Swigert International School IB-Primary Years Program
Swigert is proud to offer the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program. The IB-PYP program uses student interest to study topics that are of importance in the world in which we live. Through the PYP program at our school, children:
Develop an understanding of important concepts
Conduct research and develop knowledge that has local and global significance
Acquire and practice a range of essential skills
Are encouraged to develop positive attitudes towards learning, the environment and other people
Have the opportunity for involvement in responsible action
Program of Inquiry
Inquiry is the main teaching and learning approach used in a PYP school. In inquiry-based classrooms, students are actively involved in their own learning, take responsibility for that learning, and are prompted to take action. Inquiry can surface in many ways including:
exploring, wondering, and questioning
experimenting and playing with possibilities
making connections between previous learning and current learning
making predictions and acting purposefully to see what happens
collecting data and reporting findings
clarifying existing ideas and reappraising perceptions of events
deepening understanding through the application of a concept
making and testing theories
researching and seeking information
taking and defending a position
solving problems in a variety of ways
PYP schools develop a transdisciplinary program of inquiry organized by 6 transdisciplinary themes. In this program of inquiry, each grade level explores 6 units of inquiry a year to learn about globally significant issues. The transdisciplinary themes are: