The Primary Years Programme (PYP) has new guidance for all the PYP subjects that are presented in a suite of resources that were published at the end of April 2025. In December 2024, the new transdisciplinary theme descriptors were published as well. These two areas of change will require understanding and action planning to meet the deadline for implementation, September 2027. This blog post attempts to provide an overview to the following questions: What do educators need to understand now? What actions might schools need to take leading up to the required implementation date?
Revised transdisciplinary theme descriptors
The six transdisciplinary themes remain the same. What has changed is the descriptors that have shifted from a focus on the human experience commonalities to a balance of natural and human worlds. Each theme now has an opening statement that defines the spirit of and sets the stage for the direction of the unit. This statement is followed by three bullets containing concise statements that support conceptual learning. These changes seek to make it easier to balance and design learning across the subjects. The descriptors were reviewed for relevance now and into the future, with the IB mission in mind, and for the ability to allow agency to take local and global action.
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Table one: The new transdisciplinary theme descriptors |
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Who we are |
An inquiry into identity as individuals and as part of a collective through:
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Where we are in place and time |
An inquiry into histories and orientation in place, space, and time through:
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How we express ourselves |
An inquiry into the diversity of voice, perspectives, and expression through:
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How the world works |
An inquiry into understandings of the world and phenomena through:
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How we organize ourselves |
An inquiry into systems, structures and networks through:
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Sharing the planet |
An inquiry into the interdependence of human and natural worlds through:
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Subject continuums
The new PYP subject guidance includes subject continuums. The subject continuums are intended for use in designing a curriculum that is engaging, relevant, coherent, and transdisciplinary in nature, and they are organized in the format of a series of tables. The subjects of personal, social and physical education, arts, mathematics, language, science, and social studies each have continuums to provide guidance about the key elements of teaching and learning for each area. They contain subject strand descriptions and overall expectations. The subject continuums have phases that progress in complexity and express what the learner needs to know and be able to do. They possess conceptual understandings examples for each of the strands within the subject. These tables are followed by tables with bullet lists of possible learning outcomes.
Inquiry progressions
The IB published the Inquiry Learning Progressions document in April 2025. The purpose of this document is to provide curriculum designing tools to assist educators in deciding how learning occurs or progresses over time. The areas that are addressed in this first phase of the rollout are observation, role- and turn-taking, questioning, and decision-making.
In general, learning progressions describe the skills and knowledge that students are able to achieve. The descriptions communicate progress in sophistication and rigor at each level from initial understanding to expert competence. In the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the inquiry learning progressions more specifically are addressing the process skills of inquiry-based learning. Inquiry learning progressions are pedagogical tools that allow planning inquiry-based learning with intentionality using a common language. They also have listed examples of possible “learning opportunities” to support skills development and assessment. As such, this tool can be used to help learners and educators with goal-setting and student agency.
Additional language learning guidance
The additional language learning guidance consists of a suite of resources that PYP educators can use during the curriculum designing process for additional language(s) learning. The purpose of these resources is to support the specific needs of additional language learning and help educators develop/review/revise their curriculum in a collaborative process using a common language. The Additional language learning pathway tool is a “learning map” to be used in conjunction with the Subject continuums: Language. This tool:
- identifies three lenses through which learning and teaching will occur – 1. Interaction 2. Culture & identity 3. Constructing
- identifies five phases for each of the lenses with descriptors to be used in assessing, guiding, goal-setting, and monitoring progress of a learner’s pathway within that area.
- supports language profiles creation
The approach in this guidance honors the values of language learning in the IB including inquiry and multilingual identity development.
Early years support materials
The IB has published support materials for providing guidance in the early years of the PYP. The Early years: Planning document is the vehicle to access these planning tools and examples. Below is the list of the resources that can be found there and by clicking on the linked resource title.
- Example early years programme of inquiry– This resource has an example of a programme of inquiry using the new transdisciplinary descriptors.
- Example early years unit of inquiry (4- to 5-year-olds) – This resource has an example of a unit of inquiry also using a new transdisciplinary descriptor, the new subjects guidance, ATL skills designation, and with the specified and additional concepts.
- An approach to collaborative planning in the early years (PPT)– This PowerPoint can be used to guide the team in collaborative planning a unit and has additional resources listed.
- Early years planner (PPT)
- Reflective question cards (PDF)– This chart provides a list of questions to provoke reflection in eight areas of the planner.
Curriculum design toolkit
The IB and IB educators have created a toolkit to help educators in their role as curriculum designers. The toolkit includes the following resources:
- Welcome Mat– This resource is organized in a PowerPoint that presents an overview of the key elements of the IB for new IB educators. The presentation can be customized at the school for their context. It has an introduction video, information on twelve teaching and learning approaches, agency, collaboration, conceptual learning, learning diversity, inclusion, and more.
- Programme of Inquiry Review– This tool aims to provide PYP educators support as they enhance the review process of the programme of inquiry at their schools. This resource is in a PowerPoint format that guides schools in thinking about When? Who? How? and What? of the process as it centers on the Why? Using reflective questions, provocations, and considerations
- Approaches to Learning– This PowerPoint tool seeks to provide guidance in the mapping of approaches to learning skills as they relate to learning experiences. Reflection and provocation questions are provided along with listings of additional resources.
- Curriculum Connections– This PowerPoint tool provides educators with a guided process for identifying the connections between a state or national curriculum and the programme of inquiry. Guiding questions, provocations, considerations, reminders, and an example are included as part of the “Connections process model” to identify, connect, and reflect on the standards and the concepts of the transdisciplinary themes.
- Critical Reflexivity Tool– This tool is designed to support conversations that delve deeper into local and global issues when developing curriculum that is responsive and ethical in nature.
- Positionality Tool– This tool is created to assist educators in exploring and reflecting upon their own context and positionality as they design curriculum and explorations of issues with learners.
These resources can be located on the MyIB Programme Resource Centre in the PYP’s “Designing curriculum” section.
Action planning
The above toolkit of resources provides action planning templates for the various elements of designing curriculum that are changing in the PYP. The overall action planning process is a process of Identification, Connection, and Reflection in collaborative settings that best serve a school’s context.
Additional Resources
Look for these additional resources that may be of assistance in the process of making the changes in the PYP according to the new guidance on the MyIB Programme Resource Centre.
- Transitioning to the new transdisciplinary theme descriptors
- Transdisciplinary themes: Analysing the new descriptors and including student voice
- Aligning the PYP and the national or state curriculum
- Embedding the approaches to learning
- Enhancing your programme of inquiry
- Welcome mat: The onboarding tool
- IB Workshops for the PYP and Approaches to Learning
- Tailored Consulting for Professional Development, Guidance, and Capacity Building
The IB workshops for the PYP are excellent resources to gain understanding about the changes, processes, and action steps towards redesigning the Program of Inquiry and units of instruction to meet the implementation deadline of September 2027. To assist, CASIE is offering virtual and in-person IB workshops for PYP educators and leaders that meet their professional development needs at every stage of their IB journeys.
CASIE also offers tailored consulting to meet the needs of schools on their timeline to build capacity to deliver the highest quality of teaching and learning aligned with your school goals, strategic and professional development plans.
