What are the five areas of interaction?
The five areas of interaction are:

• approaches to learning
• community and service
• human ingenuity
• environment
• health and social education

Approaches to learning (ATL)
Through ATL teachers provide students with the tools to enable them to take responsibility for their own learning, thereby developing an awareness of how they learn best, of thought processes and of learning strategies.

Community and service
This component requires students to take an active part in the communities in which they live, thereby encouraging responsible citizenship.

Human ingenuity
Students explore in multiple ways the processes and products of human creativity, thus learning to appreciate and develop in themselves the human capacity to influence, transform, enjoy and improve the quality of life.

Environment
This area aims to develop students’ awareness of their interdependence with the environment so that they understand and accept their responsibilities.

Health and social education
This area deals with physical, social and emotional health and intelligence—key aspects of development leading to complete and healthy lives.
How are students assessed?
Teachers organize continuous assessment over the course of the programme taking account of specified criteria that correspond to the objectives for each subject.

The MYP offers a criterion-referenced model of assessment. This means that students' results are determined by performance against set standards, not by each student's position in the overall rank order.
Teachers are responsible for structuring varied and valid assessment tasks that allow students to demonstrate achievement according to the required objectives within each subject group. These may include:
• open-ended, problem-solving activities and investigations
• organized debates
• hands-on experimentation
• analysis
• reflection.
Assessment strategies, both quantitative and qualitative, provide feedback on the thinking processes as well as the finished piece of work. There is also an emphasis on self-assessment and peer-assessment within the programme.

Community & Service in the MYP involves three central elements: awareness of the needs of the community, service to the community and reflection on how successful the student’s actions have been. In the 2007/08 academic year, all students in the MYP will be able to participate in the following ways:

1. Homeroom Projects.
2. Individual and small group initiatives.
3. International day.

MYP schools have a responsibility to develop Community and Service activities in ways that are appropriate for students. In semester 1, Grade 6 to 10 homeroom teachers will introduce students to the framework for developing projects. The projects will then be organised in homerooms and each grade level will focus on a particular community. In this way, all students will be supported to consider their roles and responsibilities to the communities in which they live and take appropriate action to make a difference.
The framework below shows the focus of activities in each grade level with some potential projects.