Middle Years Programme (MYP) students all over the world are celebrating their results despite the difficult circumstances caused by the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. In this blog, we examine why it’s important to recognize students for their hard work these last few months and how the MYP is empowering them to solve the world’s most pressing issues.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that life is completely unpredictable. This year has been a year of firsts for many and we all had to adapt quickly to virtual life behind computer screens. In this uncertain future, education is a student’s greatest source of hope. Only by empowering our youth to learn can we equip them to become the thinkers, creators and problem-solvers of tomorrow, ready to address society’s most pressing challenges and build a better and more sustainable world for all.
Despite the current circumstances, students deserve to be recognized for their hard work, determination, grit and resilience of making it through the last few months. Most recently, we celebrated Middle Years Programme (MYP) Year 5 students on their completion of the programme, when 82,283 students around the world received their eAssessment results, which saw over 10,000 pieces of student work submitted for assessing.
In order to further celebrate the work of this year’s MYP cohort, we asked students to submit their personal projects through our virtual #MYPX2020 campaign. The MYP personal project is a student-centred long-term project that is designed as an independent learning experience and assesses students’ self-management, research, communication, critical thinking and collaboration skills. All of the projects submitted were unreservedly inspiring and showcased a range of real-world issues, such as pollution and recycling, mental health, gender equality, discrimination and animal welfare. The projects explored solutions from developing a method to degrade plastic using fungi to improving writing and English language skills in students through fiction books and snack recipes for teenagers who like to cook at home. You can see some of the wonderful work from this year’s cohort here.
“Despite the current circumstances, students deserve to be recognized for their hard work, determination, grit and resilience of making it through the last few months.”
We have also recently selected the finalists for the MYP Innovators Grant, which will support 30 students to create, innovate or expand on their impactful personal projects, transforming their ideas into reality.
The MYP personal and community projects are a true showcase of the connections that MYP students are able to make between their studies and real-world experiences; confirming that MYP learning is authentic and develops important future-ready skills, like enquiry, identity, empathy, esteem, purpose and self-reflection.
IB teachers and coordinators have confirmed that these skills support students with the transition to the next stage of their education. Martin Keon, the MYP and Career-related Programme (CP) coordinator at Swiss International School Dubai, sees a useful connection between the MYP and both the CP and the Diploma Programme (DP), he said: “The MYP aids students in selecting their DP and CP subject choices, they know in what subjects their strengths lie and this supports them in deciding what subjects to study at higher and standard level. The MYP brings in “vocational” learning early on and, as a whole, is a skills-focused programme, meaning when students come to finish the MYP, they will have maintained and improved upon these skills. This is really useful for them when moving forward into the CP, for example.”
“The MYP personal and community projects are a true showcase of the connections that MYP students are able to make between their studies and real-world experiences; confirming that MYP learning is authentic and develops important future-ready skills, like enquiry, identity, empathy, esteem, purpose and self-reflection.”
Teachers at TNS Beaconhouse DHA in Pakistan have also noticed that MYP students are much better equipped to meet multiple deadlines, the levels of academic writing and critical thinking skills that are needed to thrive when studying the DP. Rashid Khalid, deputy head of school and DP coordinator said: “MYP students have already developed the self-management, analytical and evaluative skills, and as such, are in a much better position to tackle the demands of the DP.”
As we navigate the “new normal”, what is abundantly clear is that MYP students are committed to their learning as they pursue their own unique interests; developing into people who are equipped with the creative skills and independence they need to succeed at school, university and beyond. We wish this year’s MYP cohort all the best with their future studies and look forward to seeing the impact they make on the world.
If you are an IB World School or an IB student and you wish to share your story with us, please write to us at communications@ibo.org. We appreciate your ongoing support and invite you to connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and now YouTube!
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