What does it mean to be an IB school? Last spring I had the pleasure of chatting with a number of parents who attended an IB-themed morning coffee hour at All Saints. Afterwards I asked the parents how they might answer this same question. The variety and depth of their answers was fantastic, but there was one unifying theme throughout all of them: inquiry. The philosophy and the framework of the IB is rooted in inquiry and, while the IB does not prescribe a specific written curriculum, IB schools all follow the same approach to learning.
The continuum of teaching and learning can extend from completely teacher-centered, direct instruction all the way to completely student-driven, discovery learning. All Saints’ approach to inquiry-based learning lands somewhere between these two ends of the spectrum, and might lean more one way or another on any given day, depending on the age of the students, the subject, or where they are in the unit. But whichever way they are leaning at a particular time, their impetus for learning is rooted in questions driven by both the students and the teachers, and through discovering and voicing the answers to those questions in their own words.
In the Primary Years Programme (PYP), inquiry is centered around six transdisciplinary themes. Each unit in each grade level focuses around one of these six themes until they’ve covered all six of them throughout the year. If your child is learning about “how we organize ourselves” and what that means in science, they are also learning about how things are organized in all of their subjects. Through these themes, children develop a sense of relevance and a broader understanding of what they are learning. It’s not just 6 different 45 minute blocks of time that we have to get through. It’s 6 different lessons that are woven together and united by this theme. What they learn in Language + Literature has purpose because it helps them process what they learn in Science.
Next time you visit the school, look for our ferris wheels on the bulletin boards. They show what each PYP grade (Pre-K3 to Grade 5) is currently exploring within the six transdisciplinary themes. At All Saints, we believe learning doesn’t end when the school day does – it extends into your home and everyday life. To foster this connection, each Friday our teachers provide parents with prompts designed to spark meaningful conversations with their children about what they’ve been learning in class. These prompts encourage curiosity, critical thinking, and deeper understanding, while making it easier for parents to stay connected to their child’s educational journey.
Next week, we’ll explore the concept of inquiry in the Middle Years Programme (MYP).
By Libby Vino,
All Saints IB Programme Coordinator for PYP and MYP
Please reach out to Libby with any questions you might have about the IB Programme or a specific topic you’d like to learn more about: lvino@allsaintsdayschool.org.
