IB MYP: Middle Years Programme Guide for Teachers

The IB Middle Years Programme, or MYP, is a curriculum framework for learners aged 11 to 16. It usually lasts five years, although authorised schools can offer shorter formats. It combines secure subject knowledge with concepts, global contexts, Approaches to Learning skills, interdisciplinary learning, service and criterion-related assessment (International Baccalaureate, 2026).

For teachers, the practical task is to connect these elements without weakening the subject. For example, a Year 8 bridge lesson first teaches forces and equations. Learners then use those facts to test a safe design for a local site. The framework helps knowledge move to a new problem, audience or setting (IB, 2026).

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The MYP in One Minute

The MYP is the IB framework between primary education and post-16 study, but it does not prescribe one national syllabus. Schools organise required MYP elements around local curriculum duties, subject content and learner needs. The result should be a coherent education, not a second curriculum layered over the first.

The programme develops disciplinary understanding and the capacity to use it. Learners study through eight subject groups, encounter shared concepts and global contexts, practise ATL skills, take part in service as action and complete interdisciplinary work. The International Baccalaureate overview places the MYP within the wider IB continuum.

School authorisation matters. A school cannot make isolated use of MYP vocabulary and then present itself as delivering the authorised programme. Leaders need the relevant IB requirements, trained staff, collaborative planning, published subject guidance and quality assurance. Teachers also need time to turn the framework into teachable sequences.

The central classroom principle is simple: teach the knowledge learners need, then create structured opportunities to connect, apply and evaluate it. Inquiry is purposeful when learners have enough prior knowledge and suitable guidance. It is weak when an open task hides gaps in content or leaves success dependent on confidence at home.

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MYP Curriculum at a Glance

The curriculum brings eight subject groups together through common organising elements. Schools normally provide at least 50 hours of teaching in each subject group in each programme year. In years 4 and 5, authorised flexibility can allow learners to study six rather than all eight groups (International Baccalaureate, 2026).

The 50-hour expectation is a programme design safeguard, not a reason to fill a timetable with disconnected coverage. Departments should map what learners must know, how that knowledge develops and where MYP objectives are assessed. In years 4 and 5, flexibility should follow an authorised programme model and a defensible curriculum decision, not an informal reduction of breadth.

One curriculum map should show subject coverage, concepts, global contexts, ATL development, interdisciplinary work, projects and service. Keep it readable. If a map cannot show where a required experience occurs, leaders have found a planning gap rather than a documentation problem.

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Concepts, Global Contexts and ATL Skills

Concepts help learners organise and transfer knowledge. Global contexts give a reason to examine that knowledge beyond the immediate topic. ATL skills describe learnable processes such as research, communication and self-management. None of these elements replaces subject content, and each should change what learners think or do.

A cross-programme study found that concept-based teaching depended on how teachers understood and used the approach (Medwell et al., 2019). The practical point is clear: adding a concept word to a planner does not create concept-based learning. Teachers must connect detailed examples, guide comparison and test whether learners can spot the core idea in a new case.

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A worked science and design example

Consider a Year 8 unit on safe pedestrian bridges. Science teaches forces, material properties, measurement and the relationship between load and deformation. Design teaches how to analyse a brief, develop specifications, test prototypes and justify changes through the MYP design cycle.

The key concept can be systems, with related concepts such as function and innovation. Scientific and technical innovation provides the global context. A useful conceptual understanding is that parts of a designed system interact, so changing one component can alter safety, cost and usability across the whole structure.

Teachers then frame inquiry questions at different levels. A factual question asks which forces act on a bridge. A conceptual question asks how the parts of a system affect overall performance.

A debatable question asks whether a safer design always justifies a higher environmental or financial cost. Learners need the factual knowledge before they can answer the later questions well.

An ATL focus can be research. The teacher models how to tell test data from a sales claim. Learners then compare material facts and record why they trust each source.

The skill is visible in the method and evidence, not merely listed on the unit plan. The inquiry cycle can help sequence questions, tests, building and review without turning every lesson into open discovery.

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A short lesson sequence

Start with a model bridge and ask learners to name what they see. Teach load, force and stress with clear diagrams. Work through one sample sum as a class. Learners then test strips of card in the same way and log the load at which each one bends.

Next, show two bridge plans. Ask which plan spreads force well and which part may fail. Learners must use the new terms in their answer.

They can then change one part of their own plan, predict the effect and test it. This small cycle links facts, the idea of a system and a real design choice.

End with a brief check. Give the class a bridge they have not seen. Ask each learner to mark where force will act and state one safe change.

This shows if the core idea can move to a new case. It also gives the next teacher clear proof of what needs more work.

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Plan ATL development across subjects

Departments should choose a small number of ATL indicators that fit the task. Name the skill, model it, provide guided practice and ask learners to review its effect. For communication, show how a scientific explanation differs from a design pitch. For self-management, teach learners to divide a six-week project into dated checkpoints.

A whole-school map prevents repetition and omission. It should show where a skill is introduced, practised with support and used independently. The IB learner profile can inform reflection and school language, but it should not become a vague set of labels attached to every activity.

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Plan an MYP Unit

An effective MYP unit begins with required subject objectives and content, then connects them through a defensible conceptual purpose. Teachers should align inquiry, learning experiences and assessment before teaching starts. The plan must show what learners will know, what they will understand and what evidence will support each assessment judgement.

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Use a compact planning sequence

1. Start with subject requirements. Identify the subject objectives, strands, required knowledge and prior learning. Decide what must receive explicit instruction and deliberate practice.
2. Define the conceptual understanding. Select key and related concepts that clarify a relationship in the content. Write a statement of inquiry that learners can eventually explain with evidence.
3. Choose a global context. Select the context and exploration that gives the learning an authentic scale or perspective. Remove it if it does not affect the questions, examples or assessment.
4. Write inquiry questions. Include factual, conceptual and debatable questions. Sequence them so that knowledge supports interpretation and reasoned judgement.
5. Plan learning experiences. Combine explanation, modelling, retrieval, guided inquiry, discussion and independent application. Match the amount of guidance to learners' prior knowledge.
6. Select ATL skills. Choose one or two skills that the task genuinely needs. State how they will be taught, practised and reviewed.
7. Design assessment evidence. Align the task with the selected objectives and criterion strands. Check that every demand has been taught and that the task allows different learners fair access to the intended construct.
8. Reflect and revise. After the unit, record misconceptions, weak task instructions, moderation issues and changes needed before the next cycle.

For the bridge unit, the summative task can ask learners to use test evidence to recommend a design for a defined site. A strong plan teaches scientific content before the recommendation, builds research skill through short source checks and gives learners a model of a justified design decision. The final product then reveals knowledge, transfer and communication.

Keep the planner proportionate. A long form cannot compensate for an unclear learning sequence. During review, ask whether a colleague can see the content, thinking, support and evidence without an oral explanation. If not, simplify the language and strengthen the alignment.

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MYP Assessment and Grading

MYP assessment is criterion-related. Teachers judge learner work against published subject criteria rather than ranking learners against one another. Most assessment is school-based, while the personal project is externally validated and wider eAssessment is optional. The route a school uses should be explained clearly to learners and families (International Baccalaureate, 2026).

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Make criterion-related assessment understandable

Each subject group has four criteria, and descriptors show the quality of achievement expected. A task should assess selected strands that learners have had a fair chance to learn and show. Teachers use their judgement to match the proof to each descriptor. They do not award marks simply for more pages or the use of favoured words.

Before a task, explain the key command terms and show unnamed examples. Ask learners to spot what makes one answer more exact, sound or useful than another. During feedback, use the criterion words and name one next step. Our guide to MYP conceptual assessment develops this distinction between recalling content and using it.

For example, give the class two short science reports. Say, "Find the claim, the test result and the link between them." Learners mark each part in a set colour.

They then use the same check on their own work. The criterion stays firm, but the route to it is clear.

When a learner asks, "What do I need for the next level?", avoid a list of extra features. Point to one gap in the proof. You could say, "Your result is clear. Now use it to show why your claim is sound."

This keeps feedback tied to thought, not task length.

There is no universal passing grade for an individual class task. Schools should avoid inventing one or converting every criterion judgement into a percentage. Reporting arrangements may combine criterion evidence over time according to current programme guidance and school policy. Families need a plain explanation of what the grade represents, what it does not represent and how the learner can improve.

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Moderate real work

Useful standardisation starts with a task, the relevant descriptors and a small sample of learner work. Teachers judge independently, compare decisions and discuss the evidence that changed a level. Record the agreed interpretation and adjust unclear task instructions. This is more valuable than discussing descriptors in the abstract.

The broader IB assessment guide can support department training, but local teams still need a shared routine. Moderate at least one task early in the year, including work near a boundary and work from a learner who used an alternative format or support arrangement.

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Distinguish the assessment routes

School-based classroom assessment supports teaching, feedback and reporting throughout the programme. The year 5 personal project has external validation. Schools can also choose optional eAssessment routes, including on-screen examinations and ePortfolios, for eligible subject areas. Not every MYP learner sits final external examinations, and schools should check current IB arrangements before promising a particular certificate or result.

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Personal Project, Community Project and Service as Action

Projects depend on the programme's finishing year. Learners finishing the MYP in year 3 or 4 complete the community project, while learners finishing in year 5 complete the personal project. Service as action runs through the programme and should connect learning, responsible action and reflection (International Baccalaureate, 2026).

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The personal project

The personal project is an independent year 5 inquiry into a personally meaningful goal. Learners define an outcome, plan a process, apply ATL skills and reflect on what they learned. The supervisor guides the process, monitors feasibility and academic integrity, and helps the learner interpret requirements. The supervisor does not choose the project or rescue it by doing the planning.

A fair supervision model uses common milestones: goal approval, research review, planning check, product or outcome review and report preparation. Provide all learners with examples, calendars and access to essential resources. A short verbal check can help supervisors understand decisions and identify where evidence needs clarification. The personal project supervisor guide offers a fuller supervision sequence.

At each meeting, ask three plain questions: What did you plan to do? What did you do? What will you change next?

The learner should bring one piece of proof, such as a source note, test result or draft. The supervisor records the date and the agreed next step. This keeps help fair across the group.

If work stalls, shrink the next step rather than take control. A learner who wants to make a full app may first draw one screen and test it with two users. The goal can stay bold while the next act stays small. The learner still owns the choice and learns from the test.

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The community project

The community project applies when a school's MYP ends in year 3 or 4. Learners investigate a need, plan action, take responsible action and reflect on the process. Teachers should help learners distinguish a genuine community need from an activity chosen only because it is easy to photograph or count.

For example, a group concerned about local biodiversity can first consult site staff and examine habitat evidence. Their action could be a small, maintainable planting and monitoring plan rather than a one-day campaign. The learning sits in investigation, collaboration, decision-making and evaluation, not in the size of the display.

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Service as action

Meaningful service as action grows from curriculum learning or a carefully investigated need. Learners should understand who may benefit, what assumptions they are making and how they will judge impact. Reflection can examine consequences and limitations rather than simply celebrate participation.

Do not imply that every learner completes both major projects. The finishing year determines which project applies. Schools also need safeguarding, consent, accessibility and workload arrangements for activity beyond normal lessons. A project must never depend on family money, transport or adult professional networks to reach the highest levels.

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Interdisciplinary Learning That Works

Every programme year requires at least one collaboratively planned interdisciplinary unit involving at least two subject groups. A sound unit gives each discipline a necessary role, then asks learners to integrate those perspectives. It does not use one subject to decorate another or assess a group poster instead of disciplinary understanding (International Baccalaureate, 2026).

Return to the pedestrian bridge problem. Science contributes forces, materials and testing. Design contributes the brief, specifications, iteration and evaluation.

Neither contribution is interchangeable. Learners must use both to recommend a safe response for a real site, explain trade-offs and justify how test evidence changed the design.

Plan the unit in three columns: what learners need from subject A, what they need from subject B, and what they can understand only by bringing both together. Agree where each part is taught, which teacher introduces shared language and how learners will receive feedback. If the synthesis column is empty, the link is probably thematic rather than interdisciplinary.

A simple team talk can test the plan. The science teacher says, "My class will test how load changes the frame." The design teacher says, "My class will use those results to change the brief and model."

Both then ask, "What can learners now decide that they could not decide in one subject?" The answer becomes the shared task.

Keep subject objectives assessable. Teachers may assess disciplinary work through the relevant subject criteria and interdisciplinary understanding through the current MYP interdisciplinary criteria and school procedures. Do not blur two sets of objectives into one vague creativity mark. Learners should know when they are demonstrating subject knowledge and when they are integrating it.

Timetable collaboration before the unit begins and after its first run. A short shared review should examine misconceptions, uneven workload, access barriers and the quality of synthesis. Adapt the task rather than retaining a forced annual tradition. Interdisciplinary planning earns its place when it reveals understanding that one subject could not produce alone.

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Implementing the MYP Alongside a National Curriculum

The MYP and a national curriculum solve different planning problems. The MYP provides a framework for teaching, learning and assessment, while national curricula or qualifications specify local content and accountability. Schools should map them together, protect required knowledge and explain both systems without presenting them as competing brands.

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Map subject coverage and timetable capacity

Start with statutory or qualification content, then map MYP objectives, concepts, ATL skills and assessment opportunities against it. Identify gaps, duplication and points where inquiry can deepen required learning. In England, a science unit may connect an MYP concept to a GCSE pathway, but equations, practical methods and required terminology still need deliberate teaching.

The comparison between MYP and GCSE is therefore a curriculum and timetable question. Leaders need enough time for subject coverage, interdisciplinary planning, project supervision, service and moderation. If every MYP element is added without removing or combining existing work, staff receive an impossible implementation brief.

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Align assessment language and reporting

Create a crosswalk that shows what MYP criteria capture and what the national system reports. Do not claim that a classroom criterion level predicts a public examination grade unless the school has suitable local evidence and a responsible method. Reports can present an MYP judgement, subject progress and a concise next step while keeping the systems distinct.

Leaders should check recognition requirements in their own jurisdiction. The MYP itself is not a substitute label for every local qualification. If the school uses optional eAssessment, explain exactly which components learners take, how results are awarded and how the route fits later study.

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Explain the programme to parents

Parent communication should use examples rather than slogans. Show a task, the criterion, a piece of anonymised work and the feedback it received. Explain that criterion-related assessment describes performance against stated expectations, not a learner's rank in the class. Use consistent terms across departments.

A short guide that helps staff explain IB language to parents can reduce confusion. Translate terms without stripping away accuracy: a global context frames why learning matters; ATL skills are taught ways of learning; a statement of inquiry expresses a transferable relationship that the unit will test.

Show the words next to real work. A parent can see the bridge task, the test data and the learner's note on what changed. Staff can then say, "The science mark is based on this use of evidence. The ATL note shows how your child planned the test."

This is clear and does not merge two types of report.

Keep the message the same across subjects. Send a one-page guide before the first report, then use one work sample at a meeting. Leave time for parents to ask about grades, exams and later study. If staff do not know an answer, they should check the school route rather than make a broad claim about the IB.

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A First-Term Checklist for MYP Teachers

A teacher new to the MYP does not need to master every programme document at once. The first term should establish six dependable routines: understand the subject guide, align assessment language, plan ATL teaching, moderate real work, contribute to an interdisciplinary unit and confirm project or service duties.

• Read the current subject guide. Mark the objectives, strands, criteria, command terms and requirements relevant to the year groups you teach. Compare them with the existing scheme of work.
• Agree common language. With colleagues, decide how you will explain command terms and criteria. Use the same meaning in task sheets, teaching and feedback.
• Map ATL skills. Select a small number your units can teach explicitly. Check what learners have met before and what later teachers expect them to do independently.
• Moderate one authentic task. Bring a varied sample, judge it independently and record the evidence behind agreed decisions. Revise the task if instructions hide the intended learning.
• Plan one interdisciplinary contribution. Name your subject's distinct knowledge, the shared problem, the synthesis learners must produce and the time needed for joint planning.
• Check project and service responsibilities. Confirm whether you supervise a personal or community project, how service is recorded, and what safeguarding, access and academic-integrity procedures apply.

Also identify one experienced colleague who can review a unit plan before it is taught. Ask for feedback on alignment rather than presentation: Are the objectives taught? Does the concept clarify the content?

Is the assessment valid? Can all learners access the task without reducing the intended demand?

Keep a small evidence file from the term: one revised unit plan, one moderated task, one ATL teaching example and one reflection note. This provides a more useful basis for professional discussion than a large folder of untouched templates.

In week one, read the guide and mark the terms you must use. In week two, compare one task with a team member. In week three, teach one ATL skill by modelling it aloud.

In week four, bring learner work back to the team and agree one change. This pace makes the new frame part of normal work.

Ask the MYP lead for the school map, not just a blank planner. The map should show when the class meets each criterion and who leads each shared unit. It should also show the project and service dates. This helps a new teacher see the year as a whole and avoid a rush near the end.

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Common Questions About the MYP

Teachers and families usually need clear answers about programme length, subjects, assessment, projects and classroom practice. The answers below reflect the current official programme pages, but each authorised school should explain its own model, timetable and chosen assessment route (International Baccalaureate, 2026).

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Limitations and Practical Safeguards

The MYP is a flexible framework, so outcomes depend heavily on curriculum design, teacher knowledge, leadership capacity and local conditions. Official requirements establish the model but do not guarantee strong lessons. Schools must check authorisation, curriculum, qualification and recognition details in their own context.

Concept-based implementation varies because teachers read and use the approach in different ways (Medwell, 2019). Protect subject order, use concepts with care and review learner work for signs of transfer. If learners can discuss a broad theme but cannot explain the key facts, methods or links, the unit needs stronger content teaching.

Inquiry and independent projects can magnify differences in prior knowledge, language, time and family resources. Provide common source access, taught research routines, interim deadlines and accessible ways to demonstrate the intended learning. Adjust support without allowing an adult to take over the thinking. Check safeguarding and consent whenever projects involve communities, online publication or work beyond school.

Criterion-related assessment also requires continuing moderation. Descriptors do not interpret themselves, and task design can make a criterion easier or harder to demonstrate. Review samples across classes, include learners with different support needs and separate the quality of presentation from the knowledge or skill being assessed.

National rules differ. Schools should verify statutory curriculum coverage, inspection expectations, qualification recognition and progression routes with the relevant bodies. University recognition can depend on the later qualification pathway, not simply attendance at an MYP school. Avoid making universal admissions claims.

Finally, capacity is a quality safeguard. Interdisciplinary planning, moderation and project supervision require protected time. Leaders should reduce duplication, set a manageable documentation standard and monitor staff workload. A smaller number of well-aligned units gives learners more than a large set of polished plans that teachers cannot teach consistently.

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References

These sources support the current programme requirements, assessment routes, project distinctions and implementation evidence cited in this guide. They are limited to the approved official IB pages and the declared cross-programme research report.

• International Baccalaureate. (2026). Middle Years Programme. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/middle-years-programme/
• International Baccalaureate. (2026). MYP curriculum. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/middle-years-programme/curriculum/
• International Baccalaureate. (2026). MYP assessment. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/middle-years-programme/assessment-and-exams/
• International Baccalaureate. (2026). MYP projects. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/middle-years-programme/curriculum/myp-projects/
• Medwell, J., Wray, D., Bailey, L., Biddulph, M., Hagger-Vaughan, L., Mills, G., Oliver, M., & Wake, G. (2019). Concept-based teaching and learning: Integration and alignment across IB programmes. https://www.ibo.org/research/curriculum-research/cross-programme/concept-based-teaching-and-learning-integration-and-alignment-across-international-baccalaureate-programmes-2019/

At the next department meeting, choose one existing unit and mark its required subject knowledge, conceptual connection, ATL teaching and assessment evidence on a single page before changing any activities.