Teaching and Learning in the I-EP Primary School
Teaching and Learning in the I-EP Primary School

The mission statement for the I-EP primary school is to make our learners “global citizens that are grounded in Chinese Culture.” This mission statement means that  learning in I-EP is a unique and exciting experience as we balance international education with Chinese Tradition.

 

I-EP primary school is an IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) candidate school. The IB PYP is a socio-constructivist, inquiry-based mode for learning and teaching. This means that we believe our students build their understanding of the world based upon their prior knowledge. We then alter the student’s schemas through the process of assimilation and accommodation.

 

We believe that learning and teaching should be transdisciplinary. By teaching with a transdisciplinary mindset, it allows for learning to transcend single disciplines. By doing this, it allows for the learning and understanding to be more profound, and it also shows that knowledge is interconnected.

 

To help us achieve this, we have our POI (programme of inquiry). The POI consists of six units with a transdisciplinary theme covering a range of topics. The themes are:

 

•    Who we are

•    Where we are in place and time

•    How we express ourselves

•    How the world works

•    How we organise ourselves

•    Sharing the plan

 

Each theme has a vast scope to explore. These are explored from Grade One to Grade Six. As the students’ progress through I-EP primary school, the central idea for each unit increases in complexity and abstractness. This challenges students further as they become older and can understand the world around them.

 

As our mission states, we want students to be global citizens that are grounded in Chinese Culture. To help us achieve this, in I-EP we teach the Chinese National Curriculum. However, the curriculum is taught with international pedagogies.  Additionally, we make sure that our units of inquiry relate to China and it’s culture, whether this is focusing on Chinese Arts or China’s place in the world.

 

To become global citizens, it is crucial that students have a firm grasp of the English language. At present, I-EP has multiple classes in English and currently operates with 50% of its classes in English. The vision is to increase this percentage. This immersion in the English language allows our students to develop their English ability.

 

In I-EP we believe that students need to have the opportunity to express themselves in a variety of methods. Students also need opportunities to learn about themselves and to engage in physical pursuits. To allow students to access these pursuits, students are provided with music, drama, and art lessons. We also have P.E. lessons four times a week. These subjects are also taught within the context of the POI, which means that students learning becomes multi-dimensional.

 

We believe that students need to be technically literate to face the challenges of the modern world. To ensure that students are prepared for these challenges, we offer I.C.T classes. In these classes students learn programming, students learn about robotics, students will also learn about digital citizenship, and students also learn Microsoft office skills. These are all taught within the context of the UOI. These skills are essential for students as they progress through school and unto University and beyond.

 

In I-EP, students are presented with opportunities to further their learning in extra-curricular activities. These activities range from languages (e.g., Cantonese and French), sports (Rugby and Football), arts (Ceramics and Painting), Sciences/Technology (Space Club and 3D printing club), as well as many more. These extracurricular activities allows the students to learn about new and exciting topics and develop skills and find talents that they may not have been able to find.

 

In I-EP, through our dynamic learning and teaching opportunities, our mission and vision, and our commitment to becoming an IB PYP school, we are making lifelong learners who are creators, thinkers, inventors of the next generation. Not only this, we are making students who are global citizens while retaining their Chinese culture.