Preparing for PYPX: A Journey of Growth and Inquiry

As the last months of the school year approaches, an interesting but busy stage begins for 5th-grade (or 6th-grade) students and teachers in IB schools: it’s PYPX time. I remember my first year at ILG as a 5th-grade teacher when I was first introduced to the exhibition. I thought the world was coming down on me, but I want to thank ILG for trusting me. It was the school’s first year as an accredited IB institution, so there wasn’t yet a consolidated culture around the PYPX, resources, or a clear guide. I started from scratch.

Today, I’m grateful for how things turned out. I’m the kind of person who learns by jumping into the deep end, and that’s exactly what I did. ILG trusted me, letting me research, create, experiment, and carry out the PYPX my way. It was a great gift. After three years working there, I’m proud of the work done for the school’s future. I left behind my planner, guides, and resources, which I hope are still being used and improved. In three years, we moved from a simple poster presentation to a PYPX where the IB philosophy is evident, and the kids genuinely enjoy the experience.

The PYPX became my best way to learn and immerse myself in the IB philosophy, which I enjoy more and more each day. In this post, I will talk about this and share my planning for this important event. I’ll divide the planning into three posts. The first will cover activities leading up to the 8-week preparation period for the PYPX, its presentation, and reflection. The second post will cover weeks 1 to 4, and the third will focus on weeks 5 to 8, along with a surprise topic I know many of you will like.

Before we begin, I should mention that to fully understand much of what I’m going to discuss and connect it to these activities, it’s recommended to read my last three posts on fostering agency in the classroom:

• Fostering Student Agency: Activities That Empower Learning I
• Fostering Student Agency: Activities That Empower Learning II 
• Fostering Student Agency: Activities That Empower Learning III

I mention the PYPX to my students from the very beginning of the year. In each unit, I explain that their summative assessment will help them develop the skills they will need for the exhibition. For example:

Unit 1: Create a model of an animal sanctuary. Here, they learned research skills by investigating animals and their ecosystems and finding relevant information to build an accurate and detailed representation of their sanctuary.

Unit 2: Create a documentary about space. This unit focused on communication skills, as the students were the producers and presenters of their documentaries. They learned to organize their ideas and express them clearly and effectively to an audience.

Unit 3: Write a myth. This unit centered on self-management skills, particularly in task organization, following steps, and completing tasks within deadlines. Students learned to manage their time effectively while developing their creativity.

Unit 4: Role play on types of governments. Here, they worked on thinking skills by debating different forms of government and creating arguments and counterarguments. They developed their ability to analyze and evaluate different perspectives on the same topic.

Unit 5: Mini cultural show where we present the various cultures of the class to the school community. Here, we focused on social skills because they worked as a team during the unit. Students provided feedback to one another on their cooperation skills and prepared to share their work with the school community.

Additionally, as I explain in Fostering Student Agency: Activities That Empower Learning III, the children in my classroom are used to taking action in every unit. We also explore different SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) in each unit, as they are a fundamental part of the PYPX.

Survey

The first activity that students complete, which is directly focused on the exhibition, is a reflection form. In this questionnaire, students are asked about their future aspirations, their interest in the Sustainable Development Goals, and their preferences for teamwork during the PYPX. They are also asked to choose classmates and mentors they would like to or wouldn’t want to work with, and to reflect on their personal skills and how they can contribute to the success of the project. Finally, they explore the challenges they anticipate, their teamwork preferences, and which aspects of the PYPX they are most curious about.

Once they complete the form, I use the information to create groups based on their future professional interests, SDG interests, personal preferences, and skills. Every year, it’s a puzzle, but for some strange reason, I enjoy organizing the groups and imagining how they will work together and the great projects that will come from these combined minds.

Once we have the groups, we choose the mentors, who are PYP teachers. This is the best way to instill the PYPX culture throughout the school. For example, when 1st- or 3rd-grade teachers know the challenges their students will face when they reach 5th grade, they can prepare them by addressing weaknesses in those earlier years. We must not forget that it’s called PYPX because it includes the entire PYP cycle—it’s not called "Grade 5 Exhibition."

Central idea and Lines of inquiry

The next step is to give students the opportunity to create their central ideas and lines of inquiry. For this, we hold a two-day workshop. The children are used to working with central ideas and IB concepts due to the activities in Fostering Student Agency: Activities That Empower Learning I and Fostering Student Agency: Activities That Empower Learning II .

Day 1 – Central Idea

First, we teach the students the elements of a strong central idea:

• Any child in the world should be able to understand the central idea.
• It should make sense anywhere in the world.
• It addresses a real-world problem or issue.
• It affects our local area and community or the entire world.

Here, it’s important to present some central ideas that meet the requirements and others that don’t, so students can apply the criteria and identify them. We then introduce other elements of a strong central idea:

• It should be challenging (difficult enough) for you.
• Engaging (interesting enough) for you.
• Relevant (linked to key concepts) for you.
• Significant (important enough for the world) for everyone.
• It should be one idea.
• It should be true.

We repeat the same activity, presenting some strong central ideas and others that aren’t, so the children can play and identify the elements. You can do this using Blooket or Kahoot to make it more engaging.

Next, we give the children this template to create a concept map that will help them write their central idea.

They should write their SDGs and connect them with concepts that come to mind. We can also provide a list of verbs they can use to connect these concepts, such as: influence, respond, curate, rely, create, interpret, interact, develop, design.

Once they complete this, it’s time to write the central ideas. We give them these final tips:

• It has two main ideas linked by a verb (action word).
• It should be a big idea.
• It should be true but not facts.

This part requires patience and a lot of teacher support, so it’s ideal if more teachers collaborate as coordinators or mentors to help students create their central ideas. In the 2023-2024 school year, my students Aya and Ana Julia surprised me with a short but one of the best central ideas I’ve ever seen: “War impacts well-being.” This was also one of the best projects I’ve seen in these years.

Day 2 – Lines of Inquiry

This day is simpler. First, we introduce the children to the key concepts. For this, we can play a game recalling the key concepts from previous units. The important thing is to show them this:

• Form: What is it like? 
• Function: How does it work? 
• Causality: Why does this happen? 
• Change: How has it changed? 
• Connection: How is it connected to other concepts? 
• Perspective: What points of view exist on this topic? 
• Responsibility: What is our responsibility regarding this topic? 
• Reflection: How do we know what we know?

Here, we can show examples of how the central idea and key concepts connect to create lines of inquiry. For example, from the central idea “War impacts well-being,” we might want to inquire about perspectives, the key concept related to “What points of view exist on this topic?” This could lead to the line of inquiry: Points of view in a war. It’s important to mention here that they should not use the key concept itself in the line of inquiry. For example, “Perspectives in a war” wouldn’t be appropriate, so we help them think of synonyms. This task is simpler. We can give more examples and turn it into a game where students match central ideas, key concepts, and lines of inquiry to learn to connect the elements before creating their own.

As additional activities, I like to prepare my students for the exhibition by giving them three workshops on:

• How to send emails
• How to use Google Calendar
• How to take notes during meetings with their mentors

The last part is a meeting with the parents, as they are a crucial part of the student’s success during these weeks. This is a very brief summary of the most important points of the presentation.

• PYPX: It’s a collaborative, self-managed, and inquiry-based experience in the final year of the PYP. 
• Key characteristics: Student-initiated, action-oriented, reflective, and collaborative. 
• Purposes: Foster inquiry, responsibility, and action; demonstrate understanding of the PYP; and prepare for the MYP. 
• Role of the parents: Provide emotional support, assist in research, and encourage reflection and action.
• It’s also important to mention how what students have done throughout the year has prepared them for the PYPX process.

The next two posts will cover the 8 key weeks of the PYPX.

Thank you for reading.