The Learner Profile
One of the most useful
documents for IB teachers and students is the IB learner profile. Simply put,
this is the IB mission statement translated into learning outcomes that can
clarify the goals of the programme for students and teachers alike. The learner
profile provides a set of common terms for students and teachers as they
discuss the desired outcomes of any IB Middle Years Programme course, and they can
be related to not only academic goals but also personal goals. Read about the
IB Learner Profile here. The ten characteristics that all IB students
should strive to embody are as follows:
.Inquirers
.Knowledgeable
.Thinkers
.Communicators
.Principled
.Open Minded
.Caring
.Risk Takers
.Balanced
.Reflective
Few would argue that these are
qualities worth possessing at any stage of personal and intellectual growth;
the IB curriculum is designed to explicitly foster and strengthen them. The
learner profile also provides a framework for the students to know and discuss
their own experiences as learners in the IB classroom. The full list, with
elaboration on each descriptor, can be found on page 5 of the Learner Profile
Guide available from the Online Curriculum Centre. There is also a short video
illustrating the learner profile here.
Questions for Reflection:
1.
How can the IB
learner profile enhance your own understanding of your place in the IB
classroom? How can it inform your teaching?
2.
In what ways do
the assignments in your classroom encourage students to develop one or more of
the characteristics named on the learner profile?
3.
How can your
students benefit from studying the IB learner profile?
4.
In what ways can
an understanding of the IB learner profile help clarify the goals of the IB
Middle Years Programme to someone who is not familiar with IB?
1. I think that the IB learner profile establishes a comprehensive set of goals that focus on helping students develop intellectually and as people of character. As a teacher, my place in the IB classroom is to facilitate student understanding of these goals. It can inform my teaching by helping me make explicit to students the goals of our learning environment, and these principles can be emphasized as we learn about and analyze history and as students learn to work together and to become reflective and self-motivated learners.
ReplyDelete2. Many of the assignments in my classroom encourage these characteristics. Students become inquirers when we learn how to research about a given topic for a paper or project. They become knowledgeable when they examine events and ideas in history and think about how those ideas and events affect and are reflected in their own lives and in our world today. They develop critical thinking skills as they examine the causes and effects of major decisions in history. They learn to work effectively with others in collaborative assignments and projects. They develop empathy, compassion, and a sense of justice and fairness as they study the tragedies and injustices of history and become part of the conversation about how to improve our world.
3. Students can benefit from studying the IB learner profile because it helps them develop goals for themselves and a sense of the purpose and importance of their education and of being life-long learners.
4. The IB learner profile expands on and explains in some depth the mission of the IB MYP. It is helpful for me as I become more familiar with IB. It outlines and makes explicit many of the underlying principles that are key to most educators.
-- Carrie Roberts
1) The learner profile creates a clear model for what we, as teachers should expect/strive for our IB students to look like. The ten attributes are not just from the academic domain, which means our classrooms need to foster values and a community attitude as well. As the teacher my aim should be to continue to mold students into this internationally minded profile by not just stretching their cognitive abilities, but forcing them to reflect on their personal perspective and values.
ReplyDelete2) I would want to start off the year with the understanding that I expect students to be open-minded and praise risk-taking on assignments. I try to create assignments that will call for students to become inquirers, seeking information from primary sources from all perspectives. After the inquiry process they would need to be able to communicate their finds and reflect on them, which can be achieved in a written, visual, or performance product.
3). The goal is to have students believe in the benefits of becoming a well-rounded IB learner with these ten important facets. If the whole school is aware of the expectations it then develops in the school environment and promotes the singular goal that we can all become internationally minded citizens of the world.
4) The IB learner profile breaks down the characteristics that MYP aims for with a clear and easy to understand list that could be explained to new parents, teachers, students, and members of the Lanier community. It creates the picture of an individual that the IB Programme expects to succeed in society.
-Katie Keenan
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ReplyDeleteThe learner profile is a framework that will surround each decision that I make about my classroom curriculum, culture, and teaching practices. The learner profile will be goal of my lesson planning. When I taught English and reading, I took careful consideration to ensure that all of my lessons promoted inquiry and thinking, risk taking and reflective thought. I hope that I will carry this same consideration in my math class as I map out my year. For instance, to encourage reflection, I will not just require quiz and test corrections, but I will also require that the students explain what went wrong in their original thinking.
ReplyDeleteThe learner profile is not a just a prescription for school, but it is also can serve students for the rest of their lives. If taught correctly, the learner profile can help shape every decision the students make. The learner profile not only shapes the students but it can also help clarify the goals of the MYP to someone who is not familiar with the program. It helps to paint a clearer picture of how we are going to help our kids achieve all the principals outlined in our mission statement.
Nilima Vashi