IB MTS cheat sheet

IB mission statement names four aspirational outcomes: intercultural understanding, respect, a more peaceful world, and lifelong learners who recognize shared humanity and guardianship of the planet.

The IB learner profile has 10 attributes: inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced, reflective.

The continuum comprises four programmes: PYP (ages 3-12), MYP (11-16), DP (16-19), and CP (16-19); MYP is the middle bridge between PYP and DP/CP.

IB education rests on four foundational principles: inquiry-based learning, conceptual understanding, contextualized learning, and collaborative/reflective practice.

Programme authorization is a two-stage process: candidate phase (interested then candidate school) followed by authorization; IB does not accredit individual students.

The IB's stated aim is to develop internationally minded people who recognize common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet.

Continuum alignment is expressed through shared learner profile, approaches to learning, and concepts; each programme retains its own curriculum framework and assessment model.

The DP is externally examined and graded 1-7 per subject; the CP combines DP courses with a career-related study and CP core (personal and professional skills, service learning, reflective project, language development).

MYP spans ages 11-16 (typically five years); schools may offer a shortened two- or three-year programme with IB approval.

Eight subject groups: language and literature, language acquisition, individuals and societies, sciences, mathematics, arts, physical and health education, design.

Sixteen key concepts anchor units: aesthetics, change, communication, communities, connections, creativity, culture, development, form, global interactions, identity, logic, perspective, relationships, systems, time/place/space.

Requirements: at least one unit per subject group per year, at least 50 hours per subject group per year, and at least one interdisciplinary unit per year.

The MYP core consists of approaches to learning, community project (in years 3 or 5) or service as action, and the personal project (final year).

Service as action and the community project are non-credit requirements; the personal project is assessed and reported with a 1-7 grade.

MYP aims to develop active, compassionate lifelong learners through holistic, conceptual, and inquiry-based learning grounded in global contexts.

Six global contexts: identities and relationships; orientation in space and time; personal and cultural expression; scientific and technical innovation; fairness and development; globalization and sustainability.

Inquiry cycle: tuning in, finding out, sorting out, going further, making conclusions, taking action (often shown as a cycle with reflection throughout).

Inquiry may be structured, guided, or open; the continuum of student independence increases as the teacher provides less scaffolding.

Effective inquiry units are driven by a conceptual understanding, a factual question base, and a debatable/conceptual question that invites student agency.

Approaches to learning skills (communication, social, self-management, research, thinking) are both taught explicitly and applied through inquiry.

Inquiry-based learning is not discovery-only; it requires explicit teaching of knowledge, skills, and conceptual frameworks before independent exploration.

Questioning strategies include factual (knowledge), conceptual (why/how), and debatable (opinion/judgment) questions; MYP unit planners list factual and conceptual questions.

Student agency in inquiry is supported by choice, voice, and ownership of learning goals, and by formative feedback loops.

Action as the outcome of inquiry: students should be able to apply learning to real-world contexts and take informed, principled action.

MYP unit planner components: inquiry (key concept, related concepts, global context, statement of inquiry, inquiry questions), action (learning experiences, ATL skills), and reflection.

A statement of inquiry integrates a key concept, related concepts, and a global context into one coherent, transferable claim about the discipline.

Interdisciplinary units combine two or more subject groups around a shared statement of inquiry and an interdisciplinary global context.

Interdisciplinary unit criteria (A: disciplinarity, B: synthesis, C: communication) are assessed holistically; not every interdisciplinary unit needs formal assessment.

Planning is collaborative: MYP requires documented horizontal and vertical articulation, with at least one interdisciplinary unit per year.

Vertical planning ensures progression of concepts, skills, and assessment across years; horizontal planning aligns units across subject groups in the same year.

The unit planner must specify formative and summative assessment tasks and their alignment to criteria and objectives.

Conceptual understanding is built through related concepts that vary by subject group (e.g., audience, purpose, structure for language and literature).

MYP uses four criteria per subject group (A, B, C, D), each scored 0-8, with a maximum total of 32 per subject per year.

Final MYP grades are derived from the total out of 32 using the IB grade boundary tables (1-7); boundaries are set by the IB and published in the MYP coordinator's guide.

Assessment is criterion-referenced, not norm-referenced; students are judged against published criteria, not against each other.

Formative assessment is ongoing and used to inform teaching; summative assessment occurs at the end of a unit or period and determines achievement.

MYP assessment must include a range of strategies and tasks, and students must be assessed on all four criteria at least twice per year per subject group.

The personal project is assessed on four criteria (A: investigating, B: planning, C: taking action, D: reflecting), each out of 8, total 32.

The community project (years 3 or 5) is assessed on four criteria (A: investigating, B: planning, C: taking action, D: reflecting) and reported separately.

Schools must ensure assessment is fair, valid, reliable, and moderated internally; external moderation of personal projects is required for schools seeking MYP course results.

Five ATL skill categories: communication, social, self-management, research, thinking.

Each ATL category has clusters: communication (exchanging information, literacy), social (collaboration, affective skills), self-management (organization, affective, reflection), research (information literacy, media literacy), thinking (critical, creative, transfer).

ATL skills are explicitly taught, modeled, practiced, and assessed; they are not assumed to develop implicitly.

ATL skills support the learner profile attributes and are central to the MYP core alongside service as action.

Self-management includes organization (time, materials), affective skills (mindfulness, resilience, emotional management), and reflection.

Research skills in MYP include information literacy (accessing, evaluating, using sources) and media literacy (interacting with media critically and responsibly).

Thinking skills include critical thinking (analyzing, evaluating), creative thinking (generating, designing), and transfer (applying skills across contexts).

ATL progression should be planned vertically so skills are revisited and deepened across the programme years.

MYP requires collaborative planning time for teachers; the MYP coordinator leads programme implementation and ensures standards and practices are met.

IB standards and practices (S&P) are organized into sections: philosophy, organization, curriculum, and assessment; schools are evaluated against them.

Programme evaluation occurs every five years; schools submit a self-study and receive an IB visit or verification.

The IB community includes schools, educators, students, parents, and the IB organization; collaboration is expected across the continuum.

Professional development is required: teachers must be trained in the programme they deliver; the IB provides workshops and category training.

Collaboration includes shared unit planning, moderation of assessment, and joint reflection on student learning.

The MYP coordinator's responsibilities include managing the personal project, coordinating service as action, and ensuring assessment standards.

Schools must maintain a pedagogical leadership team and document how standards and practices are met for programme evaluation.