Learning Needs Diagnosis

The Diploma Programme is hard, and it never gets any easier. To do well, the IB requires consistent effort, good English language, and Approaches To Learning skills that are always improving.

Many times in DP, you will find you need help in the moment. The moment you need help may be late at night, early in the morning or during a school day. It won't always be possible to find the help you need from a teacher or a friend. The Approaches To Learning site is developed for you as a toolbox, waiting to be used at a moment's notice.You can use the site by looking through each of the five Approaches To Learning skills, by accessing the mind map at right.

Within each ATL skill, there has been a thoughtful division of content that works to provide you vetted resources at various stages in your learning:

Communication Skills - Communication has been modeled against the typical stages of learning in DP, which includes Reading for understanding, Speaking to convey meaning, and Writing for clarity and purpose.

Research Skills - Research has been separated into three of the most significant Big 6 Research Skills areas: Searching for information, Evaluating sources for selection, Citing sources for use in a variety of contexts.

Self-Management Skills - The section of the site devoted to Self-Mangement reflects three key modes in which the learner can directly impact their success significantly. This involves the Organization of learning materials, time and environment, Reflection upon various aspects of learning and the learner themselves, and Motivating yourself to persevere through the use of planning and goal-setting.

Social Skills - Learning is often most effective when it is done with support from others. The site offers advice on how to Work Together effectively by following a few simple rules, how to create opportunities by Networking within and beyond your classes, and how to Listen more closely to gather as much new information from your peers as possible.

Thinking Skills - Thinking is one of the most complicated and mysterious skill areas to develop further, because it's not always clear what steps to take and how thinking changes in different settings. The site presents thinking in a variety of contexts, including thinking to Solve Problems, thinking to Create something new, and thinking to Revise for an assessment.

Additionally, you can look through the alphabetical table of contents below for the topic that you need:

Connecting Information

Critical Friends Groups