IPC
Preparing Students for the World
‘Personal Learning Goals’, one of three sets of goals
outlined by the IPC. The others include ‘Subject
Our world is changing and there is need for schools
Goals’ and ‘International Goals’.
to develop well-rounded individuals with the
knowledge, skills and understandings required to
These 8 personal goals within the IPC are:
navigate what lies ahead. The IPC recognises just
how important it is to instil the necessary qual- 1 Enquiry
ities, merits and virtues early on. It appreciates 2 Thoughtfulness
the need to teach them implicitly and explicitly 3 Cooperation
through a school’s curriculum and wider program 4 Respect
and endeavours to ensure that schools are devel- 5 Morality
oping and assessing children’s understanding of 6 Resilience
what these qualities look like and mean. 7 Communication
8 Adaptability
When the IPC was first developed over 25 years
ago, its founders asked a few important questions:
Here at Keystone Academy we have sought to align
each of these, not only with our 5 shared values
What kind of world will our children live and work in? of Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, and Xin, but also with the IB
What kinds of children are likely to succeed in Learner Profile and with the Round Square Ideals.
the world?
What kinds of learning will our children need and how Enquiry (Inquiry) – Enquiry involves students
should they learn it? constructing their own meaning, not necessar-
If we look at the second question: ‘What kinds of to questions and issues. There is an ongoing need
children are likely to succeed in the world?’, we see to develop in children the skill and intuition to
ily getting right answers, but finding resolutions
this question relates to the kinds of children we challenge what we see and hear around us; to ask
want to develop and the qualities we deem neces- strong questions and seek answers; and to filter
sary. This is not only for individual success but also what they find. In the Grade 2 unit ‘Inventions that
more deeply for human success and our ability as Changed the World’ children explore the golden
a human race to be prosperous, effective and pos- age of invention and decide the most import-
itive within the context of life on our planet. This ant invention at the time. To do this, they need
question is very wide ranging and explores inter- to ask questions about the impact of the inven-
national mindedness, skills and understandings tion, the significance of the invention today and
and personal characteristics as well as focusing determine what life would be like without it. They
on deeper understandings of meta-cognition and need strong research skills, as well as the ability to
self-awareness within our own lives and individ- make sense of the information they find and skill
ual contexts. to draw conclusions.
Thoughtfulness – This is the process by which we
The IPC Personal Goals
consider others, ourselves and the environment
around us. It is the process of considered thought
The IPC has been very deliberate in defining the before action and may relate to not only the things
kinds of ‘personal qualities’ deemed important we do, but also our responses and interactions
for our children. These are exemplified within the with those around us. We can see strong links here
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