International Big Picture Learning Credential

About International Big Picture Learning

System Type: Variety

Grade Levels: 11-12

Overview

Big Picture Learning is an international network of over 200 schools dedicated to facilitating real-world, student-centered learning where every student is the curriculum and the entire community is the school. Students at Big Picture Learning Schools learn through interest-driven internships with work-place mentors and with the guidance of a school-based advisor where the entire school culture is focused on Big Picture 10 Distinguishers. Learning is interdisciplinary by nature and applied. Assessment and evaluation at Big Picture Schools builds from student articulated interests and is intended to measure how a student is smart rather than how smart a student is. This is a critical difference that honors the assets and contributions of every individual and explicitly rejects ranking students. Additionally, this kind of asset based evaluation system minimizes cultural biases prevalent in most standardized testing and evaluation systems. Schools and out-of-school partner programs in Australia, Barbados, Kenya, and the United States are using the International Big Picture Learning Credential (IBPLC), which was designed in partnership with researchers at the University of Melbourne and the Big Picture Learning Australia and the US.

You can watch this overview video about the IBPLC here and read more about it below.

Technology Tools Used for Assessment and Reporting

Students and educators document and credit learning using the International Big Picture Learning Credential (IBPLC).

Advisors use the RUBY Assessment Platform, developed in partnership with the Assessment Research Center at the University of Melbourne, to record student progression levels in 6 Learning Goal areas:

Communications
Empirical Reasoning
Personal Qualities
Social Reasoning
Knowing How to Learn
Quantitative Reasoning.

RUBY, the platform, allows data to be psychometrically validated and produces student, classroom, and school-level reports to be used to examine student progress and ensure that the instrument is being used with fidelity. When ready, the IBPLC is issued by the University Admissions Centre via the Credfolio Platform. Students use a variety of platforms and technologies to produce a 3-5 minute student video statement and to curate a digital, external facing portfolio. Both the video statement and portfolio are student owned (and can, therefore, be modified at any time by the student) and required to issue an IBPLC. The final credential also includes a fixed Advisor statement and a student-curated list of accomplishments and experiences including credentials and certifications they have received in and beyond the walls of the school.

Outcomes: What is assessed?

There are 6 competency areas that Big Picture Learning uses to guide and document learning:

Knowing how to learn
Personal qualities
Quantitative reasoning
Empirical reasoning
Communication
Social reasoning

Big Picture Education Learning Goals

Above is a description of the 6 Big Picture Education Learning Goals.

Each Learning Goal is vetted through a Frame. The IBPLC Frames guide Advisors in thinking through ways a student is demonstrating applied competence in each of the Learning Goal areas with consistency and in a variety of learning environments.

For example, the Empirical Reasoning Frame directs Advisors to look for evidence a student is “using observation, evidence, and experimentation to explain phenomena and make decisions.” Advisors are guided to document student capability to “Explore,” “Investigate,” and “Evaluate.”. The Frame then includes some common indicators of each capability. For example, two indicators in the Explores capability are:

Asks questions
Makes predictions

A unique feature of the IBPLC is its ability to document and credit learning in and out of school, in any language, and using ways of communicating ability most traditional systems disregard. Day to day learning at IBPLC programs] is organized around student-interest driven projects and out-of-school learning such as internships and community based projects. All of these experiences provide different opportunities for learners to demonstrate evidence on these indicators and receive formative feedback. However, assessment and reporting is done more holistically and summatively at the learning goal level.

Levels of Proficiency: How is Progress Marked?

On the IBPLC, a scale of 5-Progression Levels is used to document a student’s capability for each Learning Goal. Each Learning Goal has a 1-5 descriptor like the sample shared below for Social Reasoning. This is a holistic description of that level.

Above is a description of all 5 Progression Levels for the Social Reasoning Learning Goal.

The IBPLC Frame then offers Quality Criteria to assist an Advisor in thinking through Sources of Evidence to arrive at a Progression Level (1-5) which is assigned to a student in the RUBY platform.

For each indicator of the competency a performance descriptor is given at each level. These Frames were developed in partnership with researchers at University of Melbourne who validated the framework and have been integral to the implementation to ensure a high quality assessment process.

Above is an example of a Frame for the Empirical Reasoning Learning Goal. It includes 7 Indicators across three Capabilities: Explores, Investigates and Evaluates.

This Frame is used holistically rather than as a checklist or mathematical averaging. The intention of the Frame is to guide an Advisor’s thinking about how a student is demonstrating capacity using a learner’s body of evidence.

There is no specified goal or expectation for students to reach a certain IBPLC level in order to graduate. However, the University of Melbourne has suggested that most of its incoming Freshmen from any school would likely be assigned between a level 2-3 on the IBPLC scale. It is common to see some students reaching those levels and even higher in one Learning Goal that is a strength of theirs, while reaching a 1-2 on another Learning Goal.

Reporting: How is Progress Documented?

The IBPLC report is a combination of a student learner record much like a Progress Report or Transcript and a resume making the credential useful for post-secondary access to both the workforce and continued academic or trades based education. It includes:

A student photo
Links to a student video statement where they share about themselves
Links to a student curated, digital portfolio
An advisor statement that serves as a powerful letter of recommendation
A flower graphic that shows the student Progression Level on each Learning Goal at the time the Credential is issued, each represented by a different color on the petal.
A brief list of student-identified achievements and real-world experiences

Source: What is the International Big Picture Learning Credential? Big Picture Learning

How Outcomes are Assessed and a Level is Determined for the IBPLC

Educators assess student evidence of the Learning Goals 3-4 times during a student’s high school career, typically in Grades 11 and 12, using multiple sources of evidence. This process is called moderation. This process is collaborative and allows for students to receive feedback and develop more evidence before a final, summative report is submitted to any higher education institutions or employers.

Advisors, who engage in the moderation process, are guided to use 3 sources of evidence with approximately 8 data points per source of evidence to assign a Progression Level for each Learning Goal. Sources of Evidence may be used across Learning Goal areas. For example, an Advisor may use a capstone project or a senior thesis as a Source of Evidence demonstrating student capability in Empirical Reasoning and Communications.

Sharing with Families

Big Picture Learning Programs include families as a critical partner and stakeholder in student growth and development. Parents or guardians are involved in the development of Individualized Learning Plans (ILPs) at the beginning of each term and in student-led Exhibitions at the end of each term. ILP meetings and Exhibitions both reference Big Picture Learning Goals, recorded and shared on the IBPLC.

Crediting, Promotion and Admission to Secondary/Post-Secondary

Big Picture Learning issued the first round of 15 full credentials in the United States in June 2023. Big Picture Australia expects to issue 507 credentials in the 2024 school year. 34.5% of graduates are expected to pursue positions in the workforce using their credential. 48.7% of graduates are expected to use their credentials to access post-secondary education. Currently, 17 Universities in Australia, representing 40% of academic post-secondary institutions in the country, accept the IBPLC for admissions consideration with no additional transcript or test scores.