Primary Years Programme

Exhibition guidelines
 Primary Years Programme

Exhibition guidelines
 Primary Years Programme
Exhibition guidelines

Published July 2008

International Baccalaureate
Peterson House, Malthouse Avenue, Cardiff Gate
Cardiff, Wales GB CF23 8GL
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 29 2054 7777
Fax: +44 29 2054 7778
Website: http://www.ibo.org

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2008

The International Baccalaureate (IB) offers three high quality and challenging
educational programmes for a worldwide community of schools, aiming to create
a better, more peaceful world.

The IB is grateful for permission to reproduce and/or translate any copyright

material used in this publication. Acknowledgments are included, where
appropriate, and, if notified, the IB will be pleased to rectify any errors or omissions
at the earliest opportunity.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior
written permission of the IB, or as expressly permitted by law or by the IB’s own
rules and policy. See http://www.ibo.org/copyright.

IB merchandise and publications can be purchased through the IB store at

http://store.ibo.org. General ordering queries should be directed to the sales and
marketing department in Cardiff.

Phone: +44 29 2054 7746

Fax: +44 29 2054 7779
Email: [email protected]

Printed in the United Kingdom by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire PYP101
 IB mission statement
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to
create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop
challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners
who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

IB learner profile
The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common
humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.

IB learners strive to be:

Inquirers They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry
and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this
love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.

Knowledgeable They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so
doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and
balanced range of disciplines.

Thinkers They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize
and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.

Communicators They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more
than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively
and willingly in collaboration with others.

Principled They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect
for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for
their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.

Open-minded They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open
to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are
accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow
from the experience.

Caring They show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others.
They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the
lives of others and to the environment.

Risk-takers They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought,
and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are
brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.

Balanced They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to
achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.

Reflective They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able
to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning
and personal development.

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007

Contents

Exhibition guidelines 1
Introduction 1
Purpose 1
Essential features of the exhibition 1
Roles in the exhibition 2
Organizing the exhibition 5
Collaboration within the exhibition 6
Staging the exhibition 7
The use of ICT 7
Practices in the exhibition 8
Student guidelines 9
PYP exhibition planner 11
Monitoring of the exhibition 16
Exhibition materials on the OCC 16
Exhibition reflection tool 17

Exhibition guidelines
Exhibition guidelines

Introduction
The Primary Years Programme (PYP) exhibition represents a significant event in the life of a PYP school and
student, synthesizing the essential elements of the PYP and sharing them with the whole school community.
As a culminating experience it is an opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the International
Baccalaureate (IB) learner profile that have been developing throughout their engagement with the PYP.

In the students’ final year of the PYP, which occurs in some schools at age 10–11 and in others at age 11–12,
there are five units of inquiry and the exhibition*. The exhibition unit takes place under any transdisciplinary
theme at the discretion of the school. Students are required to engage in a collaborative, transdisciplinary
inquiry process that involves them in identifying, investigating and offering solutions to real-life issues
or problems. The central idea selected must be of sufficient scope and significance to warrant a detailed
investigation by all students.

*Only IB World Schools offering the PYP are required to participate in the exhibition although candidate
schools may choose to do so.

Purpose
The PYP exhibition has a number of key purposes:

• for students to engage in an in-depth, collaborative inquiry

• to provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate independence and responsibility for their
own learning
• to provide students with an opportunity to explore multiple perspectives
• for students to synthesize and apply their learning of previous years and to reflect upon their journey
through the PYP
• to provide an authentic process for assessing student understanding
• to demonstrate how students can take action as a result of their learning
• to unite the students, teachers, parents and other members of the school community in a collaborative
experience that incorporates the essential elements of the PYP
• to celebrate the transition of learners from primary to middle/secondary education.

Essential features of the exhibition

As the culminating PYP experience, it is required that the exhibition reflects all the major features of the
programme. Therefore it must:

• provide an opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the IB learner profile that have been
developing throughout their engagement with the PYP
• incorporate all the key concepts; an understanding of the key concepts should be demonstrated by
the application of key questions throughout the inquiry process

Exhibition guidelines 1
• synthesize aspects of all six transdisciplinary themes
• require students to use skills from all five sets of transdisciplinary skills (see Making the PYP happen:
A curriculum framework for international primary education, 2007, figure 8); students should be given
the opportunity to develop and apply skills from all the transdisciplinary skill areas in their exhibition
inquiry
• offer the students the opportunity to explore knowledge that is significant and relevant
• offer opportunities for students to display attitudes (see Making the PYP happen: A curriculum framework
for international primary education, 2007, figure 9) that relate to people, the environment and their
learning; these attitudes should be evident throughout the process
• provide opportunities for students to engage in action; students should demonstrate an ability to
reflect on and apply their learning to choose appropriate courses of action and carry them out; this
action may take the form of personal involvement with the planning and implementation of the
exhibition and/or service-orientated action; action may not always be clearly or immediately visible
or measurable but evidence should be recorded whenever a particular behaviour results from the
learning involved
• represent a process where students are engaged in a collaborative and student-led, in-depth inquiry
facilitated by teachers; records should be kept that reflect the process of planning and student
engagement with the exhibition
• include ongoing and rigorous assessment of the exhibition process; this assessment should take two
forms: firstly, ongoing assessment of each individual student’s contribution to and understanding of
the exhibition; secondly, a summative assessment and reflection on the event itself.

Roles in the exhibition

All members of the school community have important roles to play in the exhibition.

Role of student
Students will:

• have an understanding of the purpose and requirements of the exhibition from the outset of the
process (guidelines and planning instructions should be provided by the teacher or mentor)
• participate in selecting a real-life issue or problem for the exhibition
• develop the inquiry by helping to decide on a central idea, lines of inquiry and student questions
• collaboratively plan learning and assessment experiences; these should involve independent and
collaborative work and students should be involved in all stages of the planning and staging of the
exhibition
• carry out an open-ended inquiry into a real-life issue or problem
• demonstrate an understanding of the components of the PYP, in particular the IB learner profile; the
students involved in the exhibition should be given an opportunity to demonstrate their learning and
the development of the attributes of the IB learner profile
• demonstrate an understanding of the five essential elements—knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes
and action
• select and utilize a variety of strategies and resources to meet the outcomes of the inquiry; wherever
possible, students should use a variety of source materials, such as first-hand experiences, interviews,

2 Exhibition guidelines
 surveys, field visits, artifacts, science investigations, working models, not just book and/or Internet
research
• be academically honest when referring to their sources of information
• communicate effectively with teachers, peers and parents
• reflect on the components of and processes involved in the exhibition; they should keep a journal or
portfolio of their planning, draft pieces of work, sketches and photographs of work in progress as well
as the final product
• carry out self-assessment and peer assessment
• celebrate their learning by presenting the exhibition to the school community.

Role of teacher
Teachers will:

• have an understanding of the purpose and requirements of the exhibition from the outset of the
process
• initiate, facilitate and guide the exhibition process; teachers should facilitate the process of the
exhibition rather than teaching directly, with the exception of particular skills and/or knowledge that
is required in order for the students to proceed with their chosen inquiry
• provide support for student inquiries, enabling students to overcome any problems encountered in
the process
• plan collaboratively with other teachers
• communicate regularly with students, parents and other participants
• act as mentors as required or appropriate
• develop essential agreements with students regarding academic honesty to ensure that they are
taking responsibility for their learning and being principled in the resources they are using; mentors
and parents should be informed of these agreements
• encourage students to use a balance of primary and secondary sources; help students to access
information; and ensure they know how to cite sources used in research
• ensure the participation of all students by considering their interests, accommodating learning styles
and needs, and by determining prior knowledge
• empower the students to feel able to take action as a result of the exhibition
• assess the exhibition process ensuring all the essential elements are included
• keep detailed records of the processes involved including ongoing reflection
• encourage and join in with students to celebrate their learning.

Role of parent/guardian
Parents/guardians will:

• have an understanding of the purpose and requirements of the exhibition

• support and encourage students and teachers throughout the process of inquiry
• be informed by reading newsletters, attending meetings, checking school websites, talking with
students

Exhibition guidelines 3
• help students to access resources—people, places, media and information
• provide expert subject knowledge where applicable
• act as mentors as required or appropriate
• encourage independent inquiry and respect student ownership of the process
• have an opportunity to reflect on and give feedback on the exhibition
• celebrate with the students by attending the staging of the exhibition.

Role of PYP coordinator and principal

The PYP coordinator and principal will:

• have an understanding of the requirements, and value the purpose of the exhibition
• provide support for teachers and students involved in the exhibition
• provide opportunities for relevant professional development and support
• promote the exhibition in the school
• allocate sufficient time for teachers to plan collaboratively on the exhibition
• allocate sufficient funding to provide appropriate resources
• celebrate with the students by attending the staging of the exhibition.

Role of other teachers within the school

The success of the exhibition within a school can be facilitated in a number of ways. The school needs to
plan carefully in advance so that it has the correct structure in place when the final-year students begin their
exhibition plans.

The teachers of the earlier grade levels/year groups in the school should:

• be informed about the exhibition

• implement a programme of inquiry that reflects the PYP
• provide experience of the five essential elements
• provide opportunities for student-led inquiry
• consider how their teaching supports and contributes to the exhibition
• help students construct meaning through problem-based learning.

Role of mentor
If a school uses mentors, it is important that their role is clearly defined. A mentor can help the students set
and meet their goals by asking questions, suggesting resources, helping to interpret difficult information
and facilitating interviews or telephone calls. Community members, older students, parents and teachers
may be invited to act as mentors.

Some examples of mentor participation include the following.

• Members of the school community are encouraged to identify areas (knowledge, skills and interests)
where they could support the students, and an inventory of “experts” is developed. Students contact
these experts and arrange support as needed.
• Each group of students is assigned a mentor who will support the group through the process leading
towards the exhibition. Groups will meet with their mentors on a weekly basis or as needed. The

4 Exhibition guidelines
 mentor will guide the students and help them monitor their progress, assisting them in setting new
goals. They are responsible for some aspects of student assessment. Ultimately, the students are
responsible for the completion of work.
• The mentor’s primary role is to act as a guide and resource in the accomplishment of specific tasks
during the exhibition process. Members of the school community are invited to mentor in one or
more areas of interest or expertise, for example, research, writing, or information and communication
technology (ICT). They are available at different stages of the exhibition. For instance, in the early
stages of the inquiry, research mentors come in two to three times a week. Mentors have a purely
advisory role, and while they do not participate in the summative assessment of the exhibition, they
may contribute to formative assessments regarding their area of support, as well as reflecting on the
exhibition process.
• After the students have written their central idea for their inquiry, teachers and other adults within
the school who have nominated themselves for the mentoring role are matched up with a group of
students. The students are responsible for contacting and organizing meetings with their mentor.
The mentors are encouraged to meet the students at least three times in the beginning stages of the
exhibition but may reduce their involvement over time to increase student responsibility. They are
not involved in formal assessment but are encouraged to make anecdotal observations and to give
feedback to the students and teachers.

Organizing the exhibition

The timing of the exhibition is at the discretion of the school. As the exhibition needs to be planned
thoroughly, the planning process should begin early in the school year with full engagement with the
exhibition occurring during the final term. Many schools find it best for the exhibition to be the last unit
of the year, allowing students the most available time in the PYP to develop their knowledge, skills and
understanding. Other schools have found it beneficial to stage the exhibition slightly earlier in the year to
allow more time for reflection and assessment of the exhibition, and for inclusion in end-of-year reports or
student–parent conferences.

In the initial stages of planning, the teachers responsible for facilitating the exhibition should:

• decide how the real-life issue or problem will be identified and selected
• review the previous year’s exhibition planner, in particular the reflections
• inform students, staff and parents of the purpose and general guidelines for the exhibition
• collaborate with others to establish participation (for example, mentors, single-subject teachers)
• schedule a time frame for the inquiry process, including a date for the staging of the exhibition, and
book any facilities or rooms as required
• anticipate resources needed (for example, Internet access, audio-visual equipment, art and technology
materials, science equipment)
• establish budgetary limitations if any
• consult the sample exhibition materials (PYP exhibition) on the online curriculum centre (OCC) and the
sample documents included in the HTML version of PYP Exhibition guidelines (2008).
It is a requirement that students are actively and productively involved in all stages of the exhibition from
planning to final presentation. In the same way that teachers use the PYP planner to facilitate planning for
inquiry, an adapted version of the planner may be developed for use by the students in the exhibition. The
students should collaborate with teachers and other students on identifying the local issue or problem to
be explored. (The issue may have global significance but should be based on local experiences.) Students

Exhibition guidelines 5
should also have the opportunity to collaborate with teachers and other students to develop the central
idea, identify the intended learning outcomes, determine the criteria for success, and contribute to planning
the learning experiences that may take place.

The exhibition should be viewed as a process and the components involved need to be identified by the
students and teachers. A possible list of the components might be the following.

• Identify the purpose of the exhibition.

• Identify a real-life local issue of sufficient depth.
• Identify intended learning outcomes.
• Establish assessment and success criteria.
• Decide on a timescale.
• Clarify the roles of students, staff and other members of the school community.
• Organize mentoring/parental involvement.
• Identify and select appropriate resources.
• Gather information.
• Clarify appropriate action.
• Stage the exhibition.
• Assess the whole process.
• Celebrate and reflect upon the achievement.

Collaboration within the exhibition

There is a range of acceptable ways to group students for participation in the exhibition provided that the
essential features of the exhibition are included and all students participate fully. Examples of different
grouping strategies include the following.

• The whole grade level/year group selects one exhibition issue or problem and the same central idea.
• The whole grade level/year group selects one exhibition issue or problem, with a different central idea
for each class or cluster of students within the larger group.
• Each class or cluster of students in the whole grade level/year group selects a different exhibition issue
or theme and corresponding central idea.
Whichever grouping strategies are employed, the students should be aware that the exhibition is a
collaborative inquiry involving all students in the grade level/year group. There should be regular sharing of
work in progress and students should show a genuine sense of participation in a collaborative effort.

The exhibition should clearly provide the opportunity for students to participate and be assessed in an
authentic learning situation—where the central idea(s) are specifically about a real-life issue or problem.

6 Exhibition guidelines
Staging the exhibition
It is a requirement that the exhibition is shared with members of the wider school community. There are
many formats a sharing event could take, for example, an interactive display, a performance, a debate, or a
combination of formats.

The exhibition should include the following.

• Examples of written work in a variety of formats and styles: poetry, reports, persuasive texts
• Oral presentations, individually or in groups, to the school community
• Uses of technology including ICT, working models, designs, science experiments
• Performances or compositions in any medium: dance, music, drama, visual arts, film, video, mixed
media

The use of ICT

ICT can play an important role in the success of an exhibition. Students are not required to use ICT in
the exhibition but it provides several practical and creative solutions to support the exhibition where
appropriate.

ICT enables worldwide access to primary and secondary sources of data. It offers technical equipment,
communication options and environments to reflect on the data acquired (emails, websites, blogs, wikis,
virtual learning environments or platforms). It also provides tools to record and organize various kinds or
combinations of data, such as digital images, videos, written and oral texts, art, music, animations, as well as
environments where this data can be presented and shared.

ICT can provide an environment in which students record, organize, analyse and reflect on their learning
during the exhibition (by using appropriate software, virtual learning environments, school intranet). For
example, a class, group or individual blog can be an effective tool for recording the exhibition process and
a way of communicating this process with peers, teachers, mentors, parents and the wider community.
ICT also provides different opportunities for staging and presenting the exhibition, for instance, the use of
digital images and videos, audio, digital portfolios, websites, data projectors and commercially produced
publishing software.

Where ICT is used in an exhibition, students should be encouraged to be principled in the use of digital
libraries, digital images or other data acquired with the help of technology by following the school’s
guidelines to encourage academic honesty.

Exhibition guidelines 7
Practices in the exhibition
Many of the practices in the following table are relevant to all areas of teaching and learning in the PYP.
During the exhibition there should be many opportunities for student leadership and ownership, and
therefore these practices are worth sharing with members of the school community.

The PYP exhibition

Increased emphasis on: Decreased emphasis on:

Flexible timetabling within an extended time Fixed timetabling and time frame
frame

Range of assessments developed with students Teacher-determined assessment and feedback

with input from other members of the community from teacher only

Students reflecting on and keeping evidence of Students showing final products

learning throughout the process

Personal responsibility, management and Teacher management of student input and

accountability by students involvement

Community-based inquiry: working with and School- or classroom-based inquiry: inquiry

presenting to the school and wider community process and presentation limited to class or grade
level

Teacher as facilitator and observer Teacher as instructional leader

Utilizing a range of teachers, mentors, advisors, Classroom teacher(s) as sole advisor/expert

specialists

Student empowerment—direct student Teacher/adults responsible for selecting the topic

involvement in selection of issue, development and planning the inquiry
of central ideas and planning, organization and
presentation of the inquiry

8 Exhibition guidelines
Student guidelines
These guidelines may be copied or adapted to give to students.

The exhibition holds a place of special importance in the PYP, and you will be working on it for some time.
Participating in the exhibition will demonstrate your learning in the PYP. The exhibition will involve others
(for example, you may work in a small group or become involved with an organization outside the school),
and your participation and your work will be assessed. Your teacher will assess your planning and learning,
including your reflections, the methods you use, the way you link your exhibition to the transdisciplinary
themes and any forms of action that you engage in as a result. Your teacher or mentor will share with you
the criteria for this assessment.

The development of the exhibition in your school may include the following.

1. Discussing possible real-life issues or problems to be investigated

2. Posing questions that help to define the central idea and to decide upon the lines of inquiry
3. Planning the exhibition
4. Gathering the necessary material
5. Recording and reflecting
6. Presenting the exhibition
Your teachers may develop a modified PYP planner to help you through the process of planning and
participating in the exhibition.

1. Discussing possible real-life issues or problems to be investigated

With other members of your learning community, take some time to reflect on the transdisciplinary themes
and the inquiries that you have been involved with over the past few years. This could result in discussions,
about issues or problems you have noticed in your school or local area, which could lead to an in-depth
inquiry. These issues could be directly connected to your school or local area, and they may also be relevant
to children in other parts of the world. You should talk with your teacher about your ideas and questions to
see if they could become the basis for your exhibition. Your teacher and the other students may have ideas
too, and you should give all the ideas careful consideration before making a final decision.

2. Posing questions that help to define the central idea and to decide
upon the lines of inquiry
When the issue or problem has been selected, you will need to have a basic understanding of the issue and
be able to explain why it is important in order to investigate it in more depth. Some ideas for exploring the
issue include the following.

• Discuss your ideas with different people, both inside and outside school.
• Visit a local site.
• Identify and look at available books and resources.
• Consider how the issue connects to the transdisciplinary themes.
These explorations could help you to form a better understanding of the issue and to develop a central
idea to explain the significance of your inquiry. Thinking about the PYP concepts (form, function, causation,
change, connection, perspective, responsibility and reflection) that are related to this issue could help you
construct questions to guide your inquiries.

Exhibition guidelines 9
It is useful to identify the lines of inquiry you will follow in order to explore your questions and develop
your understanding of the central idea. The central idea, lines of inquiry and questions will help you to stay
focused during this investigation and help you find out about your exhibition issue.

This may be the first time you have been involved in such a detailed investigation. It is important that you
(and your group) have a discussion with your teacher and/or mentor to see if your ideas are realistic and
achievable.

3. Planning the exhibition

Now that you have decided on the purpose and scope of your inquiry, you can plan the next part of
the process. You should write down ideas for how you will explore and develop your understanding of
your central idea and questions within the defined lines of inquiry. In your group, ask questions such as:
Where do we find the materials and resources we need? Who might have useful information? What kind of
experiences might inform our inquiries? Do we need to carry out any experiments? Do we need to prepare a
questionnaire or survey? What kind of technology will we need to have access to?

Choose sources and resource materials carefully; by looking at a variety of different sources, you can
improve the quality of your exhibition. Other sources can also help you: a reference book might have a useful
bibliography; the person you interview might have a further suggestion for your inquiries; an experiment
might lead to other investigations. When you have found a source of information, it is important to consider
the possible bias of this information and how useful it is going to be.

4. Gathering the necessary material

Always write down the source of your material. This information will vary according to the type of source
consulted.

• A printed text: record the author(s), title, publisher and date of publication
• A website: record the website address (for example, http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus
/index.html)
• An interview: record the name, address, role of the person and the date of the interview
• An experiment: record the equipment and method used, the results and conclusions
• A work of art: record the title, artist and reference (museum, recording) if appropriate

5. Recording and reflecting

You will need to reflect on your exhibition in a constructive way. Making regular entries in a journal of all
your ideas, decisions and actions to record your progress as you work on the exhibition can clearly show
the work you have been engaged in as well as how your understanding of the issue is developing. It should
be filled in regularly to show you how your exhibition is progressing. A journal can also be used to show
your mentor the progress being made. These reflections should be supported by recorded evidence of
the process. This evidence could include photographic and video evidence, interview notes, feedback and
comments from your peers, teachers and/or mentors and parents.

6. Presenting the exhibition

Towards the end of the exhibition, you will need to think carefully about how you wish to present the results
of your inquiries. You must always consider your presentation from other people’s perspectives.

• Be informed about the material you choose to present. You will need to be able to answer any
questions about it confidently.
• Discuss the presentation with your teacher and/or your mentor before you start working on it.

10 Exhibition guidelines
• Use diagrams, drawings and/or photographs to add to the clarity of the presentation.
• Look at the examples of exhibitions that other students have done in your school in the past, in
particular the formats they have used to present their ideas.
• Make sure your presentation is clear, informative and appropriate for a range of audiences.
• And, finally, you should celebrate your learning.

PYP exhibition planner

The following planner provides information and prompts that might be useful to a school as it goes through
the process of preparing for the exhibition.

Exhibition guidelines 11
12
Planning the inquiry

1. What is our purpose? Class/grade: Age group:

To inquire into the following:
School: School code:

Title:
• transdisciplinary theme

Reflecting on the transdisciplinary themes and prior units of inquiry may Teacher(s):
help in the selection of exhibition issues.
Date: PYP planner
The selected inquiry may reflect one or more of the transdisciplinary
themes.
Proposed duration: number of hours over number of weeks

• central idea 2. What do we want to learn?

What are the key concepts (form, function, causation, change, connection,
The central idea should demonstrate the significance of the issue and perspective, responsibility, reflection) to be emphasized within this
should be established collaboratively with input from both students and inquiry?
teachers.
Consider the key concepts that relate to the central idea and
collaboratively develop questions that will help deepen the students’
Summative assessment task(s): understanding of the exhibition issue.

What are the possible ways of assessing students’ understanding of the central What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central
idea? What evidence, including student-initiated actions, will we look for? idea?
Through a collaborative process, students and teachers will identify the
Identify the elements of the exhibition to be assessed and establish lines of inquiry they will pursue to explore the issue. The lines of inquiry
assessment criteria for and with the students. should help the students to stay focused during the investigation.
There should be assessment of each individual student’s contribution to What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries?
and understanding of the exhibition.
At the beginning of the exhibition process, consider ways in which The focus during the exhibition will be on student questions and inquiries.
evidence of students’ understanding of the exhibition issue and their However, the following questions may help students and teachers to
participation in the exhibition process can be collected. establish agreements about the nature of the exhibition in their school
setting.
• What is a PYP exhibition like?
• How does a PYP exhibition work?
• How is the exhibition connected to other units?
• What roles are involved in the exhibition?
• What responsibilities accompany each of the roles?
• How will we know if the exhibition has achieved its purpose?

Exhibition guidelines
 Planning the inquiry

3. How might we know what we have learned? 4. How best might we learn?
This column should be used in conjunction with “How best might we learn?” What are the learning experiences suggested by the teacher and/or
students to encourage the students to engage with the inquiries and
What are the possible ways of assessing students’ prior knowledge and address the driving questions?
skills? What evidence will we look for?

There should be ongoing formative assessment of the process as well as Learning experiences should be identified in collaboration with the

Exhibition guidelines
summative assessment of the exhibition. students.
Students should be aware of the criteria being used to assess their There will be a variety of whole-class, group and individual experiences
performance and participation in the exhibition. There should be many that recognize a range of learning styles and intelligences, and lead to
opportunities to reflect on their own learning and to assess their own work student inquiry.
as well as that of their peers.
Learning experiences should provide an opportunity for students to apply
If a school uses mentors, they could be asked to give feedback to students and demonstrate prior knowledge and skills rather than requiring or
throughout the process of the exhibition. introducing large amounts of new learning.
Evidence can be collected throughout the exhibition process and may Links to assessment should be made explicit to the students.
include planners, photographic and video evidence, interview notes, draft
writing, and feedback and comments from peers, teachers, mentors and
parents.
What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and
for the development of the attributes of the learner profile?
What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of
the lines of inquiry? What evidence will we look for? There will be opportunities to demonstrate a wide range of transdisciplinary
skills.
In addition to assessing the process of the exhibition, there should be an
opportunity to assess the students’ understanding of the essential All the attributes of the IB learner profile will be demonstrated throughout
elements in relation to the central idea. the exhibition.

Learning experiences should allow students to make connections between All the PYP attitudes will be demonstrated throughout the exhibition.
the central idea, the lines of inquiry and the transdisciplinary themes.

5. What resources need to be gathered?

What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available?
How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate the inquiry?

Identify all available resources—rooms, equipment, technologies, staff members (including all single-subject teachers), parents, mentors.
Identify resources the students will use in their exhibition, ensuring diversity and a range of source materials.
Local resources, such as sites, experts, organizations and artifacts, should be utilized as much as possible to ensure that the inquiry is locally relevant (and globally
significant).

13
14
Reflecting on the inquiry

6. To what extent did we achieve our purpose? 7. To what extent did we include the elements of the PYP?
Assess the outcome of the inquiry by providing evidence of students’ What were the learning experiences that enabled students to:
understanding of the central idea. The reflections of all teachers involved
in the planning and teaching of the inquiry should be included. • develop an understanding of the concepts identified in “What do
we want to learn?”
• demonstrate the learning and application of particular
How you could improve on the assessment task(s) so that you would have transdisciplinary skills?
a more accurate picture of each student’s understanding of the central
idea. • develop particular attributes of the learner profile and/or attitudes?
In each case, explain your selection.

What was the evidence that connections were made between the central
idea and the transdisciplinary theme?

At the beginning of the exhibition process, consider ways in which evidence of students’
understanding of the exhibition issue and their participation in the exhibition process can be collected.
There should be opportunities for students and teachers to reflect on all aspects of the exhibition
throughout the process.
The “exhibition reflection tool” in this document is based on standard D2 of the IB Programme
standards and practices (2005) and will be useful when assessing the exhibition and suggesting
actions for the following year.
Parents and other visitors may be asked to assess and/or reflect on the exhibition using established
criteria.
Schools are required to keep a record of their exhibition. This record could include evidence of
assessment and reflection including examples of student work.

Exhibition guidelines
 Reflecting on the inquiry

8. What student-initiated inquiries arose from the learning? 9. Teacher notes

Record a range of student-initiated inquiries and student questions and
highlight any that were incorporated into the teaching and learning.

Exhibition guidelines
At this point teachers should go back to box 2 “What do we want to learn?” and
highlight the teacher questions/provocations that were most effective in driving the
inquiries.

What student-initiated actions arose from the learning?

Record student-initiated actions taken by individuals or groups showing their
ability to reflect, to choose and to act.

Participation in the exhibition may be considered action, as the

students are fully involved in the planning, development and
presentation of their work.
The exhibition may lead to action in a range of forms: students sharing
their new understandings with their peers, their teachers and their
parents; changing their behaviour in response to their learning; and
recognizing that they are able to make a difference through their
actions. The action(s) may also include a community service element,
either in the school or in the local community.

15
Monitoring of the exhibition
Assessment of the exhibition takes place within the school. It should be ongoing throughout the whole
process of the exhibition and it should be rigorous. The IB seeks to ensure the integrity of the PYP without
formally monitoring internal assessment or conducting external examinations. Schools may find it helpful
to refer to the exhibition reflection tool, included in this document, which is based on standard D2 of the IB
Programme standards and practices (2005), as a guide to assessing their exhibition.

The monitoring of a school’s commitment to the exhibition will take place during the normal process of IB
programme evaluation visits. Evidence of completed exhibitions should be available to members of an IB
visiting team, and schools should therefore record the exhibition appropriately, for example through:

• individual student learning journals

• teacher anecdotal records of student work and performance
• a class journal
• a permanent record of the exhibition (planners, photographic or on video).
It is recommended that the PYP coordinator takes responsibility for maintaining the archive of exhibition
records from one year to the other.

Exhibition materials on the OCC

The IB is interested in distributing examples of exhibitions to other PYP schools; this is to disseminate good
practice rather than to monitor school performance. In order to facilitate this process, schools are invited to
submit their exhibition records, including sample documents, to IB Cardiff, in a format that can be stored
and distributed, for possible use on the OCC. Please send contributions to [email protected] or PYP department,
International Baccalaureate, Peterson House, Malthouse Avenue, Cardiff Gate, Cardiff, Wales, CF23 8GL,
United Kingdom.

As indicated in the General regulations: Primary Years Programme (2007), when students enter the PYP,
schools should ask legal guardians to indicate in writing whether they agree to their child’s materials being
submitted to the IB Organization. A “Sample parental permission form” that explains to parents how their
child’s work or visual image could be used by the IB is available in the PYP Coordinator’s handbook. Parents
may sign a version of this form to give or withhold their permission, and the school is required to keep this
form in each student’s personal file. Any examples of student work, photographs, videos or images should
have copyright permission before being sent for inclusion on the OCC.

16 Exhibition guidelines
Exhibition reflection tool
Exhibition reflection tool

Level of achievement
Action
Low High

Teachers understood the requirements of the

exhibition and how to assess it.

Teachers guided students through each

phase of the process.

Students were provided with formative

feedback throughout the process.

Parents were informed about the nature of

the exhibition, its role in the programme and
the work expected from the students.

The exhibition was thoroughly planned well

in advance and records were kept of the
process.

All students were actively and productively

involved in the exhibition from planning
stages to the final presentation.

The exhibition reflected all major features

of the programme including evidence of the
five essential elements.

The exhibition incorporated a range of media

and forms of expression (for example, written
work, oral presentations, performances).

The exhibition was shared with members of

the wider school community (for example,
governing body, parents, secondary school
colleagues and students).

There was adequate assessment of and

reflection on the exhibition, with opportunity
provided for input from students, parents
and teachers.

There was appropriate monitoring of the

exhibition and adequate records were kept of
teacher collaboration and reflection.

The exhibition allowed students to

demonstrate and reflect on the attributes
and attitudes of the IB learner profile.

Based on standard D2, IB Programme standards and practices (2005)

Exhibition guidelines 17