Cross-cultural inquiry built for IB schools.
Global Cohorts is a structured 4-week program that connects your MYP classrooms to real peers in other countries through inquiry, creative production, and live virtual exchange. Aligned to Global Contexts, Key Concepts, and ATL Skills.
“My students were willing to share — even post videos — with the other schools. There was no awkwardness, which is not normal for middle schoolers.”
See it in action
Two minutes inside a cohort
Real classrooms from our Spring 2026 cohorts — Ohio, Minnesota, and Ukraine — exploring the Festivals unit together, live. This is the experience your MYP classrooms would join.
Designed for IB
Inquiry-based. Cross-cultural.Ready for your MYP classrooms.
Global Cohorts' core subject group connections are Language and Literature, Individuals and Societies, and Arts. All units develop Communication, Social, Self-management, and Thinking ATL skill categories.
Every unit engages L&L, I&S, and Arts, naturally supporting your school's MYP interdisciplinary unit requirement. Schools required to complete at least one interdisciplinary unit per year can use Global Cohorts as the inquiry-based, cross-cultural core of that unit.
A trained Banyan facilitator hosts every session. Teachers participate alongside their students rather than planning or delivering the cross-cultural component. One class period per week. Four weeks per unit. That's the entire commitment.
School year units
Four units. Each mapped to MYP.
Schools can enter at any point in the sequence or select individual units. Each runs four weeks and maps directly to MYP Global Contexts and Key Concepts.
Festivals
“How do communities celebrate who they are?”
Personal & Cultural Expression · Identities & Relationships
Identity · Culture · Creativity · Communication
Arts and I&S / Arts and L&L / I&S and L&L
Murals
“What stories do communities paint on their walls — and why?”
Personal & Cultural Expression · Identities & Relationships
Identity · Culture · Perspective · Creativity
Arts and I&S / Arts and L&L / I&S and L&L
Local Legends
“Whose stories shape our communities — and whose are missing?”
Personal & Cultural Expression · Orientation in Space & Time
Identity · Culture · Perspective · Creativity
L&L and I&S / L&L and Arts / I&S and Arts
Gathering Spaces
“Why do people come together — and what do those spaces say about us?”
Personal & Cultural Expression · Globalization & Sustainability
Identity · Culture · Creativity · Connections
I&S and Arts / I&S and L&L / Arts and L&L
MYP framework alignment
How each unit works
The 4-week instructional arc
Each unit follows the same deliberate sequence: Discover, Design, Exchange, and Celebrate. The arc builds from inquiry to genuine cross-cultural connection.
Discover
Students engage with curated cultural content and a driving question through facilitated discussion. Curiosity is sparked; the inquiry begins.
Design
Students develop an original creative response to the unit’s big question through a structured design process.
Exchange
Partner classrooms share student work across countries. Students view, respond to, and reflect on each other’s projects.
Celebrate
Students reflect on what they learned about themselves, their community, and their global partners.
Integration
Fits inside your existing MYP programme
Global Cohorts slots into your existing MYP programme with minimal time commitment and clear IB alignment. Your teachers keep doing what they do best — and complete a structured planning step to make the unit their own IDU. Global Cohorts adds the cross-cultural layer; your two subject teachers add the rest.
~1 class period per week
Each unit runs four weeks. The entire Global Cohorts cycle fits into existing class time: no new period required.
Maps to MYP Global Contexts & Key Concepts
Every unit connects directly to Global Contexts and Key Concepts your teachers are already addressing.
Aligned MYP assessment criteria
Global Cohorts provides structured student work (reflections, creative designs, peer responses) that teachers can incorporate into their existing MYP assessment framework.
Facilitator-led model
Teachers don’t need to design or deliver the cross-cultural component. Banyan’s trained facilitators run every session.
Interdisciplinary unit ready
Every unit engages L&L, I&S, and Arts, naturally supporting a school’s MYP interdisciplinary unit requirement.
International-mindedness built in
Authentic cross-cultural exchange with real peers in other countries.
Student work
Structured outputs aligned to MYP criteria
Every unit generates work products that align with MYP assessment criteria for Language and Literature, Individuals and Societies, and Arts. Teachers receive structured artifacts, not loose participation.
- Written reflections responding to the unit’s driving question
- An original creative project
- AI-assisted visualizations that bring student concepts to life
- Recorded peer responses to partner classroom work
- End-of-unit reflections on cultural learning and personal growth
ATL Skills developed in every unit
Pilot results
Spring 2026 pilot results
Two cohorts (March and April), four classrooms, three countries: middle-school classrooms in the United States, Ukraine, and Taiwan completed the Festivals unit together.
Teacher feedback: 8.0/10 overall experience, 8.7/10 would recommend to a peer, and 100% offered a testimonial. Among students, 9 in 10 learned something new about another culture and 86% would choose to do another Global Cohorts unit.
“My students were willing to share — even post videos — with the other schools. There was no awkwardness, which is not normal for middle schoolers.
Timeline
Next cohorts: February 2027
Four units, one a month, February through May. Join for a single unit or run the full sequence.
Resources for IB coordinators
Everything you need to evaluate fit
Short documents covering the program at a glance, pilot results, MYP alignment, and the coordinator deck — plus the co-planning guide for each pair of subject teachers running the unit as their IDU.
IB Coordinator One-Pager
Program at a glance, on a single page.
Pilot Results Snapshot
Spring 2026 Festivals cohort data.
MYP Alignment Map
Global Contexts, Key Concepts, ATL Skills, by unit.
IB MYP Coordinator Deck
Slide deck for sharing internally.
IDU Co-Planning Guides
Editable guides for every subject pairing, across all four units — Festivals, Murals, Local Legends, and Gathering Spaces.
Get spring cohort updates for IB schools by email. Occasional, never spammy.
Ready to bring Global Cohorts to your IB school?
Whether you're looking for an interdisciplinary unit, an international-mindedness initiative, or a structured cross-cultural experience for your MYP students, Global Cohorts is built for this.