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Curriculum

Iris's higher order thinking skills focused, differentiated curriculum with comprehensive instructional resources are the foundation for instructional excellence and student success across our Global High School Program.

Our robust curriculum was developed by Iris Academy’s Curriculum Research and Development Centre of Excellence and is rooted in the High School Program. – the world’s most widely recognized differentiated education system. With the guidance of leading educators, we further enhanced the High School Program with the IRIS's Transformative Approach to Learning – a systematic approach to differentiated education that showcases research-based curriculum and comprehensive teaching resources to create a strong foundation for instructional excellence and student achievement.

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Personalized Learning Through a 
Variety of Courses

Iris Academy provides a breadth of high school courses in diverse disciplines, integrating innovative specialty courses in technology, media arts, entrepreneurship and more; including:  

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Engaging Multimedia
Content Supports
Differentiated Learning

Our curriculum content on the Iris Digital Learning Platform is presented in diverse multimedia formats. These formats are designed to engage learners and cater to diverse learning styles.

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  • Text

  • Audios

  • Videos

  • Infographics

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  • Games

  • Animations

  • Simulations

  • Virtual labs

High School Curriculum Highlights

Higher Order Thinking Skills [HOTS]

HOTS in Course Design: Iris Academy has built innovative courses with a strong emphasis on, and alignment with, Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). HOTS are critical in all areas of curriculum, indulging learning objectives, learning activities, assessments and evaluations. Courses include opportunities for HOTS development in eight categories: researching, problem-solving, planning, processing, presenting, critical and creative thinking, and reflecting. 
HOTS in Instruction: Teachers promote HOTS development through a differentiated curriculum that utilizes rich learning activities and corresponding lesson plans and instructional resources, all with emphasis on HOTS-focused instructional strategies.   
HOTS in Evaluation: Our courses include activities and evaluations that allow for the measuring, tracking, and reporting of HOTS categories for individual students across different subjects during their time in the program; this allows our international partner schools to effectively analyze and manage student learning progress and outcomes. 

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We place students at the core of the teaching-learning experience and develop novel ways to keep students motivated while learning complex concepts and solving real-world issues. With our project-based, competency-based curriculum, we simulate global experiences and guide students to find solutions.

Carol Ravena

Head of Curriculum, Iris Academy

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Real World Problem Solving

  1. Problem Based Learning: Students are provided with opportunities to develop real-world problem-solving skills through thoughtfully integrated design thinking challenges and real-world case studies.                                             

  2. Collaboration Focus: Courses and lessons integrate collaborative instructional strategies that support teachers in creating learner-centred classrooms that empower students to work together to explore issues and solve real-world problems.                                                                                        

  3. Global Perspective: Learning activities and evaluations invite students to consider local and global perspectives as they integrate their learning in different disciplines, solve problems, and make connections to the social and economic impact of real-world issues.  

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Student Learning Enhancement

Differentiated Learning

  1. Variety in Learning Content: Key concepts of our innovative digital curriculum are presented in a variety of multimedia formats designed to engage students with diverse learning styles. Learning activities range from research, presentation, case studies, gamification, project-based learning and more, offering students differentiated learning opportunities.                                                    

  2. Variety in Teaching Methods: Courses and lessons are designed to support a variety of teaching methods to ensure learnings experiences are engaging, effective and productive. Instruction includes methods such as: direct instruction, modelling, questioning, ongoing feedback, and collaborative learning.                                                                                                                           

  3. Variety in Student Products: Evaluations in our curriculum commonly offer students choices in how they will demonstrate learning outcomes. Students may choose to demonstrate learning in written form (e.g. essays, letters, journals), visual form (e.g. infographics, artwork, presentations), or audio/visual form (orations, video journals, dramatic presentations) according to their strengths and preferences.

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Progressive, Diverse Evaluation

  1. Optimal Evaluation Opportunities: Each course typically includes 15 summative evaluation opportunities, including mid-term and final evaluations. These evaluations include a balance between diverse assignments and tests. The final grade for each course is weighted at 70% for General Evaluations and 30% for Final Evaluations.                                                                                                                            

  2. Balanced KICA: Evaluations use a balanced approach to test Knowledge, Inquiry, Communication, and Application (KICA) skills based on a subject-specific ratio. Students can track their performance in these categories at both course levels and on their individual evaluations.                                                                                 

  3. Diverse and Differentiated Evaluation Strategies: Each course includes a unique set of evaluations, designed and administered to effectively measure subject-specific academic rigor and higher-order thinking skill development. Based on their strengths and learning preferences, students can select various ways to demonstrate their learning.   

  1. Systematic & Thorough Preparation: Examining for knowledge comprehension is critical after instruction. Repetitive practice, combined with feedback from teachers, peers and self-assessments leads to improved student performance.                                                                

  2. Detailed Feedback System: Each student receives comprehensive feedback on their work, helping students gain a thorough understanding of their performance, to learn from and manage missteps, and to be aware of learning gaps at an early stage, so teachers can support students to improve accordingly.                                                           

  3. Diverse Learning Enhancement Strategies: We offer a wide variety of diverse learning     opportunities designed to maximize student understanding, develop higher-order thinking skills, and apply knowledge to resolve real-world problems. Examples include self-assessment, student work examples, discussion forums to cultivate peer learning and feedback, automated quizzes, open-ended projects, rubric practice, preparatory tests and more. 

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