The Early Years in the PYP | A Perspective from The International School of Paris — Transcript

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1. 0:08The IB believes that the early learner is an individual who is capable,
2. 0:14who is resourceful, creative, and an individual who has a voice.
3. 0:20They've got ideas, they've got theories.
4. 0:24They've got beliefs.
5. 0:26And the IB believes that those should be heard.
6. 0:28I need to think really carefully about the environment I provide.
7. 0:31I aim to provide an environment that's fostering collaboration,
8. 0:37creativity, critical thinking.
9. 0:42An environment that stimulates a lot of curiosity and wondering.
10. 0:46And really that's all achieved through play.
11. 0:50So I've got to think carefully about the materials that I put out for the children.
12. 0:53I think as a teacher, as an adult, we have to make the classrooms
13. 0:59appealing for them.
14. 1:00Like lovely provocation, they see that, "that's nice, that's new".
15. 1:04And they go and then create a story, and we sit back and watch and ask questions.
16. 1:09They can express themself through all the materials that we have.
17. 1:13And then through careful, intentional questioning on the teacher's part,
18. 1:19we can elicit some very deep conceptual thinking.
19. 1:24Sometimes that comes very naturally and immediately for the children.
20. 1:28And sometimes because of language,
21. 1:30because of the complexity of the concept,
22. 1:33it might take some time to elicit those ideas.
23. 1:37Really engaging the children in dialogue and conversation,
24. 1:42to help the children take very concrete experiences
25. 1:46to the conceptual level.
26. 1:48We also encourage them to ask questions
27. 1:51if, for example, we show them a story or a book,
28. 1:54they ask questions
29. 1:55rather than us necessarily asking them things.
30. 2:00We try to make sure that it awakens their curiosity.
31. 2:08Play gives children the chance to really take ownership of their learning,
32. 2:12pursue their own interests, make their choices.
33. 2:16And at this age the children's inquiry is through their play.
34. 2:20We teach them to do it themselves.
35. 2:25So for a game, we'll show them the rules
36. 2:29and then encourage them to play on their own and with each other,
37. 2:35to agree what the rules of the game are,
38. 2:38even if it's not in French,
39. 2:40but they know all by themselves how to play a game
40. 2:45and know how to teach each other how to play.
41. 2:47And if there are any problems they know how to manage them themselves
42. 2:53without necessarily needing input from an adult.
43. 2:55We're here, of course, to guide them.
44. 2:57But the idea, in playing like this, frequently,
45. 3:00is also to teach them this independence
46. 3:03to be able to do things on their own.
47. 3:06So in traditional curriculum, you would have knowledge and skills.
48. 3:11In the PYP, it's different, it's knowledge, skills, and understanding.
49. 3:17So as children are gaining knowledge and skills,
50. 3:20they're inquiring into a deeper concept.
51. 3:23By building towards conceptual understanding,
52. 3:27they're then able to transfer that understanding into new contexts.
53. 3:32That means their knowledge is flexible and adaptable,
54. 3:36and that's the basis of lifelong learning.