Curriculum Planning and Interdisciplinary Learning
What this domain tests
This domain tests how MYP units are planned, sequenced and connected. Expect questions on the unit planner, horizontal and vertical articulation, and the requirements for a genuine interdisciplinary unit (IDU).
Core rules and concepts
- The MYP unit planner is a thinking tool, not a form to complete. It records the statement of inquiry, inquiry questions, ATL focus, learning engagements, formative and summative assessment, and reflection.
- Planning is collaborative: subject teams map vertical progression and horizontal connections across subject groups.
- An IDU must involve at least two subject groups, have a clear interdisciplinary purpose, and be assessed against interdisciplinary criteria.
- Disciplinary grounding comes first: students need secure subject knowledge before they can integrate it.
- The IDU's statement of inquiry should be genuinely integrative, not one subject's objective with another subject's activity attached.
- Schools must ensure at least one collaboratively planned IDU in each year of the programme.
Worked example
A science and design team plans a water-quality project. Science supplies sampling and data analysis; design supplies the water-filter prototype. The shared statement of inquiry: 'Access to clean water is a design and scientific problem with social consequences.' The IDU is assessed on interdisciplinary criteria, and each subject also assesses its own criteria. A field trip alone would not qualify: there is a shared purpose, two disciplinary contributions and dedicated assessment.
Traps that cost marks
- Calling any cross-curricular activity an IDU without a shared statement of inquiry and interdisciplinary assessment.
- Letting one subject dominate so the other becomes a helper.
- Planning the summative task before clarifying the conceptual purpose.
- Forgetting vertical articulation: units should build conceptual and skill progression across years.
- Treating the unit planner as paperwork rather than a record of professional decisions.