Approaches to Learning

Approaches to learning (ATL) are an integral part of an IB education and complement the learner profile, knowledge, conceptual understandings and inquiry. There are five categories of interrelated skills: research, thinking, communication, social and self-management. These skills are grounded in the belief that learning how to learn is fundamental to a student’s education. ​

ATL's are intentionally taught from the Early Years to Grade 12. Each grade level seeks developmentally-appropriate and authentic ways to engage students with these skills. The skills aim to support students of all ages to become self-regulated learners who know how to ask good questions, set effective goals and pursue their aspirations with the determination to achieve them. These skills also help to support students’ sense of agency, encouraging them to see their learning as an active and dynamic process (IBO 2017).

While we are connecting daily with the ATL's, the following skills are being explicitly taught as part of our current units of inquiry;
Early Years: self-management, social, and communication skills
Kindergarten: social and research skills
Grade 1: research skills
Grade 2: communication skills
Grade 3: communication, social, and research skills
Grade 4: research and thinking skills
Grade 5: research and self-management skills