Reflections on developing your MYP practice - shaping what’s next
The MYP is evolving, and I think this gives us a really valuable opportunity to pause and think about our own practice. Whether you are relatively new to the MYP or have been working with the programme for many years, there is always value in taking another look at how we plan for learning. For those newer to the MYP, this can help build strong foundations and confidence. For those of us who have been doing this for some time, it gives us permission to revisit what has become familiar, challenge some of our assumptions and perhaps look differently at units we have taught successfully for years. And with the MYP continuing to evolve, we all have something important to gain. We can deepen our understanding, strengthen our practice, learn alongside others and, importantly, give ourselves a head start in preparing for what lies ahead.
Looking differently at unit planning
There is a big difference between knowing how to complete an MYP unit planner and really understanding how to use planning to create powerful learning. It can be tempting to see planning as a linear process. We start at the top, work our way through the sections and eventually arrive at the learning experiences and assessment. But learning isn't linear, so why should our thinking about it be?
Strong planning involves moving backwards and forwards, making connections, trying ideas, reconsidering decisions and refining our thinking as the unit develops. There is also no single "right" place to begin. We might enter the planning process through content, concepts, contexts or skills. Starting somewhere different can completely change the way we look at a familiar unit and open possibilities that we might not previously have considered. For me, this is an important shift. The planner stops being a document we need to complete and becomes something much more useful: a tool that helps us think about learning.
For someone newer to the MYP, understanding this early can take away some of the pressure to create the "perfect" MYP unit. There isn't a magic formula. What matters is understanding why we are making particular decisions and what those decisions will mean for our students.
It's about the learning, not the planner
This, for me, is the important bit.
A beautifully completed unit planner does not automatically result in powerful learning. Ultimately, the value of our planning has to be seen in what our students experience in the classroom.
We want students to encounter rich and relevant subject content, but we also want them to do something meaningful with that knowledge. We want them to think, connect ideas, develop understanding and recognise where their learning might transfer into something new.
Conceptual understanding helps us move beyond simply covering content. When concepts genuinely influence the learning we design, students have opportunities to recognise relationships, construct meaning and develop understandings that can travel beyond one topic, one assessment or one classroom.
Context matters too. It can be easy for context to become something we identify because the planner asks us to. But when contextual learning is genuinely embedded, it can transform the relevance of a unit. Students begin to see connections between what they are learning and their own experiences, communities and the wider world.
Learning has a reason and a relevance beyond simply completing the next assessment.
And, of course, we are developing learners as well as teaching subjects. If we want students to become increasingly confident communicators, researchers, thinkers, collaborators and self-managers, we need to deliberately create opportunities for those skills to grow. None of this is about squeezing more into a unit. It is about being more intentional with what is already there.
We learn better when we learn together
I also think there is something incredibly valuable about having the opportunity to do this alongside other MYP educators. Some of my richest professional learning has evolved through conversations with other educators. Hearing how somebody else approaches something can make us reconsider our own thinking. And somebody working in a completely different subject or context can offer a perspective we would never have reached on our own.
This is particularly valuable when educators are at different points in their MYP journeys. Those newer to the programme bring questions and fresh perspectives. Those with more experience bring practical knowledge of what happens when our carefully designed plans meet real students in real classrooms. We don't need everyone to think in the same way. In fact, the value often comes from the fact that we don't.
A head start on an evolving MYP
This is why I think developing our MYP practice now is particularly important. When we know change is coming, it is very easy to wait. We wait for the final documentation, the guidance and the point at which somebody tells us exactly what we need to do differently. But we don't have to wait to develop our thinking.
Becoming more flexible in how we approach unit planning, more intentional about the learning we design and more confident in explaining the decisions we make is valuable right now. At the same time, engaging with developments in MYP planning gives us greater familiarity with some of the thinking that will help us as the programme evolves. That is a useful head start.
Within this context, Category 2 subject workshops give teachers and coordinators dedicated time to step away from the day-to-day and really look at their practice. Working with an existing unit means the learning is grounded in something real and relevant. It becomes an opportunity to revisit, reconsider and strengthen the thinking behind the learning we are already designing.
It is important to be clear that these workshops are not training on the trial assessment models, nor are they intended to tell us every detail of the forthcoming MYP enhancements. Instead, these workshops give us the opportunity to engage with developments in approaches to MYP planning while strengthening practice that we can take back into our classrooms now. For me, that balance is what makes the timing so valuable.
We can improve what we are doing today and become better prepared for tomorrow. And this isn't only for educators who have been working with the MYP for years. There is real value in developing these understandings early. Starting your MYP journey with a strong understanding of the thinking behind planning can help establish good habits from the beginning. Equally, experience gives us something rich to revisit, question and refine.
Our units should evolve because we evolve.
Our students change. Our contexts change. We learn from experience, from research, from colleagues and, very importantly, from the students sitting in front of us. Revisiting a unit we have taught successfully is not an admission that we got it wrong the first time. It is evidence that our professional thinking continues to grow.
And perhaps that is the real opportunity we have right now.
The immediate benefit is better, more intentional learning for our students. The longer-term benefit is that when the MYP continues to evolve, we are not starting from scratch.
We have already started evolving with it.
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About the author
Dianne Blackburn is an independent Educational Consultant providing bespoke education solutions to international schools worldwide. Alongside her consultancy work, Dianne collaborates with the International Baccalaureate as a Senior Lead Educator, Field Representative, Team Chair and IBEN Workshop Leader, building on her previous experience as an MYP Coordinator and Principal Examiner. Dianne also serves as the MYP Community Lead for IBSCA and is a member of our Steering Committee.
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Consider MYP Category 2 training?
This academic year, IBSCA will be hosting several Category 2 IB authorised workshops for MYP educators, including: Design; Physical & Health Education;Arts; Language Acquisition; Individuals & Societies; Mathematics; Language & Literature; and Sciences. Each workshop will be led by a highly experienced and certified IBEN workshop leader. Click the relevant link for dates and details.