A U T U M N 2 0 1 5 / C urriculum
Understanding Global Contexts MYP framework puts learning into perspective Students learn best when learning is placed in a context and is authentic. Bridging the classroom and the real world, the Global Contexts provide purpose and meaning to all teaching and learning in the MYP. They provide shared starting points for inquiry into what it means to be internationally minded, framing a curriculum that promotes multilingualism, intercultural understanding and global engagement. Following on from the PYP’s transdisciplinary themes, the MYP Global Contexts reinforce the concurrency of learning across the three programmes. Through the six Global Contexts students develop ‘an understanding of their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet’ (ibo.org). Whether this is through learning about human rights in Humanities through the context of Fairness and Development, or exploring genre and text types through the broad context of Identities and Relationships in English, building contexts is essential to building understanding. An excellent example of learning through the Global Contexts has recently been demonstrated in Visual Art. Through their own learning and understanding, a group of students each designed their own visual interpretation of one of the six Global Contexts, represented in a circle. Their design, below, can be seen on posters
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throughout the Secondary learning areas. The final artworks and design were created by students Carys Feehan, Katie Chen, Jeremy Leung, Christopher Kwok, Emily Weinstein, Felicia Xiao and Catherine Shaw. The idea for this emerged from their unit on globalisation, through the context of Globalisation and Sustainability, which addresses the interconnectedness of our experiences as global citizens and our place in the world. A key part of their learning was researching artists who are affected by globalisation, such as Wei Wie, Gonkar Gysato, Kate Beynon and Jirapet Tasanasomboon. By seeing how globalisation and sustainability affect an artist’s identity, the students were inspired in their own artwork. In this way, the Global Contexts help to develop personal and global connections to learning. Through this deeper understanding, students are better able to make connections and answer the question: Why are we learning this? Kirsty de Wilde MYP Coordinator