Mathematics is also taught in both years of the MYP in our school at two levels- Standard mathematics, which aims to give all students a sound knowledge of basic mathematical principles and extended mathematics, in which the standard mathematics framework is supplemented by additional topics and skills, providing greater breadth and depth. The design subject group (former Technology) is also offered to all MYP students- Digital design in MYP 4 and Product Design in MYP5. The aim of the programme is to ‘ challenge all students to apply practical and creative thinking skills to solve design problems, explore the role of design in both historical and contemporary contexts as well as consider their responsibilities when making design decisions and taking action.’ Arts courses offered at our school are Visual Arts, Drama and Music. Students choose one or the other arts courses and follow it for two years in MYP4 and 5. The goals of these courses are to stimulate imagination, challenge perception and develop creative and analytical skills through creating, performing and presenting arts engaging and conveying feelings, experiences and ideas. It also encourages students to understand the arts in context and the cultural histories of artworks. Physical and health education - the MYP intends to cultivate a healthy and active life-style for students and consequently advocates activities that are not only enjoyable but also contribute to healthy living. Students are helped to develop the motor skills necessary to enable them to participate successfully in a variety of physical activities, and learn of the benefits of a regular exercise regime. MYP CURRICULUM The Middle Years Programme curriculum is demanding and challenging; it develops intercultural awareness, holistic and interdisciplinary approach to learning through individual work, pair work, team work, investigation and research or projects. The IB sets the aims and objectives, as well as skills and knowledge for each of the subject groups that students have to achieve by the end of each MYP year. How it will be achieved is left for each school to decide, as long as it is within the guidelines, principles and philosophy of the IB. The IB also provides the assessment criteria for all subject groups. MYP CURRICULUM AT XV.GIMNAZIJA The following table shows the subjects offered in MYP4 and MYP5 at our school. Subjects MYP 4 (number of classes per week) MYP5 (number of classes per week) English A 4 5 English B 4 5 Croatian A 5 4 Croatian B 3 3 German B 3 3 French B 3 3 History 2 2 Geography 2 2 Mathematics 4 4 Physics 3 3
Language and literature Analysing Organizing Producing text Using language Language acquisition Comprehending spoken and visual text Comprehending written and visual text Communicating Using language Individuals and societies Knowing and understanding Investigating Communicating Thinking critically Sciences Knowing and understanding Inquiring and designing Processing and evaluating Reflecting on the impacts of science Mathematics Knowing and understanding Investigating patterns Communicating Applying mathematics in real world context Arts Knowing and understanding Developing skills Thinking creatively Responding Physical and health education Knowing and understanding Planning for performance Applying and performing Reflecting and improving performance Design Inquiring and analysing Developing ideas Creating the solution Evaluating MYP projects Investigating Planning Taking action Reflecting Interdisciplinary Disciplinary grounding Synthesizing and applying Communicating Reflecting There are 4 criteria for each subject in each subject group. The maximum level of achievement in each criteria is 8, thus 32 is the maximum level of achievement in each subject. To arrive at a criterion levels total for each student, teachers add together the student’s final achievement levels in all criteria of the subject group. The IB provides the conversion table with grade boundaries for converting the criterion levels total into grades from 1-7, which is applied to determine final grades in each year of the MYP. The grades from 1-7 are then converted into grades from 1-5 according to the Croatian grading system . MYP GENERAL GRADE DESCRIPTORS Grade Boundary Guidelines Descriptor 1 1-5 Produces work of very limited quality. Conveys many significant Misunderstandings or lacks understanding of most concepts and contexts. Very rarely demonstrates critical or creative thinking. Very inflexible, rarely using knowledge or skills.