Embracing Flexibility in the PYP

If you are a PYP teacher or coordinator, you’ve probably heard these questions often. And while they may sound simple, the answers reveal one of the PYP’s greatest strengths: its flexibility.

The Numbers That Matter

The only clear “numbers” you’ll find in the PYP are:

• Units of inquiry: Minimum 4 for learners aged 3–6, 6 units in other grade levels (except the final year of the PYP, where schools may plan 5 units because of the PYP Exhibition).

“For learners from three to six years of age, a minimum of four units should be planned for each year, two of which need to be “Who we are” and ”How we express ourselves”. Learning and Teaching, A transdisciplinary programme of inquiry

• Specified Concepts: 2–3 specified concepts per unit.

Up to three specified concepts that connect to the lines of inquiry have been identified for each unit of inquiry. Checklist for designing a programme of inquiry

• Lines of inquiry: 3–4 per unit.

“Each unit of inquiry contains three or four lines of inquiry; these are written as statements or phrases.” Learning and Teaching, A transdisciplinary programme of inquiry

• Single subject integration in UOI: you can check my previous blog Inside or Outside POI

The school ensures that all subjects are represented within the programme of inquiry at each year or grade level. Standards and practices 2020 (0401-01-0513)

Everything else? Flexible.

Where Schools Have Choice

Schools are free to design their programme of inquiry in ways that reflect their local context and community needs. Here’s where flexibility shines:

• ATLs: The IB doesn’t prescribe a strict sequence. We teach the sub-skills explicitly, and schools can even design their own list of sub-skills and map them vertically.
• Transdisciplinary themes: Schools can choose the order. A useful practice is to align themes across grade levels in the first year of implementation for vertical alignment, but after that, flexibility is key.
• Additional/ other concepts: they are providing depth for the unit, they are from the national curriculum, the scope and sequence of each discipline, and they are helping to write the central idea.
• Central idea: If you adopt a deductive method, you might share the central idea from the start, allowing learners to work directly toward understanding it. If you prefer an inductive method, you may hold back the central idea and instead let students build their own questions and inquiries first, gradually uncovering the big idea together.
• Number of students: I have seen classrooms with 2 PYP students and classrooms with 30 students. The PYP is not about the number of students; it’s about making sure they are all engaged and enjoy the learning process. Of course, the PYP in a classroom with big number of students is challenging, but it doesn’t mean we can’t make it happen.
• Collaborative planning: the IB standards and practices don’t refer to a number, so each school can find a system that works for them.

Coherent curriculum 2: Teachers collaborate to design, plan and deliver the school’s IB programme(s). (0401-02)

• Inquiry cycle: The official IB documents refer to the inquiry process, not a cycle to follow.

This process involves but is not limited to:

• exploring, wondering and questioning
• experimenting and playing with possibilities
• making connections between previous learning and current learning
• making predictions and acting purposefully to see what happens
• collecting data and reporting findings
• clarifying existing ideas and reappraising perceptions of events
• applying concepts to deepen conceptual understanding
• researching and seeking information
• establishing and testing theories
• solving problems in a variety of ways
• collaborating
• taking and defending a position
• sharing and reflecting.

Learning and teaching, Inquiry

• Integration: The IB official documents mention that integration takes place when appropriate and authentic.  You can teach outside the POI, keeping in mind that all subjects are integrated in the POI in each grade level.

Skills-based teaching: This refers to the teaching of subject-specific skills not directly related to units of inquiry but to support mastery and increase students’ skills base in areas such as literacy, numeracy, arts and physical, social and personal education (PSPE). While these skills might be developed outside the programme of inquiry, teachers are mindful that subject-specific skills contribute towards the exploration of the programme of inquiry. Furthermore, teachers continuously monitor, document and measure progress in order to effectively support the mastery of subject-specific skills through grouping and regrouping.

 Learning and teaching, Role of Subject, Developing a transdisciplinary POI

• Timelines: Units don’t have to run for the same number of weeks. The timing depends on depth, context, and school needs.

An inquiry into a central idea considers the breadth and depth of the learning; therefore, a minimum duration of 3–4 weeks is recommended for each unit of inquiry. Learning and Teaching, A transdisciplinary programme of inquiry

Don’t Confuse Requirements with Practices

A common mistake is mixing up IB requirements with “good practices” or, even more, with habits that have become tradition in a school. As coordinators, we must constantly reflect: Is this an IB requirement, or is this just how we’ve always done it?

Flexibility Meets Context

The PYP in a school with 1,000 students will not look the same as the PYP in a school with 20 students. Remember, the PYP is a framework, not a script. Alongside it, we have continuums and subject guides that schools can use, adapt, or adopt depending on their reality.

Focus Beyond Numbers

In the end, the real focus of the PYP is not how many attributes, skills, or integrations but how well we are teaching and learning.

• Are we teaching the sub-skills explicitly in daily practice?
• Are we teaching the specified and additional concepts?
• Are we helping students see authentic connections across disciplines?

Final Thought Numbers can provide structure, but it’s the flexibility of the PYP that allows schools to grow, adapt, and thrive in their unique contexts. Let’s not get stuck counting weeks or sub-skills; we need to stay focused on what matters most: explicit, authentic teaching and learning that supports lifelong inquiry. I invite PYP coordinators and teachers to read and unpack the IB documents; they have answers to most of our questions.