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Hi folks,
Being on this forum is almost addictive :-)
Here is one more:
Any opinions on the IB programme for 3rd graders? (the Primary Years program they call it) ?
It is offered "newly" by a "choice school" in our area and I have no idea how to evaluate the program.
(One big motivation for this is to supplement the oh-so-lacking quality of education to gifted/advanced learners in public schools.)

Thanks as usual for your valuable insights..

I have no expereince when it comes to the primary years IB, they are still quite rare.
But generally speaking a good IB program is the one that has been in existence for a few years, when they have ironed out the wrinkles. I can imagine that it is a good choice for a gifted child as it teaches from a broader perspective. But as everything, it really depends on a teacher :-)

Hi all,

My boys attend an IB school where they use the PYP and I have to say I have nothing but praise for the program. One of the big things is the focus on equipping children with the skills to become independent learners. Children are encouraged to develop their natural curiosity and explore ideas, think critically and creatively, with an emphasis on a global context.

According to the IB "Learner Profile", students strive to be: Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-Minded, Caring, Risk-takers, Balanced & Reflective.

It's a fairly safe bet that if a school is implementing the PYP curriculum, there has already been a significant amount of work done to ensure it works well. A school can only use the PYP under strict guidelines from the IBO, and there are very stringent evaluations before the school actually trials the program for its students, including teacher training in the IB curriculum & its delivery. Once a school has trialled the program for at least a year, they will be visited by a team from the IBO who will evaluate the delivery of the program before the school is authorised as an IB school. There are regular requirements for ongoing staff training and recurring visits by the IBO to maintain a school's IB status. It actually costs quite a lot of money to implement and schools don't usually embark on the process unless they're serious about making it work.

It is a wonderful program which really engages children of varying levels and allows the curriculum to be differentiated for the particular needs of each student. It's philosophy enables teachers to offer a lot of enrichment and extension across subject areas, and I especially love the way the children are encouraged to take risks with their learning, and the focus on being part of a wider, global community.

The other great aspect is the Exhibition which takes place in the final year of the PYP (Year 5 here) where students create something based on one of the interdisciplinary themes and share it with other students and parents. Last year the topic had something to do with influence and our students had to create TV ads with a healthy lifestyle message. They did everything from marketing research, determining their target audience, designing and creating an entire advertising campaign using a variety of media within a particular budget, and scripting, directing, acting in & editing their commercials. Some of them were amazing quality! They presented them to an audience of about 200 and each boy spoke about the process undertaken and what he had learned.

Okay, I've waffled on a bit The PYP is a great program, it's not in itself a gifted program though. For some gifted students it does provide enough in the way of depth and differentiation, especially at this age. There are a number of ID'd gifted children at my boys' school who have had no form of acceleration and seem to be perfectly placed. Others will still need significant modifications. Our school still runs a gifted pull-out program from Kindergarten and has a full time multi-age gifted class for Years 3-5 (& Yr6-7, but that's the MYP). The key is to make sure the school is still willing to explore other modifications that might be required.

Good luck!
Cassandra

Thanks a lot for your perspectives and the time ! much appreciated.

Cassandra - I think that's a great point about the school willing to make modifcations if and when it's necessary. We have a local primary IB and a local school using Classical approach. Both great schools on paper. From what I understand, both schools reply with "But we have a challenging curriculum" when confronted with the GT/acceleration question. I don't think that's necessarily a situation you want to jump into without a really close look at curriculum and your child's needs.