MYP4 Interdisciplinary Unit on Peace & Conflict

Assessment for Criterion B: Synthesizing

Purpose:
i) How have you managed to connect the disciplines of I&S, English and the Arts to learn new
concepts?
ii) How has the understanding of Peace & Conflict in one discipline helped improve your
understanding of Peace & Conflict in both the other two disciplines?

Assessment outline
Task A:

You have acquired a number of skills during the learning of this unit. Some of these skills have been
explicit (more content focused), while other skills that have been learned in a more implicit manner,
and achieved through various Approaches to Learning (known as ATL skills across the MYP curriculum).

Before you begin your assessment for this criterion, evaluate the ATL skills and concept focused skills
that you have acquired during this unit to acquire a greater understanding of your chosen conflict.

Choose 3 skills (2 from the ATL boxes and 1 from the concept boxes, or vice-versa) that you feel you
have developed and acquired over the past few weeks in your classes and give evidence on how you
have applied these skills in your learning of your conflict. You can refer to an
activity/worksheet/piece of homework when showing evidence.

ATL Skill Category ATL skills learnt in I&S: Tick the Evidence:
one that
applies:

Critical Thinking Evaluate evidence and

Skills arguments

Critical Thinking Gather and organize relevant

Skills information to formulate an
argument

Critical Thinking Draw reasonable conclusions and

Skills generalizations

Media Literacy Locate, organize, analyse, :) In the page where we talk

evaluate, synthesize and ethically
use information from a variety of
sources and media (including
digital social media and online
networks)
about our chosen conflict,
and do research about it in
an organized manner.

Media Literacy Understand the impact of media

representations and modes of

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 presentation

ATL Skill Category ATL skills learnt Tick the Evidence:

(communication) in English: one that
applies:

Communication Read critically and for

comprehension

:) In our oral assessment, we

Communication Make inferences and draw had to analyse an extract,
conclusions and make inferences.

Communication Use and interpret a range of

discipline-specific terms and
symbols

Communication Paraphrase accurately and

concisely

Communication Organize and depict information

logically

ATL Skill Category Tick the Evidence:

ATL skills learnt in the Arts: one that
applies:

Communication Give and receive meaningful

feedback

Communication Negotiate ideas and knowledge

with peers and teachers

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Organisation Skills Set goals that challenging and
realistic

:)
Creativity and Use brainstorming and mind
innovation mapping to generate new ideas
and inquiries

Creativity and Apply existing knowledge to

innovation generate new ideas, products or
processes

Conceptual skills:

This is something that I learnt in I&S: Knowing about this concept has helped me
understand my chosen conflict better because:

Definitions of Conflict

Conflict can bring positive change / there is

a relationship between Peace and
Sustainable Development

There are different forms/categories of

Conflict

There are multiple causes of Conflict

Conflict can occur when groups lose their

rights

Conflicts come to an end when groups

understand the nature of the conflict and
actively work with each other to end them.

This is something that I learnt in English: Knowing about this concept has helped me
understand my chosen conflict better because:

Authors represent peace & conflict through

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 different text types;

Literature is a very effective tool to express

representations of peace & conflict;

There are a number of different writing

techniques that authors use to convey their
representations of conflict;

Writers generally base their writings of

peace & conflict on first-hand experiences;

Some pieces of literature are timeless

because of their vivid and accurate portrayal
of historical conflicts’

This is something that I learnt in the Arts: Knowing about this concept has helped me
understand my chosen conflict better because:

Arts can portray peace and conflict in a

work in different forms and concepts

There are a number of different techniques

that artists use to convey their
representation of peace and conflict

Arts can create a mood or emotion to
portray peace and conflict
:) It made me realise how to feel the mood, and
then put that into either a painting, or something
else. It helped me with finding colours that show
different moods, for example, blue would be a
mood of sadness and calm, while red and yellow
would be a mood of happiness and warm colours.
This then makes them contrast.

Task B:
Using the skills that you have learnt and reflecting on the content that you have acquired in all
three disciplines (by using the table above), you now have to:
analyse a text which enhances your understanding of your chosen conflict.

This text could be any from the ones you have looked at in your different disciplines so far in this
unit. Examples:
i) Essays;
ii) Speeches;
iii) Documentaries;
iv) Images/photographs;
v) Poems;
vi) Prose;

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 vii) Drama;
viii) Monologues;
ix) Drawings;
x) Musical compositions;
xi) Musical performances;
xii) Encyclopedia entries;
xiii) Letters;
xiv) Autobiographies;
xv) And more…

Logistics:
What you have to do by Wednesday 08 January:

1) Upload on managebac the text that you have chosen to answer the prompt in task B;
2) You can only choose one text (so not 2 images, but 1, for example);
3) If your text is a piece of writing, the text should be no longer than 40 lines, but it can be an
extract from a bigger piece of writing;
4) You also need to create an outline explaining what you will be writing or talking about in your
answer to the question. See an example of an outline below;

For Thursday 16 January:

5) Analyse the prompt given to you under task B. Your response needs to be at least one page
long font size 12. You can also record yourself giving your explanation orally, and therefore
your analysis will need to last between 4 to 6 minutes.

Follow the outline below as guidance.

Outline for my synthesis writing/recording:

The text that I have chosen is Submit link to this text:

(where is it from, who does it Copy and paste it below:
belong to):

Intro: My chosen conflict is ____________ and a text that I am going to

analyse to identify my understanding of the conflict is
____________;

This is because (give 2 major reasons):

i) Reason 1;
ii) Reason 2;

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 Body:
Paragraph 1: I have learnt this skill/concept in one of my classes and this helps me understand my
chosen conflict in this text better. This is because ________________ (show how you are applying this
skill/concept to your choice of text)

The focus is on explaining your understanding of this conflict through your chosen text using your
own personal voice. Your understanding need not be highly analytical, but mostly personal.

Paragraph 2: I have learnt this skill/concept in one of my classes and this helps me understand my
chosen conflict in this text better. This is because ________________ (show how you are applying this
skill/concept to your choice of text)

Paragraph 3: I have learnt this skill/concept in one of my classes and this helps me understand my
chosen conflict in this text better. This is because ________________ (show how you are applying this
skill/concept to your choice of text)

Conclusion:
Recap skills learnt and content acquired in this unit to summarise why analysing this
text from the lenses of three different subjects helps your understanding of chosen
conflict.

Example (also see last page):

ATL skills learnt in I&S: Tick the one that applies: Evidence:

Evaluate evidence and arguments

Gather and organize relevant

information to formulate an
argument

Draw reasonable conclusions and

generalizations

Locate, organize, analyse, evaluate,

synthesize and ethically use
information from a variety of sources
and media (including digital
social media and online networks)

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Deconstruct a memorable image

ATL skills learnt (communication) in Tick the one that applies: Evidence:
English:

Read critically and for

comprehension

Make inferences and draw

conclusions

Use and interpret a range of

discipline-specific terms and symbols

Paraphrase accurately and concisely

Organize and depict information

logically

Tick the one that applies: Evidence:

ATL skills learnt in the Arts:

Give and receive meaningful

feedback

Negotiate ideas and knowledge with

peers and teachers

Set goals that challenging and

realistic

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Use brainstorming and mind
mapping to generate new ideas and
inquiries

Apply existing knowledge to

generate new ideas, products or
processes

This is something that I learnt in I&S: Knowing about this concept has helped me
understand my chosen conflict better because:

Definitions of Conflict

Conflict can bring positive change / there is

a relationship between Peace and
Sustainable Development

There are different forms/categories of

Conflict

There are multiple causes of Conflict

Conflict can occur when groups lose their

rights

Conflicts come to an end when groups

understand the nature of the conflict and
actively work with each other to end them.

This is something that I learnt in English: Knowing about this concept has helped me
understand my chosen conflict better because:

Authors represent peace & conflict through

different text types;

Literature is a very effective tool to express

representations of peace & conflict;

There are a number of different writing

techniques that authors use to convey their
representations of conflict;

Writers generally base their writings of

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 peace & conflict on first-hand experiences;

Some pieces of literature are timeless

because of their vivid and accurate portrayal
of historical conflicts’

This is something that I learnt in the Arts: Knowing about this concept has helped me
understand my chosen conflict better because:

Arts can portray peace and conflict in a

work in different forms and concepts

There are a number of different techniques

that artists use to convey their
representation of peace and conflict

Arts can create a mood or emotion to

portray peace and conflict

Example:
My chosen conflict is The Philippine-American War, and the text that I am analysing to
identify my understanding of this conflict is a video which can be accessed by clicking on this
link. This video enhances my understanding of this conflict because it summarises in a simple
and accurate way the causes and reasons behind this conflict, which are very complex to
grasp. The video is also highly effective because it incorporates a variety of other texts (ex:
images, quotations and maps), which therefore also makes is a very multimodal and easy
text to follow.

In my I&S classes, I learned that there are multiple causes of conflict, and we studied this
extensively when looking at the development and manifestation of apartheid in South Africa
as a case study. When researching about the Philippine-American war, I also discovered that
there are multiple causes for this conflict, and what I like about this video is the manner with
which the speaker synthesises these conflicts into three main reasons. He argues that the
purpose behind America’s invasion of the Philippines was threefold: (i) for America to have a
military base in Asia (and the Philippines was an ideal Asian country for America also because
of its close proximity to China); (ii) for America to have greater access to Asian markets and
increase trade; (iii) to control the rich natural resources of coffee, rice and sugar that are
present in the Philippines.

One skill which we practised extensively in English during this unit is the skill of paraphrasing
accurately and concisely. This is very pertinent in light of the wealth of information that is
available nowadays on the internet. So much research has been conducted about my chosen
conflict, that identifying the main causes of this conflict took me a great deal of time. This is

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why I also found the video to be very effective in helping me understand my chosen conflict in
a more detailed manner, because it explains something which is quite complex in a very
simplified and visually appealing way. For example, there are maps to show how America
coordinated its invasion of the Philippines. There are also portraits of some of the most
significant characters who masterminded and/or took part in this conflict, and there are a
number of selectively chosen quotations from those who were heavily impacted and affected
by the conflict, which gives the history of this conflict a more added value.

During our case study on apartheid in I&S, we also had some activities which highlighted the
need to draw reasonable conclusions and generalizations from the research that we do.
What I liked about this video is that it ends with various statistics showing the full scale impact
of this conflict. The presenter in the video concluded his text by explaining how 4,000 American
soldiers, 20,000 Filipinno soldiers and 250,000 Filipino civilians died during this battle. What
struck me the most about these statistics is how is it is often the civilians who suffer the most
when politicians and their armies fail to reach a compromise. This left me thinking, and it is
also something that was present in other subsequent wars, such as the war in Vietnam.
Overall, this video has helped me understand the Philippine-American war in a much more
thorough manner. This is thanks to the way the presenter organised his information, the way
he explained it in a very simplified and appealing manner and the conclusions that he was able
to draw from all of his research.
Eline van Mullekom
Task B: Enhancing our understanding of our chosen conflict:

The conflict that I have chosen was the Curacao Uprising in 1969. The text that I will
be analysing will be a short video that shows what had happened and how it looked
like to them back then. You can find this video by clicking the link. This text is very
helpful and grasped a lot of knowledge of the conflict because it shows how the
people back then lived, what the destruction looked like and how it affected the
people in Curacao. It also shows me social status each person has, and who was
most affected.

I have learnt how to analyse and organize text in one of my classes and this helps
me understand my chosen conflict in this text better. This is because I can analyse
the faces of the people, the scenery, and then describe it using my own words.
During the research, I also noticed that it only lasted one day, which came
surprisingly to me because there was so much damage done. A normal uprising
would be harmless, or it is supposed to be. In my research, I found out that two were
killed, and a majority of the city was destroyed, not only that, but many were found
injured and hundreds were thrown into prison. This became clear to me in the video
because you could see the destroyed building and the outfits the soldiers wore. You
could also see the amount of money the citizens received by their weight and their

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clothes. You could clearly see that they did not receive a lot of money, which is why
the uprising originally started.

The skill that I learned in English, was making inferences and drawing conclusions. I
used this skill well because for my chosen conflict, there is a lot of information
shown, and that information can become quite overwhelming. For such a small
conflict I was surprised that there would be so much information present. Since there
is a lot of information on the web, you would have to take look at multiple sites to see
if the inference you got is correct. This is why the video is very useful. Not only does
it help me with the understanding of the issue, but I can also see what it looked like
back then, and how it affected them. I can see that the sites are correct because it
shows visual proof. I can also see a lot of photos. Not only this, but I can make an
inference and say that a majority of the city was ruined and that a majority of the
people received lower wages. I can also see how bad the destruction was.

During the apartheid unit in I&S, I was improving to expand my knowledge and skill
on finding the different causes present in the conflict, and how they impact the
conflict. Are they short or long term, is the issue that has caused the conflict
Economical, political, or social? Maybe the causes have a bigger impact than the
rest. I used this in my research record for I&S because this helps me understand the
conflict with a larger knowledge, and who and what started the conflict so that I could
receive some helpful background information. Though the video did not help me find
the causes of how it started, it did give me some knowledge on the aftermath of the
destruction. It could help me when I am describing the aftermath of the conflict, and
how it affects the people.

In conclusion, this video has made it much more clear on how the public reacted to
this, and how to hurt everyone looked, even the soldiers. This made me understand
the Curacao uprising in 1969 much more, because I would consider myself to be
very empathetic, and this video puts me into the feelings of those who lost their loved
ones, along with their faith.

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