Who We Are: Exploring Identity, Values, and Community Roles during the PYP Summative Assessment
<
/18
17 Oct 2024
It’s that time of the year again – our students are coming forward to present all the work they’ve done over the past six weeks. The first PYP Summative Assessment of the academic year is a fact. This time, we’re showing parents how the topic “Who We Are” has been approached from various angles and academic perspectives. Kids are excited, parents feel eager to partake in the showcase. The result is emotional and filled with proud moments for everyone involved.
The “Who We Are” unit of inquiry is an exciting journey into the various aspects of identity, values, and the roles we play into our community. We focused on the relationships with friends and family, the evolution of ideas and beliefs through time, the habits needed for a balanced lifestyle, the various human characteristics and biological features that make us unique, cultural differences and similarities, as well as the ways to build stronger and more inclusive societies.
The “Who We Are” unit of inquiry is an exciting journey into the various aspects of identity, values, and the roles we play into our community. We focused on the relationships with friends and family, the evolution of ideas and beliefs through time, the habits needed for a balanced lifestyle, the various human characteristics and biological features that make us unique, cultural differences and similarities, as well as the ways to build stronger and more inclusive societies.
Finding Connections, Bringing Knowledge to the Real World
Summative assessments occur each six weeks and are more formal than the ongoing assessments that students from grades one to six go through.
The evaluation of progress is structured and it gauges the ability of a student to acquire new knowledge and apply it to practical tasks over a longer period of time.
“Who We Are” as a broad topic gave us the opportunity to establish connections between various disciplines – from math to English, from history to geography to science.
Students presented their knowledge at various stations, demonstrating many of the concepts they mastered over the entire learning period. A number of interactive stations also got set up, engaging parents in activities that more clearly demonstrated the practical dimensions of the knowledge acquired.
Our parents partook in a spelling test, they visited the British School of Sofia shopping centre (providing the little shopkeepers with an opportunity to put their math skills to the test during purchasing financial transactions), we played a few games of math bowling, and we also had a great time while enjoying board games conceptualised and executed by the students themselves.
Students also carried out various demonstrations – from making fossils to putting together a model of how the human digestive system works.
Meanwhile, parents got a chance to review and explore various presentations on topics ranging from art to the similarities and differences between nations across the world. All of these presentations, activities, and interactive elements resulted from meticulous planning and weeks of hard work that every single grade at the British School of Sofia dedicated to the PYP unit of inquiry.
The evaluation of progress is structured and it gauges the ability of a student to acquire new knowledge and apply it to practical tasks over a longer period of time.
“Who We Are” as a broad topic gave us the opportunity to establish connections between various disciplines – from math to English, from history to geography to science.
Students presented their knowledge at various stations, demonstrating many of the concepts they mastered over the entire learning period. A number of interactive stations also got set up, engaging parents in activities that more clearly demonstrated the practical dimensions of the knowledge acquired.
Our parents partook in a spelling test, they visited the British School of Sofia shopping centre (providing the little shopkeepers with an opportunity to put their math skills to the test during purchasing financial transactions), we played a few games of math bowling, and we also had a great time while enjoying board games conceptualised and executed by the students themselves.
Students also carried out various demonstrations – from making fossils to putting together a model of how the human digestive system works.
Meanwhile, parents got a chance to review and explore various presentations on topics ranging from art to the similarities and differences between nations across the world. All of these presentations, activities, and interactive elements resulted from meticulous planning and weeks of hard work that every single grade at the British School of Sofia dedicated to the PYP unit of inquiry.
The Importance of the PYP Summative Assessment
The way in which PYP Summative Assessments work is very different from the traditional grading model employed in the vast majority of schools across the world.
Traditional grading examines how well students perform in comparison to their peers and also within the limited context of a single subject.
The PYP Summative Assessment examines all of the following abilities:
Traditional grading examines how well students perform in comparison to their peers and also within the limited context of a single subject.
The PYP Summative Assessment examines all of the following abilities:
- Assessing knowledge
- Understanding and comprehension
- The practical application of knowledge
- Decision making
- Communication and presentation skills
The assessment also makes it possible for different learning styles to be recognised and cherished. Both teachers and parents get the opportunity to observe a process and the individual contribution that each student makes towards the development of the theme. Based on these observations, students can offer more personalised learning opportunities that benefit the class and the student through the recognition of individual needs and proclivities.
Parents also enjoy the opportunity to get a real-life update about the progress their children have made.
If you’re curious about PYP and the way it shapes up learning at the British School of Sofia, please take a look at the following report. We also have a detailed update about our PYP authorisation and the steps undertaken to guarantee the full implementation of the programme at BSS.
