Teaching from the heart
Launched this spring, the IB learner profile is a 10-point summary of the qualities IB students need to develop in order to be truly internationally-minded. It’s no stuffy charter, but a plan for action whose values are designed to reach every corner of the IB world.
From the UN statute on human rights to HTML, codes are beacons that provide the frameworks by which we organize ourselves. There are times, however, when we need to lean more heavily on their guidance and for the IB, that time is now. Its code is the IB learner profile which is, in the words of its accompanying Guide, “the IB mission statement translated into a set of learning outcomes for the 21st century.”
As IB head of programme development Judith Fabian, talking to IB World at the IB’s curriculum and assessment centre in Cardiff, explains, “The learner profile sums up the spirit of the IB. If the IB mission statement is the organization’s soul, the new IB learner profile could be said to be its heart. The learner profile is the mission statement in action.”
In the current era of risk avoidance, when many major organizations are wary or nervous of stating what they believe and standing by it, this is a refreshing perspective. However, the IB acknowledges that if it believes in the principles embodied in the mission statement, it must be committed to promoting them.
The IB learner profile is a list of 10 descriptions of personal qualities IB learners achieve or strive to develop in themselves. Its aim is exactly that of the IB programmes: to develop internationally-minded people who, recognizing (our) common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better, more peaceful world.
From 2006 onwards, the IB learner profile will appear in the introductory section of every Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Diploma Programme (DP) subject guide, and will feature in the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and MYP coordinators’ handbooks and in Making the PYP happen. The IB learner profile also has a guide of its own (see panel below right), the first cross-programme document the IB has issued, to ensure its message is distributed as widely as possible.
“The IB learner profile makes explicit for the first time the organization’s belief in how IB students should be developed,” says Judith Fabian. “The philosophy is already there, but the IB learner profile defines it against the backdrop of what is currently happening in the world. One major challenge for the IB in the 21st century is how to ensure its objective of developing international-mindedness is translated into everyday learning. The learner profile embodies in a practical form what the IB means by ‘international-mindedness.’
“It also adds coherence across the three programmes,” Fabian explains. “While their subject matter and methods may differ, the learner profile gives them a shared framework and a common vocabulary.”
An additional factor has influenced the IB learner profile’s development. Given the recent rapid increase in authorization of new IB schools around the world, a method was needed to ensure that all remain united in a common purpose. It became clear to many at the IB that there was already a solution available to all IB schools and across all three programmes, and that this solution was to be found in the Primary Years Programme.
The PYP student profile is a list of 10 attributes designed to put the mission statement’s principles into learning practice for younger International Baccalaureate students. Reshaping it into the learner profile ensures that a consistent structure exists across all programmes and in all IB schools for how to promote the principles of the mission statement. “The PYP student profile provided a way in to the learner profile,” says head of PYP Jennifer Giddings. “In the PYP the attributes will still be assessed and reported back to students and parents as before, unlike the learner profile at MYP and DP level, which will not be assessed for the present.”
The fact that there is a pre-existing model for the learner profile must be encouraging, however, for anyone coming completely new to the concept. Giddings agrees, “Given our experience with the PYP attributes, all the feedback is that there is every reason for the IB learner profile to be effective. One of the main reasons the attributes worked so well in the PYP is that parents feel that, because they are a set of values shared between students, teachers and the home environment, rather than a set of academic principles, the attributes give them the opportunity to have some input into what their children are doing at school. We hope they will also be a useful tool for explaining IB education to parents who wish to know what exactly the IB is.”
So how will the IB learner profile work in IB schools?
“The learner profile has to become part of the school culture to be effective,” says Judith Fabian. “It will not be taught as a subject in itself, but will be incorporated into all the subjects. The learner profile should infuse the MYP and Diploma Programme, in much the same manner as the areas of interaction operates in the MYP. In fact, its introduction will be no new thing to MYP teachers, as the programme is holistic and the teachers already have the experience of teaching Areas of interaction (AOI).
“For the Diploma Programme, where the focus is on the process of the learning and assessment of the curriculum, the introduction of the learner profile will involve a little more creative thinking. But schools are completely free to interpret how they put the IB learner profile into practice.
“Also, because for the meantime the learner profile will not be assessed, schools will evaluate their own performance, to ensure the learner profile’s values are evident in the classroom and in the daily life of the school. For most schools this can be achieved by means of constructive dialogue between teachers and administrators.
“Some schools may find they have to do a little more creative refocusing of their ideas than others, but changes made on the way to implementing the learner profile will lead to a strengthened teaching professionalism and create an increased sense of collaboration within the school.”
Additional support will be available online at www.ibo.org, within the online curriculum centre (OCC) where a section will be dedicated to the IB learner profile, with discussion forums and areas where teachers can exchange ideas, experiences and resources. Workshop leaders for all three programmes will also be setting up real-world forums where teachers can discuss their experiences in working with the learner profile and share ideas on implementing its values in subjects or programme components.
The IB understands that if it wants students in IB schools to be confident thinkers, it has to lead by example. In promoting the learner profile to schools, the IB is giving a strong lead to teachers and students by issuing a concrete declaration of what it stands for. So far, the approach has been very well received.
Says Judith Fabian, “Feedback has been unanimously positive. Ultimately, we want to
encourage schools to create the most effective learning environment, for students of course, but also for teachers: the IB learner profile is for them, too.
“If teachers can use the IB learner profile to create an atmosphere of enthusiasm in the school, to show that they themselves are lifelong learners, students are far more likely to feel there’s something they can actively do to make a difference, and that they can take their achievements forward after graduation.”
Read further about how IB schools have put the learner profile in action:
A strategic spectrum: Branksome Hall, Toronto, Canada
Learning from primary principles: Luanda International School, Angola
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The IB’s 10-point plan
What is the IB learner profile A new guide sets out its nature.
IB learners strive to be Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-minded, Risk-takers, Balanced, Caring and Reflective.
