All IB programmes include a culminating or consolidating learning experience in their final year: the exhibition in the PYP; the personal project in the Middle Years Programme (MYP); the extended essay in the Diploma Programme (DP); and the reflective project in the Career-related Programme (CP).
In the PYP exhibition, students demonstrate their understanding of an issue or opportunity they have chosen to explore. They undertake their investigation both individually and with their peers, together with the guidance of a mentor. Through the exhibition, students demonstrate their ability to take responsibility for their learning—and their capacity to take action—as they are actively engaged in planning, presenting and assessing learning.
The exhibition is a powerful demonstration of student agency, as well as the agency of the Al Zahra College community that has nurtured them through their years in the PYP. The learning community participates in the exhibition, supporting and celebrating the development of internationally minded students who make a positive difference in their lives and the lives of others.
The exhibition may be one of the six units of inquiry during the final year or it may stand outside of the programme of inquiry to explore a global issue or opportunity that may cross all transdisciplinary themes. It may run concurrently with other units or be contained within a specific time frame during the year.
All exhibitions are student-initiated, designed and collaborative. All students take an active role in all aspects of planning, inquiring, investigating, communicating and assessing their learning in the exhibition. All students will benefit from guidance and collaboration with teachers, peers and mentors to facilitate, direct and adjust their learning.
The purposes of the PYP exhibition
The key purposes of the exhibition are:
- for students to engage in an in-depth, collaborative inquiry
- to provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate agency and responsibility for their learning
- to provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate the attributes of the learner profile in authentic contexts
- to provide students with an opportunity to explore multiple perspectives
- to provide an authentic process for students to monitor, document and present their learning
- to provide students with an opportunity to synthesize and apply their learning
- for students to take action as a result of their learning
- to unite the students, teachers and other members of the learning community in a collaborative experience
- to provide an authentic context for students to reflect on their PYP education
- to support the well-being of students by celebrating their transition to the next stages of their education
- to provide an authentic task for the community to evaluate its implementation of the PYP
- to provide students with an opportunity to engage with the broader learning community and celebrate their achievements.
