An MYP Design Cycle Template helps students and teachers navigate the four criteria of the design cycle: Inquiring and Analyzing, Developing Ideas, Creating the Solution, and Evaluating. This straightforward resource simplifies the process for new teachers and students by providing essential tools for success in MYP Design projects.
Unlike the official IB unit planner, which focuses on curriculum and teacher reflection, an MYP Design Cycle Template is student-centered. It serves as a practical guide, offering actionable steps and examples to help students understand and apply design concepts effectively.
What is an MYP Design Cycle Template
An MYP Design Cycle template can also be called an MYP Design template. I don’t think it’s an official International Baccalaureate (IB) term. An MYP unit planner is a more official document or a collection of documents. My view of an MYP Design Cycle template is that it is more student-focused than an MYP unit planner.
The MYP Design Cycle Template for Criterion A is based on the Water Tank Engineering unit. It provides materials to help students inquire and analyze effectively while exploring this engaging design scenario. Teachers can use this template to guide students through Criterion A of the MYP Design Cycle, offering everything needed to start teaching immediately.
What is an MYP Unit Planner
I understand the MYP unit planner to be more of a curriculum planner and guide for the teacher as compared to the MYP Design Cycle template. It is intended to promote critical teacher reflection that leads to more effective teaching and learning. The unit planner is the lesson information you pass on from teacher to teacher and store and access in student information systems such as ManageBac. An MYP unit planner can be wordy! An MYP Design Cycle template would probably have more student-actionable resources and be more MYP Design Cycle specific in terms of criteria and strands.
MYP Design Unit Planner Elements
The Evaluating MYP Unit Planners document from the IB specifies the elements of a unit planner for the MYP. According to this publication, these thirteen items should be established before evaluating the unit (e.g., for IB certification purposes). Here they are verbatim:
- Name of the teacher(s)
- MYP subject group and the specific discipline (If the unit is part of an integrated course, note which subjects or disciplines are integrated. For modular courses, indicate which discipline the module addresses.)
- Unit title (a topic, question, content requirement or big idea)
- Approximate number of guided learning hours (total)
- Key concept
- Related concept(s)
- Global context and specific exploration
- Subject-group objectives and specific relevant strands
- Task-specific clarification (description of how teachers helped students understand the criteria and level descriptors)
- Content that specifies topics and/or local or national standards
- Learning experiences/teaching strategies, differentiation, formative assessment
- Resources
- Reflections developed before, during and after teaching
The subject group in our case is MYP Design. The request for differentiation and teaching strategies makes this document certainly feel teacher-specific. A unit planner should document interdisciplinary learning, which may not be an explicit part of a teacher’s MYP Design template.
Teachers should reference and discuss unit planner areas such as key concepts, related concepts, and global contexts with students. These elements strengthen learning by creating meaningful connections. In my experience, teachers typically do not assess these areas directly within the MYP Design Cycle criteria. However, they can integrate them into Criterion A and Criterion D, where research and evaluation naturally align.
MYP Design Template Examples
Many schools and teachers share their MYP Design resources online. The folks at the Nanjing International School have shared 21 pdf documents that cover the entire MYP Design Cycle. These comprehensive student documents have user-friendly layouts. The questions are arranged in tables with an easy-to-read font and logical spaces for replies. Some of the documents have side-bar guidance that’s easy to reference for many types of design problems.
Parts of an MYP Design Cycle Template
I prefer the minimum amount of information when I inherit a design unit. For me, an overly elaborate MYP unit plan can be too much to think about and hold me back (see analysis paralysis). It’s been helpful for me to ask this question: What are the minimum resources teachers need to start to teach an MYP Unit effectively? With this question, I am focusing on a Year 1 class:
- Design scenario (e.g., Engineering a Paper Water Tank GRASPS, Mars Helicopter Prototype GRASPS)
- Student resources (some are embedded in the criteria documents; e.g., curated web links in Criterion A for the Paper Water Tank GRASPS)
- Criterion A – all strands
- Criterion B – all strands
- Criterion C – all strands (in some cases combining Strands C.2 with C.3 or C.3 with C.4 is helpful)
- Criterion D – all strands
Students need to know how to be successful in MYP Design. So, while it may not be a part of a template, the MYP Design Grading Rubric should be communicated (from the IB Guide, modified versions).
These template materials may evolve differently for different teachers. Every unit I have taught in MYP Design has been passed on to me from other teachers, but not necessarily via a unit planner. I usually knew the scenario first, but it may not have been in a standardized GRASPS format.
Constructing a Performance Task Scenario Using GRASPS
The G.R.A.S.P.S. is a handy task scenario that frames the problem to be solved and establishes the key details for project-based learning. The GRASPS outlines the design scenario in six parts:
- Goal or problem
- Role of the student
- Audience (or client) to serve
- Situation description
- Product to be made
- Standards and criteria for success
Understanding by Design (UbD) authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe offer multiple examples of GRASPS scenarios. Here are four (pages 1-4, © Wiggins & McTighe 2008):
- Health and Nutrition (2nd Grade)
- Health and Nutrition (3rd – 8th Grade?)
- Math (8th – 12th Grade?)
- Social Studies (8th – 12th Grade?)
The GRASPS scenarios with question marks indicate estimates for the grade levels.
A free MYP Design Cycle Template of the GRASPS is on page 5 of the Wiggins and McTighe resource. When building an MYP unit use the prompts to develop each part of the GRASPS for the scenario of the design problem.
Try to keep the GRASPS to one page. It helps them be an at-a-glance resource for students. I’ve found that printing the page and gluing it to cardboard as a table reference works great for students. Also, consider developing and presenting the GRASPS with helpful graphics in a slide presentation for greater understanding. Here’s an illustrated GRASPS example for the paper helicopter tradeoff problem:
The graphics used for the illustrated GRASPS of the paper helicopter tradeoff problem were from public domain sources: openclipart.com and publicdomainvectors.org. I made the paper helicopter graphic with Adobe Photoshop (which was probably not the fastest way).
GRASPS – Standards and Criteria for Success
For the MYP in Criterion B, design specifications are established. The MYP Design Guide defines design specifications as the “conditions, requirements, and restrictions with which a design must comply.” A best practice I want to get better at is to include two or three of the essential design specifications in the Standards and Criteria for Success of the GRASPS. The most critical would be those that are the least non-negotiable and important to the design’s success.
MYP Design Criteria
The creation of an MYP Design Cycle Template probably starts with the GRASPS. It’s a logical starting point. The GRASPS outlines the problem scenario for the teacher and the students, so this choice makes sense.
The criteria usually evolve as they are taught if they are not already developed. So, Criterion A is written first, then B, then C, and finally D. I have found that during each school year, I tweak each criterion as I go based on students’ needs and, well, unforeseen schedule changes. All 16 strands must be addressed at least twice in each year according to the MYP Design Guide. When students complete all 16 strands in all four criteria for a unit, this comprehensive collection of student design thinking is referred to as an MYP Folder.
What is CRAP Design?
What should an MYP Design Cycle template for a criterion look like? It should be set up using good design principles. In other words, it should look like CRAP. What is CRAP? Good visual design is CRAP (developed by Robin Williams).
Communication and multimedia consultant Carl Kwan outlines these principles clearly and succinctly via four short instructional videos:
- Contrast (1:31)
- Repetition (1:37)
- Alignment (1:45)
- Proximity (1:31)
Use all four of these design fundamentals to help your criterion documents be as visually accessible as possible for your students. Is CRAP just for teachers? Of course not! Students need to practice using CRAP to make their designs as intuitive as possible for their client/audience.
A Google Doc Template for MYP Design
Set up your students’ criteria documents using sound design principles. What kind of document should it be? A Google Slide, Google Doc, Word doc, other? Google Slides and Google Docs deploy smoothly via Google Classroom (choose “make a copy for each student”).
Google Slides does offer easy layout options, especially with graphic placement, but I find the items can accidentally shift or be deleted. Younger students are more prone to losing a text box, for example. I usually use a Google Doc for each criterion document in the MYP Design template. Although it may take longer to configure than a Google Slide, formatting tends not to get lost. Teachers can set up Docs to appear intuitive for students (e.g., capture student responses via tables).
MYP Design Cycle Template – Criterion A Example
CRAP design principles help students understand the purpose of each criterion document and where and how to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. Here are some CRAP design principles to consider when making the criterion documents.
Contrast in Document Design
I prefer black text on a lighter background (both are the default in a Google Doc). Font and color characteristics can highlight significant differences. Where to respond and where not to respond must be evident to students as well. For example, contrasts within a criterion document should distinguish between questions and answers. What are some helpful distinctions that are doable in a Google Doc?
- font type and size in title-subtitle hierarchies
- font color versus background-color
- font type and size between questions and answers
- color differences between question row and answer row
Check out the pdf example of the Criterion A Document from the Water Tank Engineering with Newspaper unit. Here’s a screenshot highlighting the font used for the student’s answer.
San Serif and Serif fonts contrast nicely. I usually use the Arial Font for the questions (the default Google Doc font) and Droid Serif as the student response font. It’s easy to forget to set up the answer row’s font differently from the question row.
Repetition in Document Design
Repeat the fonts and font sizes based on their role. For example, most of the time, I use the Arial Font size 11 for questions and Droid Serif size 12 for student answers. The Courier New font works for headings and subheadings. Too many fonts, though, can lead to a visual overload. Use the minimal amount to differentiate and be consistent about each font’s role.
Alignment in Document Design
Other than the main title, its subtitle(s), and main graphic, center alignment of content should be avoided. Strand numbering (e.g., A.1, A.2, A.3) should align vertically. Left alignment of content works best since English is read from left to right. With content left-aligned, the starting point is always consistent and familiar.
Proximity in Document Design
What should be close together? Stuff that is alike. Questions should be adjacent to answer spaces, which is standard practice. Related content is clustered together (e.g., curated web links in Strand A.3 – Analyze Existing Products for Engineering a Paper Water Tank). As students fill in their answers, tables may split across pages, which may mess up proximity a bit.
Visual Understanding – What Else?
Consider adding a graphic near the main title that immediately communicates the document’s intent. Visuals are beneficial for all students, especially for English Language Learners. Peruse the Noun Project’s database of icons for ideas. Criterion A is associated with research, so what graphical elements make sense?
MYP Design Cycle Template – Criterion A Example Download
Download an editable Criterion A example from the Engineering a Paper Water Tank Unit. This Google Document can be modified to fit your unit. It is color-coded to match the cornflower blue (hex value #3ac5d6) of Criterion A in the MYP Design Cycle. Replace the newspaper-related graphic with the generic Criterion A graphic.
MYP Design Cycle Template Summary
The MYP Design Cycle Template for Criterion A empowers teachers and students to focus on inquiry and analysis in a clear, structured way. Simplifying complex processes and providing practical tools help educators guide students through meaningful design challenges. Whether you’re new to MYP Design or refining your approach, this template offers a solid foundation to build.
Ready to start? Download the free MYP Design Cycle Template and explore how it can transform your teaching. Inspire your students to solve real-world problems with confidence and creativity.