At WIS, learning is never confined to a single textbook.

What happens when Science meets Individuals & Societies? Or when Math encounters Arts?

Let’s dive into the WIS MYP Interdisciplinary Units (IDU) to see how students break the boundaries of knowledge to measure the real world.

〔 01 〕What is an IDU?

More than adding up subjects, it’s a rehearsal for the real world

The core difference between an MYP Interdisciplinary Unit (IDU) and a single-subject unit is that it requires students to draw on skills and content knowledge from two or more subjects.

In an IDU, assessments reflect that students are not only able to learn subject-specific content, but also to synthesize that information and demonstrate understanding in a real-world scenario.

Take the Grade 9 “Harmony with Nature” unit as an example: Students were challenged to create a video advocating for a sustainable lifestyle.

To do this, they had to make logical connections between six subjects:

Through Art: Capturing the beauty and fragility of the ecosystem in the form of collages to reflect the delicate balance between humans and nature.

Through Science & I&S: Explaining how globalized trade and invasive species can hurt economies without clear policies.

Through Math: By using graphs to quantify the consumption of environmental resources caused by daily habits, students provided compelling data support to advocate for a sustainable lifestyle.

Through Music: By contrasting natural soundscapes with urban noise, students raised awareness of the need to protect the increasingly disappearing sounds of nature.

Through PE: Reflecting on the contrast between nature and the urban environment after hiking in Hangzhou.

They successfully drew real-world significance from the content.

〔 02 〕 The Journey of Inquiry

From “Subject Experts” to “Real-world Actors”

How does an IDU happen? At WIS, it follows a structured path.

Step 1: Subject-Specific Learning Experiences

First, students engage in subject-specific learning experiences to build a foundation. For example, they become “experts” on specific subtopics like economics in Individuals and Socities or biology in Science to understand the complexities of the IDU topic.

Step 2: Interconnected Content

As the unit progresses, content becomes more interconnected. Teachers assign integrated homework and take students on field trips—to West Lake and the Botanical Garden—to see what “Harmony with Nature” looks like locally.

Step 3: Taking Real-World Action

By Grade 9, the expectation is that students take real-world action. Inspired by their IDU, Grade 9 made “Harmony with Nature” the theme of their Community Project, designing plans to contribute positively to our community.

〔 03 〕Behind the Scenes

Teachers Modeling Collaboration

An IDU offers teachers an opportunity to co-teach across curriculums. Behind this seamless curriculum lies the close collaboration of the WIS faculty.

Unlike other schools where teachers often have to start from scratch, WIS benefits from the guidance of the IB Framework. Teachers start with Global Contexts, Key Concepts, and ATL Skills.

This common language provides teachers from different disciplines with a shared compass, allowing them to co-design inquiry experiences that possess both breadth and depth.

It is incredibly valuable for students to see teachers modeling collaboration and life-long learning, which is harder to do in a single-subject unit.

〔 04 〕Growth Moments

Students Shining through IDU

Throughout our teaching experience, we have seen numerable examples of the benefits of IDU on students’ engagement and agency.

During the mountain exploration trip, some students, despite their physical exhaustion  persisted in completing the entire route. They even actively chose the more difficult paths to explore a richer environment. Throughout the journey, the students also encouraged and supported each other.

Many students who are usually very quiet and rarely express themselves are completely transformed in the IDU project. Faced with various novel topics, they not only managed to research independently but also learned to collaborate and inquire with their peers, jointly presenting their design outcomes.

At WIS, knowledge is no longer an isolated island. We are nurturing not just problem solvers, but future changemakers.

在WIS，孩子们的学习之旅从未被局限在单一学科中。

当科学遇上人文，当数学邂逅艺术，会碰撞出怎样的火花？

让我们走进WIS MYP 跨学科单元，看孩子们如何打破知识的边界，用多维视角丈量真实的世界。

〔 01 〕什么是IDU?不止是知识叠加，更是真实世界的预演

MYP跨学科单元（IDU）与单一学科单元的核心区别在于，它不满足于知识的简单堆砌，而是要求学生同时调动两个或更多学科的技能与知识，去解决现实世界中的复杂问题。

在IDU中，评估不仅反映学生学习特定学科内容的能力，更看重他们综合这些信息并在真实情境中展示理解的能力。

以九年级“与自然和谐共生”单元为例：学生们面临的挑战之一是制作一个倡导可持续生活方式的视频。

要完成这个任务，单一学科的知识远远不够，他们需要在六个学科之间建立逻辑联系：

通过艺术课程：用剪贴画的形式定格生态环境的美丽与脆弱，展现人类与自然之间微妙的平衡。

通过科学与个人与社会课程：分析全球贸易如何因缺乏监管导致入侵物种扩散，进而破坏经济。

通过数学课程：通过图表量化展示日常生活习惯对环境资源的消耗，为倡导可持续生活提供有力的数据支持。

通过音乐课程：对比自然声响与城市噪音，唤起人们对日益消逝的自然原声的关注与保护意识。

通过体育课程：在西湖群山徒步后，反思自然与城市环境的反差。

他们成功地从学习内容中提炼出了现实意义。

〔 02 〕探究之旅：从“学科专家”到“行动者”的进阶

IDU是如何发生的？在WIS，它遵循着一条清晰的路径。

第一阶段：在各自领域成为“专家”

在探究初期，学生需要在特定学科内打下坚实基础。例如在研究“生物多样性”时，I&S课侧重经济与政策，科学课侧重物种特性。两者的结合，才让学生真正理解了“入侵物种”是如何跨越地理边界，影响全球经济的。

第二阶段：学科知识大融合

随着学习的深入，学科间的界限开始消融。老师们布置了跨学科的综合假期作业，更带学生走出校门，前往西湖景区和杭州植物园。在真实的情境中，去听、去看、去感受什么是真正的“与自然和谐共生”。

第三阶段：从意识到行动

随着年级的升高，IDU不再止步于课堂展示。九年级的学生受此启发，将“与自然和谐共生”定为年度Community Project的主题。他们正在识别本地的可持续发展问题，并设计方案去积极改善我们的社区。

〔 03 〕这里的老师，也是“跨界合作者”

IDU为不同学科老师提供了联合教学的机会。这种无缝衔接的课程背后，是WIS教师团队的紧密协作。

不同于其他学校需要老师从零摸索，WIS得益于IB框架的指引。老师们从全球背景、核心概念和ATL学习技能出发。

这套通用的语言，让不同学科的老师拥有了共同的航标，共同设计出既有广度又有深度的探究体验。

让学生看到老师们示范协作与终身学习是非常宝贵的，这在单一学科单元中很难做到。

〔 04 〕成长瞬间：那些被IDU点亮的“高光时刻”

IDU最大的魔力，在于它能激发学生内在的能动性。在过往的教学中，我们见证了无数次惊喜的蜕变。

在外出爬山考察的过程中，有些同学虽然体力不支，却依然坚持爬完全程，并主动选择更困难的路，去探索更丰富的环境，同学们也在一路上互相打气支持。

很多平时非常安静、鲜少表达的学生，在IDU项目中判若两人。面对各项新奇的议题，他们不仅能独自研究，更学会了和同伴们一起合作探究，共同展示他们的设计成果。

在WIS，知识不再是孤岛。 我们培养的不仅是解题者，更是未来的变革者。