Primary School

DPS International, Gurgaon is an authorised IB World School for the Primary Years Programme.

The Primary School caters to students aged 2½ to 11 years, enrolled in Grades Pre-Nursery through 5.

Considering the future world, we determine the types of learning that children will require, which informs us about how learning should be structured within and outside of classrooms. The primary school offers the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), a curriculum framework that includes languages, social studies, mathematics, science and technology, arts, and personal, social, and physical education. This framework provides students with a comprehensive and developmentally appropriate academic experience emphasising various subjects' interconnectedness. It also fosters an international perspective that acknowledges and celebrates the diversity of student experiences and backgrounds.

The classroom teaching and learning practices are designed to stimulate curiosity and inquiry, fostering a spirit of discovery and a love for learning. Students are equipped with the skills necessary to learn independently or collaboratively and to apply their knowledge across a wide range of areas. Utilising an inquiry-based approach, the teaching methods build on individual understanding, knowledge, and interests, focusing on how to learn effectively and encouraging deeper exploration while developing critical thinking skills. A variety of teaching strategies are employed that incorporate real-life experiences to engage students in purposeful, interactive, and active learning. Additionally, access is provided to technology through a diverse array of devices and online resources.

The core curriculum is delivered by the class teacher, while specialist teachers deliver Hindi, Visual Arts, Music, Physical Education and Dance. Information Communication Technology is integrated throughout all aspects of the curriculum.

Various assessment strategies are used to gather insights into what students know, how they are progressing, and what they have ultimately learned. Students are provided opportunities to share their learning experiences and understanding with others through events such as the PYP Exhibition ( Grade 5), unit-related presentations and student-led conferences.Efforts are made to cultivate positive attitudes such as appreciation, commitment, confidence, cooperation, creativity, curiosity, empathy, enthusiasm, independence, integrity, respect, and tolerance which build the attributes of the IB Learner Profile.

 

Students are encouraged to apply their learning by taking action within the school community and the broader world. Effective action is voluntary and empowers students to exercise their initiative and assume responsibilities.

                                           

 

 

PYP CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK:

The PYP curriculum framework begins with the premise that students are agents of their own learning and partners in the learning process. It prioritises people and their relationships to build a strong learning community.

PYP students use their initiative to take responsibility and ownership of their learning.  By learning through inquiry and reflecting on their learning, PYP students develop knowledge, conceptual understandings, skills and the attributes of the IB Learner profile to make a difference in their lives, communities, and beyond.

The framework emphasises the central principle of agency, which underpins the three pillars of school life:

  • The learner: describes the outcomes for individual students and the outcomes they seek for themselves (what is learning?)
  • Learning and teaching: articulates the distinctive features of learning and teaching (how best to support learners?)
  • The learning community: emphasises the importance of the social outcomes of learning and the role that IB communities play in achieving these outcomes (who facilitates learning and teaching?)

Embedded in the framework is the recognition of the importance of fostering an individual's self-efficacy. Students with a strong sense of self-efficacy are active in their own learning and take action in their learning community.

Source: ibo.org

Link to video: https://player.vimeo.com/video/64309936

 

ELEMENTS OF THE PYP FRAMEWORK:

                                          

 

Knowledge:

 

The PYP encourages students to value knowledge, conceptual understandings, skills, and personal attributes as interconnected elements of a whole.

Each school collaboratively creates a program of inquiry that reflects the unique characteristics of its community. This program is structured around six transdisciplinary themes:

  • Who we are
  • Where we are in place and time
  • How we express ourselves
  • How the world works
  • How we organize ourselves
  • Sharing the planet

These transdisciplinary themes provide children with real learning experiences that go beyond traditional subjects. Students have the chance to think about how their learning is relevant and to take meaningful action in their community and the wider world.

Curriculummodel

 

Concepts:

Concepts give students the language and structure they need to think and learn across different subjects. The PYP has identified seven specified concepts and multiple additional concepts that provide a structure to explore authentic content and transfer understanding.

 Specified concepts Questions Definition
Form What is it like? The understanding that everything has a form with recognizable features that can be observed, identified, described and categorized.
Function How does it work? The understanding that everything has a purpose, a role or a way of behaving that can be investigated.
Causation Why is it as it is? The understanding that things do not just happen; there are causal relationships at work, and that actions have consequences.
Change How is it transforming? The understanding that change is the process of movement from one state to another. It is universal and inevitable.
Connection How is it linked to other things? The understanding that we live in a world of interacting systems in which the actions of any individual element affect others.
Perspective What are the points of view? The understanding that knowledge is moderated by different points of view which lead to different interpretations, understandings and findings; perspectives may be individual, group, cultural or subject-specific.
Responsibility What are our obligations? The understanding that people make choices based on their understandings, beliefs and values, and the actions they take as a result do make a difference.
 

 

 

Approaches to Learning:

The PYP has identified five categories of interrelated skills that help students become self-regulated learners, ask good questions, and set reflective goals, and pursue their aspirations.

                                         

Action:

Students show understanding by taking action to make the world a better place.

                                     

Learner Profile:

 

The IB has identified a set of ten attributes  to nurture active, compassionate and lifelong learners. Students aim to become inquirers, principled, knowledgeable, open-minded, courageous, thinkers, communicators, balanced, reflective, and caring.

                                        

 

Link to a video: https://player.vimeo.com/video/66637103

 

Student Agency- Student Agency is an important component of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme that allows students to be actively involved in their education and  the wider school community. This entails students choosing their own projects and influencing the direction of their learning to collaborating with teachers on formulating essential classroom agreements. Demonstrating agency also means that students reflect on their learning, develop a growth mindset, and set academic goals that improve their Approaches to Learning skills (ATLs). Fostering student agency is particularly important for language learning, as it helps move the learning from a static list of grammar and vocabulary to a living integration of activities and engagements.

This graphic from the IB shows that learners with agency have a voice and choice in their education, and take ownership in this journey. The idea is that students who know what they are learning and why will intrinsically be more motivated and involved.

                                                                  

 

Global Citizenship -The school community demonstrates a deep-rooted commitment to the ideals of global citizenship through activities  within and beyond the curriculum. A student-friendly definition: of global citizen has been developed for students.  A global citizen is someone who :

  • understands that no matter where they live, they are part of a worldwide community.
  • endorses the need to share resources within and beyond the community.
  • appreciates intercultural differences and is willing to learn from others.
  • collaborates with others to make fair and sustainable choices that promote collective wellbeing.

 

Advantages of IB PYP

PYP students develop knowledge, conceptual understandings, skills and the attributes of the IB learner profile to make a positive difference in their lives, communities, and beyond. Students also demonstrate the agility and imagination to respond to new and unexpected challenges and opportunities and to take action for a better and more peaceful world.

The programme develops students’ academic, social and emotional wellbeing, focusing on international-mindedness and a sense of belonging to local and global communities. It nurtures independent and collaborative learners, encouraging every student to have a voice, choice and ownership of their own learning.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL MINDEDNESS

At DPSI, we utilize the diversity in our student body to enhance the learning of the entire school, and we recognize and celebrate many different cultures. In doing so, we strive to develop students who are internationally-minded citizens with an understanding of their responsibility to the world. This is also a contributing factor in helping us achieve our vision which encapsulates developing compassionate and global citizens and fostering in them respect and care towards others. Students from China, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, the USA, Kyrgyzstan and Israel are now part of our student body.

For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit www.ibo.org

For more information on Primary Years Programme Click Here

An introduction to PYP – A handbook Click Here

Programme of Inquiry 2024-2025 Click Here

Letters from the PYP coordinator's desk Click Here