Explore how transdisciplinary learning enhances IB education. Our teacher guide covers practical strategies for successful curriculum integration.
The Primary Years Programme (PYP) utilizes transdisciplinary learning to unify learning across, between, and beyond the disciplines. The learning experiences are designed within units using transdisciplinary themes in a manner that “the disciplines are no longer distinguishable, like the ingredients in a cake, and the result is something completely different” (Choi and Pak 2006). The themes provide the opportunity to give local and global contexts relevance in a holistic approach. They combine the focus of the conceptual understandings that each discipline brings to the unit into a cohesive, connected curriculum where big ideas are transferable to current and future thinking and problem-solving endeavors. Transdisciplinary learning presents the framework for students to become caring, knowledgeable and principled inquirers, thinkers, and communicators which are traits of the IB learner profile.
The Core Principles of Transdisciplinary Learning
Descriptors
Each of the six transdisciplinary themes has a descriptor. In December 2024, new descriptors were released by the IB. All schools will be required to use these descriptors to plan units by September, 2027.
The descriptors support the conceptual and transdisciplinary nature of the theme. They provide a way to look at the central idea of the unit and decide what local or global lens would best support learning seamlessly across all the disciplines. The descriptors align with the Middle Years Programme global contexts, although they have different titles.
Opening Statement
Each of the six themes has a title and an opening statement that communicates the theme’s essence and direction. They open a window to learning engagements characterized by significant global ideas and issues to be explored across the disciplines with authenticity. These inquiry openings frame three concise statements that support conceptual learning.
Below is a chart to show the December 2024 theme titles and descriptors.
Benefits of Transdisciplinary Learning
Enhancing student engagement and understanding: The Why?
Transdisciplinary learning mirrors the transdisciplinary nature of the real-world lending authenticity to learning. Operations, thinking, and systems in the world are not siloed into math time, science time, social studies time, art time, or physical education time. If we are planning for students to gain understanding about various ideas and concepts, designing explorations through real-world inquiries provides engagement, relevancy and meaning to learning. By organizing the PYP curriculum by the transdisciplinary themes instead of traditional siloed subject-based learning, educators can be innovative in looking at broad concepts that can be applied in various subjects through the unit’s central idea.
Real-world application and lifelong learning skills: Relevance
The transdisciplinary themes are used to create engaging learning with local or global contexts. The 2024 themes were developed to have flexibility to address past, present, and future issues. An example might be in a unit of inquiry within the theme, How we express ourselves, where the diversity of perspectives through social and cultural modes can be explored across the subjects of language, social studies, the arts, physical and personal education. Understandings from this type of learning experience are transferable to life beyond the walls of the school.
Balance
The goal of transdisciplinary learning in the PYP is for it to be broad, connected, and balanced as well as conceptual in nature. After going through a review process, the transdisciplinary theme descriptors have shifted from a focus on human commonalities to the interconnectedness of humans and the natural world to provide more balance across the subjects.
Fostering global mindedness and critical thinking: IB Learner Profile Development
The dispositions of the IB learner profile are developed through the transdisciplinary themes. The IB Primary Years Programme’s publication, “Learning and Teaching”, states,
“When a curriculum approach goes across, between and beyond subjects, and emphasizes participatory and integrated learning, it honours the learners’ curiosity, questions and voice, for whom the curriculum is intended (Beane 1995).” This is the nature of a transdisciplinary learning approach. Honoring curiosity encourages inquiry and allows for the discovery of a higher sense of balance and the development of a caring spirit. Inviting questions nurtures reflection and thinking. Seeking student voice fosters communication and risk-taking. Together these elements contribute to students becoming more knowledgeable. The learners gain perspectives through their curiosities, questions, and agency that crystallize the traits of being principled and open-minded. The six themes that are explored throughout the PYP years usher in a continuum of understanding about the world, our common humanity, and interdependence.
Implementing Transdisciplinary Learning in the Classroom
The PYP “Learning and Teaching” document says, “The PYP framework supports the symbiotic relationship between the learner, learning and teaching and the learning community.” This statement leads us to see the connection between strategies for creating learning and teaching with the learner in mind as well as the need to create a collaborative learning environment.
Strategies for curriculum development
The school’s Programme of Inquiry (POI) is the flexible framework for organizing the curriculum horizontally and vertically. The POI is a table or grid structure with the six transdisciplinary themes on one side and the school’s grade levels on the other. A strategy for creating the POI as a coherent curriculum overview includes a three step process of identification, connection, and reflection. The grade level teams will work together to form the units of instruction overview. In their work they will:
- use the descriptors to identify common concepts within the themes and any required standards.
- utilize the connections identified to map out conceptual understandings from the standards
- develop a scope and sequence
Each of the grade level’s work would be combined into the POI framework and reviewed collectively by the instructional staff. Reflection on the transdisciplinary nature, concepts, and coherence of the POI would be analyzed and revised as decided by the staff.
Creating a collaborative learning environment
The PYP “The Learning Community” document describes the importance of a collaborative learning environment in this way, “Collaboration demonstrates a commitment to the common goal of supporting and reflecting on a transdisciplinary learning experience and improving student outcomes.” This description involves collaboration among all members of the learning community. As such, the instructional staff need to have regularly scheduled collaborative meeting times specifically structured for curriculum planning. Common planning time during the work day, at faculty meetings focused on collaboration among specials teams, and on half or full curriculum planning days are essential for working on the units of instruction. The PYP coordinator is an invaluable resource for supporting the staff at these meetings.
Learning environment planning is important to the
design of a collaborative culture in the school and classrooms because they facilitate actions and interactions. Arranging spaces throughout the school and in the classroom for learner to learner collaboration as well as staff, teacher, and learner collaborations require intentionality. To invite and encourage the entire school community towards an IB ethos, furniture arrangements should support group discussions, group work, independent work, project planning, execution of ideas, and the learning plans and process should be displayed to spar on conversation, reflection, and connection.
Collaborative environments are enhanced by using inquiry boards with student notes and questions added, as well as the display of the POI in electronic and physical common areas of the school. The PYP beliefs and values are key to thinking about each learning space. The figure below from the PYP “The Learning Community” document below, illustrates the areas for consideration.
Examples of successful integration in IB subjects
Successful transdisciplinary learning helps students become more knowledgeable about humanity, how the world works, and inspires action. The transdisciplinary theme sparks the students’ wonderings, thinking, and discussion of the unit as it unfolds. The unit has a “central idea” that serve as a guide for the exploration of their questions and wonderings and have enduring value for all students everywhere. Learners construct understandings as they embark on significant, challenging, and relevant learning engagements that intentionally allow for subject areas to be embedded authentically.
Challenges and Solutions in Transdisciplinary Teaching
Common obstacles and how to overcome them
There are typical challenges that arise when planning transdisciplinary teaching. One challenge may be creating processes and procedures for scheduling common planning time, especially for support and special areas teachers for collaboration with grade level teachers. Solutions may include being certain that all teachers can access the units of instruction easily. Another might include having meeting time with the grade level teachers and specialists before or after the school year begins or at faculty meetings. Teachers might also benefit from ongoing informal conversations as they function as a schoolwide professional learning community.
Incorporating state, national and local requirements into the POI is also challenging. In addition to the steps provided in the “Strategies for curriculum development” section above, remember that these standards are the minimum of what is expected and the PYP framework and practices allow for going beyond those minimum standards in a meaningful way.
Tips for assessment and feedback in a transdisciplinary framework:
When thinking about providing feedback to learners in a transdisciplinary framework collaboration is essential. Collaboration among all the teachers involved with the students for each grade level’s units will help with incorporating as many of the disciplines’ curriculum standards into the central idea, the driver of the assessment design. Communication about the expectations for learning and showing what is learned can be captured in rubrics that are collectively created. The students can use the rubrics for goal setting, exercise embrace agency, and to provide peer feedback along the way. The central idea serves in the role of the “enduring understanding” that is evaluated. The approaches to learning skills needed to show their understanding of the central idea and are needed to operate in the learning engagements should be planned to be taught explicitly.
Resources and Tools for IB Teachers
Recommended readings and online resources:
To deepen understanding of the transdisciplinary approaches and implementation, please visit the My IB portal to access the following readings and documents:
- Primary Years Programme: Transdisciplinary theme descriptors (2024)
- Primary Years Programme: Transdisciplinary theme descriptors FAQs
- Preparing for the new PYP subject guidance (2024)
- Primary Years Programme Learning and Teaching
- Primary Years Programme The Learning Community
The following linked resources are also listed below as additional opportunities to learn more about transdisciplinary approaches:
- PYP Programme brochure
- An exploration of the policy and practice of transdisciplinarity in the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme Research Summary
- An Exploration of the Policy and Practice of Transdisciplinarity in the IB PYP Programme
- Transdisciplinary Integrated Curriculum: An Analysis of Teacher Experiences through a Design Model within the Framework of IB-PYP
Professional development opportunities for IB educators
In a PYP school, professional development occurs every day formally and informally. Collaborations in grade level meetings, faculty meetings, curriculum planning days or times, and hallway conversations are all a part of the ongoing professional development culture. The IB’s My IB platform provides additional opportunities to learn, including the Programme Resource Centre and IB Exchange areas. The IB’s public website also has free learning opportunities in the PYP Nano PD and PYP Playlist resources. CASIE provides IB workshops, CASIE Presents, and tailored consulting that addresses the individual/school needs and build capacity for delivering a high quality transdisciplinary learning environment.
Communities and Forums for Sharing Ideas
How to engage with other IB teachers worldwide
To engage with other PYP educators in the world, go to My IB and to the Programme Communities icon to join.
Platforms for collaboration and resource exchange
For additional collaboration with the wider PYP community, go the My IB and to the IB Exchange icon and visit CASIE’s resources and blog.
Transdisciplinary Learning in IB
Transdisciplinary learning in the PYP can be summarized with this quote from the PYP “Learning and Teaching” document:
“Transdisciplinarity “concerns that which is at once between the disciplines, across the different disciplines, and beyond all disciplines” (Nicolescu 2014: 187). Nicolescu notes that a key imperative of transdisciplinary learning is to unite knowledge for the understanding of the present world.”
The IB is a student-centered philosophy with supporting frameworks that beacons us as school communities to create educational experiences for a better world. The IB learner profile is the IB’s mission statement in action and the clear, succinct outcomes for every IB student. With a transdisciplinary PYP experience, learners will be impacted and empowered to make a difference in the world as they grow in the embodiment of the learner profile. This makes continuous learning about how to deliver the PYP so rewarding. Join CASIE’s professional development opportunities to be prepared to implement transformational education.
