concepts 
• Related Concepts 
• Lines of Inquiry

2. Teachers must know that they are required to review and adjust their units at least annually. During the annual review process, teachers should be prepared to refine the central ideas and find ways to make them more balanced and  interconnected to the scope and sequence documents or to the local/national curriculum.

While planning and revising units, keep in mind that units should try to make connections with a global perspective. Consider finding connections in the following ways:

• Culturally 
• Ecologically 
• Politically 
• Economically 
• Technologically

3. It is recommended that specialists and other members of the learning community are included in each step of the planning and review process.

4. Teachers need to help students understand that there is a connection between all subjects and teachers can support that by:

Moving from	Moving towards
Subjects as collections of related facts and isolated skills	Subjects as collections of key and related concepts, skills, theories, methodologies and examples that contribute to an understanding of how a subject connects to the central idea
Stand-alone subjects as the sole driver for learning	Subjects as part of transdisciplinary learning
Teaching subject-specific lessons in isolation from the unit of inquiry	Making connections between one subject and another in planned, spontaneous or incidental ways through units of inquiry
Subject-specific knowledge, conceptual understandings and skills viewed through the lens of age-specific development	Assessing prior knowledge and the needs of students before the selection of subject-specific conceptual understandings, knowledge and skills
Measuring students’ abilities within a subject only	Monitoring, documenting and measuring students’ capacity to understand and apply subject-specific knowledge, conceptual understandings and skills within authentic contexts

Figure POO6: Transdisciplinary learning across, between, and beyond subjects

Our Actions:

After reading through, “A transdisciplinary programme of inquiry” of the IB Document, “PYP: From principles into practice”, our personal action steps will be to:

• Continue to meet regularly with our team and PYP Coordinator to reflect upon and plan for the units of inquiry 
• Look for ways to integrate the new math curriculum (possible start date of Fall 2019) into our six transdisciplinary units in hopes of creating a better balance and understanding of connectivity for all students 
• Advocate for more vertical planning and planning with specialists to better serve our learners

In summary, we wish you well on your journey of collaborative planning and reflecting as you attack with vigor and courage the new, enhanced PYP.

Priorities, daily schedules & the PYP

The language we use and the way we spend our time are reflections of what we value.

In schools that subscribe to the International Baccalaureate's Primary Years Program (IB PYP) our language and use of time must reflect a prioritization of significant, relevant, challenging and engaging learning that is enacted by implementing the PYP Approaches to Teaching. In the PYP, among other approaches, we value:

• inquiry
• a balance between transdisciplinary and disciplinary learning
• concept-based learning
• differentiation
• collaboration

In the elementary school, teachers often post a schedule or timetable in the room, to outline for students the plan for the day. As PYP educators, it is important to ask if our daily posted schedules reflect the priorities of the PYP.

In order to guide them through this reflection, I recently had teachers with whom I work explore PYP expectations and then look at a couple of sample daily schedules.

We first started looking at how the PYP expects us to spend and organize our time:

from IB Program Standards & Practices:

• B2.10.a: The schedule or timetable allows for in-depth inquiry into the transdisciplinary and disciplinary dimensions of the curriculum.

from: Making the PYP Happen

• “To ensure the coherence of the learning from the students’ points of view, it is essential that all teachers in a PYP school see themselves as PYP teachers, and are fully committed to and engaged with the philosophy and practices of the programme. Within each school community, the approach to the implementation of the programme needs to be holistic, not fragmented by disciplinary teaching,” p. 31.

• “Please note that mathematics, language(s) of instruction, social studies and science need to be the responsibility of the classroom teacher: the teacher with whom the students spend most of their time. Single-subject teaching of these areas is not consistent with the PYP model of transdisciplinary learning— learning that transcends the confines of the subject areas, but is supported by them. Personal and social education is the responsibility of all PYP teachers,” p. 67.

• “The programme of inquiry provides an authentic context for learners to develop and use language. Wherever possible, language should be taught through the relevant, authentic context of the units of inquiry. The teacher should provide language learning opportunities that support learners’ inquiries and the sharing of their learning. Regardless of whether language is being taught within or outside the programme of inquiry, it is believed that purposeful inquiry is the way in which learners learn best. The starting point should always be learners’ prior experience and current understanding,” p. 70.

• “Wherever possible, mathematics should be taught through the relevant, realistic context of the units of inquiry. The direct teaching of mathematics in a unit of inquiry may not always be feasible but, where appropriate, introductory or follow-up activities may be useful to help students make connections between the different aspects of the curriculum. Students also need opportunities to identify and reflect on “big ideas” within and between the different strands of mathematics, the programme of inquiry and other subject areas,” p. 83.

Next, we looked at variety of schedules, continually asking:

• What do we see / notice?
• What PYP approaches to teaching do the schedules reflect?

Then, we thought about our own schedules as we asked:

• What PYP approaches to teaching does my daily schedule reflect?
• How could I adapt my daily schedule / agenda to better align with the PYP?

After I invited teachers to think about ways they could adapt their own posted daily schedules to better reflect the priorities of the PYP, several risk-taking teachers took me up on this invitation. Below are recent schedules posted in their rooms that will no doubt continue to morph as they react to the needs and understandings of their students.

What do you see and notice in these daily schedules? What PYP approaches to teaching do the schedules reflect?

Special thanks to Mrs. Liesener, Ms. Elliott, Mr. Dawson, Mrs. Lorentz, Ms. Erickson and the other teachers who shared their schedules with us!