INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE

A focus on skill development 

A key distinctive of an IB education is the focus on students developing IB Learner Profile attributes and the explicit teaching and learning of skills. 

The IB Learner Profile includes the ten attributes shown in the image below. These attributes are valued by IB World schools as the qualities developed in positive and productive global citizens, qualities displayed in all aspects of their lives. 

The IB Approaches to Learning skills (ATLs) are categorised in five key areas; thinking skills, communication skills, social skills, self-management skills and research skills. These skills are transferable between curriculum areas and are explicitly taught within each subject, in context with the content covered.

A recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald commented on a federally commissioned report suggesting the need for students to develop a “learner profile” to highlight the skills they have developed while at school, indicating that this may be a more valuable measure of student achievement. This shift in educational thinking is gaining momentum. Universities increasingly require evidence of skill development to support entrance applications and employers are identifying “soft skills” as the key factor in selection processes. 

We have adopted ATLs beyond the IB Diploma Programme at The Riverina Anglican College, with all students challenged to develop in each skill area in all classes. This focus allows students to graduate from school with a toolkit of skills that they can draw on beyond the classroom, promoting success in further study or employment. You can see how your child is progressing in skill development by tracking their ATL achievement in each reporting period.

Please contact me at Patricia.Humble@trac.nsw.edu.au to schedule an appointment.

Patricia Humble

| Head of International Baccalaureate