Global Contexts

Global Contexts  

In the Middle Years Programme (MYP), learning context should be (or should model) authentic world setting, events, and circumstances.  Contexts for learning in the MYP are chosen from global context to encourage international-mindedness and global engagement within the programme.  Global contexts provide a common language for powerful contextual learning, identifying specific setting, events, or circumstances that provide more concrete perspectives for teaching and learning. 

 

When teachers select a global context for learning, they are answering the following questions:

Why are we engaged in this inquiry?
Why are these concepts important?
Why is it important for me to understand?
Why do people care about this topic?

Students at the MYP age range learn best when their learning experiences have context and are connected to their lives and to the world that they have experienced.  The MYP identifies six global contexts for teaching and learning that are developed from, and extend, the Primary Years Programme’s transdisciplinary themes.

Identities and Relationships

You will explore identity;
beliefs and values;
 personal, physical, mental, social, and spiritual health;
human relationships including families, friends, communities and cultures;
what it means to be human.

  Who am I?  Who are we?

 

Orientation in space and time

 You will explore personal histories;

homes and journey;
turning points in humankind;
discoveries;
explorations and migrations of humankind;
the relationships between, and the interconnectedness of, individuals and civilizations, from personal, local, and global perspectives.

Scientific and technical innovation

You will explore the natural world and its laws;
the interaction between people and the natural world; 
how humans use their understanding of scientific principles;
the impact of scientific and technological advances on communities and environments;
the impact of environments on human activity;
how humans adapt environments to their needs.

 

                How do we understand the world in which we live?

 

Personal and cultural expression

You will explore the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.

What is the nature and purpose of creative expression?

Globalization and sustainability

You will explore the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities;

the relationship between local and global processes;
how local experiences mediate the global;
the opportunities and tensions provided by world-interconnectedness;
the impact of decision-making on humankind and the environment.

How is everything connected?

Fairness and development

You will explore rights and responsibilities;
the relationship between communities; 
sharing finite resources with other people and with other living things;
access to equal opportunities;
peace and conflict resolution.