Inventions and discoveries in Asian studies

Kate Huon is a Grade 3 teacher at McKinnon Primary School. In this illustration Kate team teaches with a colleague who has attended professional learning about Asian studies. The lesson is linked with an inquiry-based unit of work about modern inventions and discoveries. The focus of this lesson is about discoveries in China and the central idea is that exploration leads to discoveries.
All teachers at the school plan collaboratively and often team-teach in each other’s classes when there is a need for specialist knowledge. Diana has attended professional learning at the AEF and with the Victorian Department of Education on the Asia priority in the Australian Curriculum. Both teachers participate in regular professional learning and are PYP accredited.

McKinnon Primary School is a Primary Years Program (PYP) school with 780 students, teaching the International Baccalauréat (IB). All learning at the school is based on the IB inquiry methodology. The school is finding ways to implement the Asia priority within the existing PYP curriculum especially in the Community Engagement domain of the IB. The school is implementing the Asia priority in the Australian Curriculum and it is implementing it within a PYP framework.
The school is not formally implementing the National Standards. However, as part of the IB, it is accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS). The CIS holds every aspect of the school accountable to International Standards and involves every member of the school being involved in a self-study process to evaluate and improve themselves.