As anyone involved in the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program knows, there’s a compass built in to every activity that eventually leads to a meaningful destination: The PYP Exhibition. It’s the ultimate culminating event and a public demonstration of each student’s commitment to the PYP learner profile attributes. Progressive school educational teams lean into the PYPx as their chance to promote the best outcomes among learners who are capable of showing great empathy as they learn to engage with the world around them.

Grade 2 team inspires wellness in a school community

When grade 2 teacher Kalee Thompson introduced wellness and mindfulness practices to her grade 2 students, she didn’t know she was sparking a movement that would impact the entire school community.

SL for Early LearnersLeeAnne LavenderMay 23, 2023Wellbeing, SDGs, Inclusion, Early Years

Deep Partnerships with Local Communities: a Grade 7 Example

At the end of March, grade 7 students at the Colegio Jorge Washington School (COJOWA) in Cartagena, Colombia, embarked on a powerful learning investigation. Their goal was to learn more about SDG #5 (gender equality) in the local context; in their social studies and Spanish classes, they began reflecting, questioning and thinking about the local community. What followed was a rich learning journey involving journalism and sustainable solutions to needs related to clothing and textiles.

Grade 5 Art Attacks: a response to the SDGs

Grade 5 students at the International School of Prague (ISP) were recently immersed in understanding and creating art for activism. Their “Art Attacks” were vibrant and demonstrated a deep understanding of how students can channel their creativity to create positive change.

Visual Art meets Engaged Global Citizenship

When visual art teacher Zoe Coughlan learned about Empathy to Impact, she found herself on a journey of transformation. She now designs her courses so that the first unit in each grade level focuses on skills, and then the second unit offers a way to apply those skills in relation to global issues and global citizenship topics.

Grade 3 students honor farmers & local food systems

The grade 3 team at Colegio Jorge Washington School (COJOWA) in Cartagena, Colombia, has made sustainable, local food the focus of a social studies unit. And it’s having deep impact on learners and the community.

Reimagining Social Studies Curriculum through Empathy to Impact

All social studies units at Seoul International School (SIS) will be redesigned with the Empathy to Impact approach, and David Mannell, Director of Curriculum and Professional Development, is excited to see what will evolve and how student engagement will be affected.

Grade 6 Changemaker Takes on Toilet Twinning

A grade 6 student at Frankfurt International School takes action to “twin” toilets at her school with a community in Malawi. She is passionate about helping girls and women gain access to safe & secure sanitation facilities.

One Educator’s Global Citizenship Certificate Story

Last year, Sarah Sisco enrolled in the Inspire Citizens’ Master Teacher Endorsement for global citizenship, now called the Global Citizenship Certificate (GCC). What she experienced has completely transformed her approach to planning her school’s strategic initiatives for school improvement.

GCC, Community Engm'tGuest UserSeptember 16, 2022SDGs, Global Citizenship, Global Citizenship Certificate

A New Perception of the World through Eco-Photography

When Shari Wejsa, a high school teacher in northwest New Jersey, heard about the Inspire Citizens’ Eco-Photography summer course, she signed up right away. A history teacher with a creative bent and interest in interdisciplinarity, she was excited to channel some of her summer into learning about connecting with nature in ways she could share with her students.

Eco-MediaGuest UserAugust 22, 2022SDGs, Inclusion, Global Citizenship, Wellbeing, Interdisciplinary

Teaching and Learning: Service in Action

The American Embassy School of New Delhi (AES) in India had a goal: they wanted to embed a meaningful service learning experience in every grade level of the school from pre-kindergarten to grade 12.

They knew they needed help to make this happen and leaders reached out to Inspire Citizens. What has transpired? An incredible partnership, a lot of enthusiastic teachers and quite a bit of professional learning magic.

Embedding service learning: One School's Journey

COJOWA school in Colombia has developed a thorough and purposeful strategic plan with service learning at the heart of transforming values into action.

Art for Impact: Rethinking the PYP Exhibition

Grade 5 students at the Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) have a special opportunity to get creative with their International Baccalaureate PYP exhibition. Art has taken center stage and has become a frame for expressing a synthesis of student learning.

Intrigued? This novel approach to the PYP exhibition is worthy of your attention.

Cross-curricular Collaboration for Deep Learning

Colleagues Angelia Crouch and Pim Arora at the Western Academy of Beijing were playing golf one day when a casual conversation sparked the genesis of a multi-layered, interdisciplinary learning experience.

“This story starts with the grade 9/10 design team,” explains Pim. “The design team is close-knit and we were evaluating our units. There’s a design unit that focuses on clocks, where students design and create clocks. At the end of that unit, I found myself disposing of 100 clocks that students didn’t want to take home. This became a great opportunity to to rethink the unit, the more responsible use of our resources, and how me might design a learning experience around a concept that is relevant to the lives of all of us.”

SL for M+S Learners, SDGsGuest UserJune 2, 2022Global Citizenship, SDGs, Secondary School

Taking it Outside: Learning in the Garden

Kerry Craig is the Outdoor Learning teacher at the International School of Prague (ISP) and she is thrilled to see how this new program is growing roots and gaining momentum.

“We’re looking at the Sustainable Development Goals throughout the school and we’re about to start the PYP (Primary Years Program) and MYP (Middle Years Program),” says Kerry. “It’s new at our school to use a sustainability lens at these levels and we want to do this intentionally, to create embedded and integrated learning experiences throughout the program. I can see how our Outdoor Learning program is going to play a key role.”

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