Answering big questions about the

approaches to learning (ATL)

December 21, 2017 in Middle Years Programme (MYP)

By James Smith and Adrian Gan

The approaches to learning (ATL) framework is a vital part of IB programmes — it gives them a common language to describe the core capabilities that students should develop, and challenges us to find coherent, rigorous ways to build students’ skills from Year 1 – 13. Yet it is also an aspect of the programmes for which there are few established ‘effective practices’ of implementation. At Discovery College, Hong Kong, we realized that we wanted to explore a number of key questions:

• How should ATL be mapped and articulated vertically and horizontally throughout the curriculum?
• What teaching and learning practices are the most effective in helping students to acquire ATL skills?
• What should the relationship be between the ATL framework and different forms of assessment?
• How can schools develop a continuum of ATL provision across K-12?
• How can schools use the ATL framework to plan and implement their pastoral support programme?
• How can ATL support student exploration of interdisciplinary inquiries?

and that we needed the power of our network to help us. It is against this backdrop that the idea of the Asia-Pacific ATL Symposium was created.

The Symposium was our way of drawing expertise into our school and using the practices of schools in the region to build collective understanding. Held on 15 September at Discovery College, the Symposium drew participation from 12 schools from Asia-Pacific and was generously supported by the English Schools Foundation, a group of 22 schools in Hong Kong. We were also very fortunate that Lance King (ATL expert, author) and Robert Harrison (Head of MYP Development) gave generously of their time as our keynote speakers.

The focus of the Symposium was on providing opportunities for schools to share practice. Through this, and through the contributions of the keynote speakers, we noticed an interesting shift of emphasis, from seeing the ATL as a framework to support the work of teachers, to placing greater on us on students themselves to use the framework for their own purposes:

The event as a whole has helped us develop our understanding of ATL and how they can be used to make learning better.

School networks are:

“…a vibrant, powerful force for the dissemination of innovative educational practices among principals and teachers in different schools. Networks help to overcome the isolation of schools and educators by providing opportunities for organised professional exchange, development and enrichment.” (Sliwka, 2003, p. 63)

One of the joys of being an IB Educator is to be part of a community of schools that has a voice in shaping the programmes we share. We hope that the Asia-Pacific ATL Symposiumwas a productive contribution to the collective understanding of our community, and that it sparks further conversations about the ATL and their role in the IB Programmes.

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Making the approaches to learning happen

by PYP Development Team on 29 August 2017 in approaches to learning

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Sharyn Skrtic, the Head of Elementary School & PYP Coordinator, International School Singapore

This article explores one school’s journey to ensure the approaches to learning, an element of the PYP, are planned for in order to strengthen the transdisciplinary nature of their programme.

A few years back I shared a post on the PYP transdisciplinary skills, including reflective questions on the role of these skills in your school’s programme. Since then, my school has continued to reflect and grow towards strengthening this essential element of the PYP and have also included these skills, now referred to as approaches to learning, in our Strategic Plan.

To begin with, we wanted our teachers to truly experience using approaches to learning. We set them off in groups with a task of building a versatile structure with 12 pieces of our Imagination Playground equipment. Afterwards, we reflected and discussed the approaches to learning needed to complete the task and what opportunities our students have to develop these skills.

We then viewed ‘The 10 Skills Employers Most Want in 2015 Graduates’ in order to connect to our approaches to learning and think about the relevance of these skills for our students.

After understanding how approaches to learning feel and acknowledging their importance as an programme element, we needed to know what each approach looked like. We considered two ways. One way is developmental and points on a continuum from kindergarten 1 to grade 5, identifying what each skill looks like on that continuum in an age appropriate way. A second way is in a vertical progression, leading to a defined end goal; identifying when we introduce the skill, consolidate and assess.

With the decision to start with grade bands on a developmental continuum, small groups took one approach to learning and broke it down into descriptors.

These drafts were then edited to read as ‘I Can’ statements and shared back with teachers for further edits.

PYP Approaches to Learning I Can Statements

Following on from this work, we needed to review where these skills were found in our planning and teaching. Each grade level conducted a SWOT analysis on their current approaches to learning practices.

This included mapping the skills:

We are now working on creating useful tools for our continued planning and documentation of approaches to learning.

For example, our grade 2 team are documenting detailed notes on the identified skills for their unit which will aid in their report narratives.

Our grade 5 team is continuing to plan purposefully for the approaches to learning when designing learning experiences and assessments.

The PYP places importance on process as well as products. As a school, we are continuing our process of strengthening approaches to learning in our teaching and learning. Next steps include the vertical work between our PYP, the MYP and the DP. We welcome your feedback on our shared process and products as we will continue to reflect on them as well.

http://blogs.ibo.org/sharingpyp/2017/10/10/developing-approaches-to-learning-atl/