Middle Years Program
(G6-10)
Sharpening academic and self-management abilities through eight core subjects, situated in real-world contexts and culture.
Curriculum Overview
Language and Literature (Chinese and English)
We value language as central to the development of critical thinking, which is essential for cultivating intercultural understanding and responsible membership in local, national and global communities. Language is integral to exploring and sustaining personal development and cultural identity, and provides an intellectual framework that supports the construction of conceptual understanding. As MYP students interact with a range of texts, they generate insight into moral, social, economic, political, cultural and environmental domains. They continually grow in their abilities to form opinions, make decisions, and generate ethical reasoning —all key attributes of an IB learner.
Language Acquisition (Chinese and English)
The ability to communicate in a variety of modes, in more than one language, is essential to the concept of an international education. The language acquisition course provides a linguistic and academic challenge for students in order to facilitate the best possible educational experience. Students are given the opportunity to develop their language skills to their full potential, as well as the possibility of progressing through various phases over the course of the MYP.
Individuals and Societies
Individuals and societies incorporate disciplines traditionally studied in the humanities, as well as disciplines in the social sciences. Students collect, describe and analyze data used in studies of societies, test hypotheses, and learn how to interpret complex information, including original source material. This focus on real-world examples, research and analysis is an essential aspect of the subject group. I&S encourages learners to respect and understand the world around them and equips them with the necessary skills to inquire into historical, contemporary, geographical, political, social, economic, religious, technological and cultural factors that have an impact on individuals, societies and environments. It encourages learners, both students and teachers, to consider local and global contexts.
Sciences
The sciences framework encourages students to investigate issues through research, observation and experimentation, working independently and collaboratively. As they investigate real examples of science application, students will discover the tensions and dependencies between science and morality, ethics, culture, economics, politics, and the environment. Scientific inquiry fosters critical and creative thinking about research and design, as well as the identification of assumptions and alternative explanations. Through MYP sciences, students will learn to appreciate and respect the ideas of others, gain good ethical-reasoning skills and further develop their sense of responsibility as members of local and global communities.
Mathematics
In the IB MYP, mathematics promotes both inquiry and application, helping students to develop problem solving techniques that transcend the discipline and that are useful in the world beyond school. The MYP mathematics framework encompasses number, algebra, geometry and trigonometry, statistics and probability. Students in the MYP learn how to represent information, to explore and model situations, and to find solutions to familiar and unfamiliar problems. These are skills that are useful in a wide range of arenas, including social sciences and the arts. As MYP students interact with a range of texts, they generate insight into moral, social, economic, political, cultural and environmental domains. They continually grow in their abilities to form opinions, make decisions, and generate ethical reasoning —all key attributes of an IB learner. MYP mathematics aims to equip all students with the knowledge, understanding and intellectual capabilities to address further courses in mathematics, as well as to prepare those students who will use mathematics in their studies, workplaces and everyday life. Mathematics provides an important foundation for the study of sciences, engineering and technology, as well as a variety of applications in other fields.
Arts
Students develop through creating, performing and presenting arts in ways that engage and convey feelings, experiences and ideas. It is through this practice that students acquire new skills and master those skills developed in prior learning. Students have opportunities to function as artists, as well as learners of the arts. Arts stimulate young imaginations, challenge perceptions and develop creative and analytical skills. Involvement in the arts encourages students to understand the arts in context and the cultural histories of artworks, supporting the development of an inquiring and empathetic world view. Arts challenge and enrich personal identity and build awareness of the aesthetic in a real-world context.
Design
Design challenges all students to: apply practical and creative thinking skills to solve design problems; explore the role of design in both historical and contemporary contexts; consider their responsibilities when making design decisions and taking action. Design focuses on a holistic design process rather than final products and solutions. MYP uses the design cycle as a way to structure inquiry and analysis of design problems, development and creation of feasible solutions, and testing and evaluation of students’ models, prototypes, products or systems.
Physical and health education
Physical and health education (PHE) empowers students to understand and appreciate the value of being physically active and to develop the motivation for making healthy life choices. PHE focuses on both learning about and learning through physical activity. Both dimensions help students develop ATL skills across the curriculum. MYP PHE courses must engage students in physical education activities for at least half of the total teaching time allocated to the subject group.
Interdisciplinary Learning
One of the key features of the MYP is its emphasis on interdisciplinary teaching and learning. This trait emerges from the challenges and opportunities of educating students in, and for, a highly interconnected world. Although secondary education usefully organizes learning into disciplinary compartments (as a response to increasing specialization), an ever-changing world also demands education that empowers people to integrate disciplines in novel and creative ways. As knowledge and information multiply, critical thinkers must successfully integrate disciplinary perspectives to understand real-world issues, ideas and challenges, and to take action to promote positive changes in societies. Bible acts as one of the interdisciplinary learning in all grade levels. The curriculum is thoughtfully and skillfully organized to focus on God’s story and how it has been revealed to human beings. In each grade-level, core books are chosen, and units of study are designed and implemented. Learning will be through a variety of engaging ways about concepts, knowledge, skills and values within the historical context of the Bible. The Kuei Shan Bible curriculum and instruction can be an excellent and desirable program to help students understand the unique importance of the Bible in history, literature, Christian culture and faith.
MYP Projects
Through the Middle Years Programme (MYP) projects, students experience the responsibility of completing a significant piece of work over an extended period of time. MYP projects encourage students to reflect on their learning and the outcomes of their work – key skills that prepare them for success in further study, the workplace and the community. MYP projects are student-centred and age-appropriate, and they enable students to engage in practical explorations through a cycle of inquiry, action and reflection. Students who complete the MYP in Year 3 or Year 4 complete the community project. All students who complete the MYP in Year 5 complete the personal project. The community project provides an important opportunity for students ages 13-14 to collaborate and pursue service learning. Schools register all MYP Year 5 students for external moderation of the personal project, promoting a global standard of quality.
MYP Core
Service as Action (SA)
Service as action (SA) in the MYP is an essential component of the learning process. Not only is it an educational philosophy, but a practical outcome of learning. SA opportunities can be intentionally built in during the unit planning stage. A teacher either adds a specific learning engagement to meet curriculum objectives, provide students with ideas that they can take action themselves, or use a global context to encourage students to initialize their own inquiry into the local situation of a global issue. Kuei Shan students have ample and authentic SA involvement to meet the MYP SA expectation. See examples below:
SA Example 1: G8 Language & Literature
「根據《解憂雜貨店》的內容與主旨，G8學生進行一個月的「解憂信箱」活動，透過信件方式為G6-8學生提供煩惱諮詢。並在總結性評量中選擇一件煩惱，仿照小說內容與形式進行改寫。藉此活動培養學生之同理心並站在他人的立場，提供建議與幫助。」
SA Example 3: G10 Design
"Taiwan is a rapidly aging society but our infrastructure has yet to reflect the level of empathy needed to provide our future elders a honorable life. Students will investigate the needs of an aging person, including the benefits of aging-in-place, in addition to intimtaely knowing the emotional and experiential needs of their client. In response, students will use SketchUp to design their home to be age-proof and fitting for when their parents are 80 years old."
SA Example 2: G9 Individuals and Societies
"As part of the 'Kaleidoscope Cultural Preservation Museum Project' this task aims to preserve the uniqueness of world culture by recording the minority culture of the developing world via student-made websites. Each person contributes 7-10 separate cultural threads and 30 items of culture in total to their sites. The project is motivated by the effects of globalization in creating a shared world culture that overpowers respective national cultures. Each site uses a multimedia approach and will be [shared] to allow the school community to increase its international mindedness and awareness of the cultures of the world."
Personal Project
All units in all MYP subjects can inspire students for their personal project (PP). The Kuei Shan personal project guide provides details on aims, objectives, prescribed concepts, assessment criteria, and timeline for students to spend approximately 25 hours on their PP. PP is an internal assessment moderated externally by the IB. Kuei Shan registers all Grade 10 students for PP and have received awesome results which are an indicator of Kuei Shan MYP students' higher academic and personal skills.
Extracurricular
Student-led Academic and
Service Clubs
Club participation, 77% Service, 53% Academic. Service teams include: Northern Thailand outreach team, Taitung rural area outreach team, and Hsinchu mountainous area outreach team.
Sports
High school sports (Inter-murals) 3 varsity teams, 6 junior varsity teams.
Music Clubs
G10/11 55% participation in choir, percussion band, and orchestra (each performing twice a year).
