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10 activities to develop IB learner profile

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10 activities to develop IB learner profile

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As IB language teachers, we are striving for our students to become effective communicators. But when was the last time you sat down and thought about how to develop all attributes of the IB learner profile in your classroom? It's easier than you think. Read on for 10 English activity recommendations to develop every learner profile attribute.

In short, we want our students to be curious and ask questions. One of my favourite activities to do this is through the , because when it comes to teenagers, we sometimes need to give them a little nudge to get those questions flowing. Check out that will get your students asking questions about a global issue that isn't going away.

As the IB states, when it comes to being open-minded, we strive to 'critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others.' (2019)

It seems that our students are constantly facing uncertainty in our complex world. Being a risk-taker means facing that uncertainty head-on, with 'forethought and determination.' (IBO, 2019) So when I'm feeling a little stressed about the current state of affairs, it can be comforting to turn to dystopian literature and see how characters faced uncertainty when their worlds ended.

When it comes to being balanced, it's important to remember that we should not only reflect on our own well-being, but the well-being of others as well.

will encourage students to think outside of the box when it comes to the well-being of... aliens! If aliens landed on earth, what treatment would they receive? Who would consider their well-being and welfare?

How can we use the experiences of others to reflect on our own lives? Rather than giving you a typical plenary reflection activity, I'm sharing based on the graphic novel MAUS, which explores the experience of a Holocaust survivor. This assessment task follows the same structure as the English B HL Individual oral, where students analyse themes in a written extract, and complete a TOK reflection on how our memories shape us.

What other activities do you turn to when developing IB learner profile attributes? I'd love to hear your recommendations below!

As IB language teachers, we are striving for our students to become effective communicators. But when was the last time you sat down and thought about how to develop all attributes of the IB learner profile in your classroom? It's easier than you think. Read on for 10 English activity recommendations to develop every learner profile attribute.

In short, we want our students to be curious and ask questions. One of my favourite activities to do this is through the , because when it comes to teenagers, we sometimes need to give them a little nudge to get those questions flowing. Check out that will get your students asking questions about a global issue that isn't going away.

As the IB states, when it comes to being open-minded, we strive to 'critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others.' (2019)

It seems that our students are constantly facing uncertainty in our complex world. Being a risk-taker means facing that uncertainty head-on, with 'forethought and determination.' (IBO, 2019) So when I'm feeling a little stressed about the current state of affairs, it can be comforting to turn to dystopian literature and see how characters faced uncertainty when their worlds ended.

When it comes to being balanced, it's important to remember that we should not only reflect on our own well-being, but the well-being of others as well.

will encourage students to think outside of the box when it comes to the well-being of... aliens! If aliens landed on earth, what treatment would they receive? Who would consider their well-being and welfare?

How can we use the experiences of others to reflect on our own lives? Rather than giving you a typical plenary reflection activity, I'm sharing based on the graphic novel MAUS, which explores the experience of a Holocaust survivor. This assessment task follows the same structure as the English B HL Individual oral, where students analyse themes in a written extract, and complete a TOK reflection on how our memories shape us.

What other activities do you turn to when developing IB learner profile attributes? I'd love to hear your recommendations below!

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10 activities to develop IB learner profile attributes

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10 engaging activities to explore each of the IB learner profile attributes with your students.

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How to embed the IB Learner Profile in your curriculum

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How to embed the IB Learner Profile in your curriculum

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It would be difficult to argue against the aims of the IB Learner Profile right now.

Focusing on holistic learners and valuing attributes outside of grades, in a topsy turvy world where an A grade can change to a D and a 7 to a 5 at the drop of a hat, perhaps has more importance than ever.

But how do we bring the 10 often recited words that make up the Learner Profile to life?
What is the International Baccalaureate? What is the IB Learner Profile? Why the IB's principles matter more than ever
Bringing the Learner Profile to life

By the end of my first term of IB teaching, I was pretty confident that my classes could parrot back the words 'communication', 'caring', 'principled' and so on, and even, with a push, recognise them in the literature we were studying. Lady Macbeth? Clearly a 'risk-taker'...

But could they see the relevance of the attributes in their own lives and how could we ensure that the requirement for all IB schools to incorporate the learner profile into all aspects of school life was met?

A few years ago, my school moved from a pure IB curriculum (MYP followed by the Diploma), to introducing IGCSE for Year 10 and 11.

There were a number of reasons for the change, but one big concern was how we would continue to hold on to our ethos of being an IB school, whilst simultaneously delivering our 'hybrid' curriculum.

Ensuring that the Learner Profile was woven into the fabric of teaching and learning and became ingrained in the culture of the school was really important. In essence, this is one of the ways you can articulate who you are as an IB school.

I decided to focus on this as a key area to develop over the year and, working closely with the ATL coordinator, we came up with a pastoral and academic programme that aimed to bring the disparate curriculum in the Secondary school together.

In our case, we wanted to ensure that everyone was familiar with the 10 attributes, so we looked at the calendar and started making links with key school events or global days of celebration.

We mapped out the year into blocks of three or four weeks where we decided to cover an attribute in an assembly and then follow up with a house challenge or set of activities connected to the initial input.

As an example, 'Principled' was introduced in an assembly that linked to the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development and the idea of democracy and protest.

Ending with a call to arms for students to develop their own 'taking a stand speeches', each house went on to passionately deliver their orations on 'soap boxes', with the winning house decided by the fact that every single person listening to the speeches had been drawn to their rousing stance on gender equality.

Tips for embedding the Learner Profile into your curriculum

So how could you embed the Learner Profile into the culture of your school?

1 Refresh staff

Start the year exploring activities based on the Learner Profile with staff. Even experienced IB teachers might benefit from a refresher and a chance to discuss with other colleagues.

Activities could involve looking at each attribute and coming up with dispositions that you might connect with someone who is 'balanced' or 'reflective'. You could also ask groups to think about literary characters or even real people who embody these traits.

Asking staff to reflect on where they themselves demonstrate the Learner Profile could be done with quizzes or 'selfies' that could even lead to a light-hearted staff room display.

2 Align your values

Use the Learner Profile attributes to tie in with your own school values. Can you use common language to link to the vision of your school or think about where and how students can demonstrate these values?

If you are a through school, consider how the Learner Profile could help to tie your vision and values together throughout the PYP, MYP and DP.

3 Interpret things visually

Visual representations and displays can be effective in keeping the Learner Profile prominent throughout the year.

Consider a common format for classroom displays or set up a 'display challenge' where students are tasked with representing one of the attributes visually in prominent places around the school.

4 Focus your calendar

Consider dividing the school year into different focus points for the Learner Profile where you can celebrate or explore an attribute in assemblies, pastoral approaches or by linking to key dates in your calendar. Communication and World Book Day are always a good pairing.

A time for change

The Learner Profile could feel expendable at a time when many students have missed out on months of face to face teaching and might still experience disruption to courses as we move into more uncertain times.

However, for teachers, the ability to celebrate our students as more than just a grade or an exam statistic and the opportunity to develop the students in our care as global citizens who value themselves and others in ways that are integral to creating a better world, has surely never been so valuable.
Emily Hardwicke is assistant head, MYP coordinator and head of English at an international school in Switzerland

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How to embed the IB Learner Profile in your curriculum

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It's a huge part of the International Baccalaureate programme, but how can schools properly integrate the Learner Profile into their teaching and learning? One senior leader explains

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The IB is excited to welcome educators to explore Education for an inclusive future at the IB Global Conference, Toronto 2023 held from 27 - 30 July 2023.

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8 Creative Strategies for IB PYP Learner Profile Attributes

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8 Creative Strategies for IB PYP Learner Profile Attributes

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Walkthrough an IB school's corridors, classrooms, teacher lounges, and offices.

What is the one thing they all have in common?

LEARNER PROFILE ATTRIBUTES POSTERS!

Yet, in workshops, conferences, and online forums the most rampantly asked questions are around "how can we help our students in their development and understanding of the attributes of the IB learner profile?".

All of us have to agree that, the Learner Profile Attributes encapsulate the citizen of the present and future - one who navigates complex challenges to enter a work environment where 60% of jobs don't exist today.

The Learner Profile Attributes make the <3 of the IB PYP. Here, we list down 8 tried-and-tested ways to make them come alive in your classroom! You can use these strategies to make the learner profile attributes more visible and intentional in your classroom!

1. Book tree
An organic display where your children identify, illustrate, and talk about the Learner Profile
Reading and storytelling are a ubiquitous part of any primary years classroom, so they make for rich opportunities to recognize the Learner Profile attributes. Very often, teachers use storytelling as a means to discuss the LPAs - pausing and asking questions about what attribute the characters displayed! This works very well but in our experience, we have seen that this may also hinder the flow of the story. Here, we suggest a better strategy to use the books for LPAs.Co-construct a display with your children. Establish an agreement with your students to identify the LP focus in each book they read. After they read, they may draw a picture/write/talk about how the learner profile attribute was evident in the book. This work can then be added to a book board in the class along with the learner profile attribute infocus. Lots of meaningful discussions and connections take place when you make the learner profile visible in the classroom. An added benefit - children thinking about a particular Learner Profile can get book ideas throughout the year!

Best for ages 4-10

2. Shoutout Board

We're always talking about MUST HAVE displays in the PYP classroom! Here is one for you that goes beyond the static Learner Profile Attribute Posters. Two ways to design a shoutout board.

Way 1 - Co-create a shoutout board with your children. Have them come up with a design, create the labels, and put it all together. Children write shoutouts for each other and the teacher adds them to the board.

Way 2 - Ready the shoutout board before day 1 of school. You can give it a meaningful / punny title "Look who's been caught being a ...." On the first day, everyone gets a "risk taker" shoutout for making it to class. Then children can give each other shoutouts for demonstrating the attributes. As a teacher, you can also give shoutouts to students and students can give them to you! Model the attributes and make it a part of your classroom's culture.

Best for ages 3-8 year olds

3. Exit Ticket

Developing a shared language around the learner profile attributes is an exercise in discipline and self-awareness. Anne Evans says and we paraphrase - "the real purpose of the learner profile is to encourage reflection on the attributes".

One great way to reflect on a daily basis - make the classic Exit Ticket a daily part of your goodbye routine. On the exit ticket, have children write one attribute they really worked on or really demonstrated!

2 birds with 1 stone - encourage reflective practice and build learner agency.

As a teacher, be sure to model this along with your students! You might say something like, "Today, I think I was a risk-taker when we decided to go out and look for bugs because as you all know, I am scared of creepy crawlies". Make the Exit Ticket a wonderful habit for all the citizens of your classroom. You can assign virtual exit tickets to students using the Toddle Students App and keep this process going during in-person and virtual learning!

Best for 4-12 year olds

4. Handmade Student Posters

The PYP thrives on collaboration and yet our displays and walls often have printed ready-to-use posters. Authentic displays are a process, "a systematic act of collecting, interpreting and reflecting on concrete traces of learning". "What's on your walls?" is a classic question and the answer usually entails prints of the Learner Profile Attributes in a variety of styles - Dr. Suess posters, Animal posters, Teachers Pay Teachers Printables and many more! We love them all. However, there is one we like above all - HANDMADE STUDENT POSTERS.

Here are 2 ways to create hand-made student posters:

Way 1 - Ryan Highbea, an experienced PYP educator shares his experiences of helping very young children construct meaning of the IB Learner Profile Attributes.

Teachers can start by showing children a diverse range of photos for each attribute. For risk-taker, show them images like

Then teachers can tell their young learners, "these are all risk takers. What do you observe them doing". Children contribute several ideas (being a risk taker looks like doing dangerous things, being excited, helping someone, doing something you wouldn't do otherwise).

Students are then given pieces of paper to illustrate themselves as risk-takers. Overtime, students can also take photographs of themselves and each other to stick them next to the posters!

These drawings together make the Learner Profile Attribute Poster.

Way 1 is best suited for 3-7 year olds

Way 2 - Divide students into 10 tables (1 for each learner profile attribute). Give them art tools to create posters that illustrate the Learner Profile Attribute. Make the posters come alive by giving children the ability to take photos and clip them next to the posters every time someone demonstrates the attribute. Get students to create collages or illustrate on Toddle Student's App to create Learner Profile posters for your virtual classroom.

Way 2 is best suited for 6-11 year olds

To us, the Learner Profile attributes are a toolbox with specific superpowers that allow us to navigate diverse challenges. With this lens, our students are constantly working towards strengthening those superpowers. One strategy we use is called "Brag Tags" - a form of student lanyards.

Each student has a brag tag that has a personalized note about the attribute they have demonstrated well. Students enjoy being stopped by people at school and being able to talk to them about the tag they've earned! Students get to vocalize around the attributes, take ownership of the ones they want to develop, and get acknowledged for their personal strengths!

Best for 5-7 year olds

6. Build, Construct, and 3D Represent

We've never met a student who didn't love building, constructing, and making a mess! Get creative with the learner profile attributes. Divide children into teams and assign them 2 attributes each. Give them a range of materials - lego, art tools, blocks, clay, paints, and more. Let children explore what the Learner Profile means to them and create a visual representation.

To conclude, each team should explain their thinking and present their models to their peers.

Best for 3 to 8 year olds

7. Quotation Station

Quotes are so underrated - sprinkled over twitter posts, projects, and essays! But if we look at them closely, quotes provide opportunities for deep reflection and metacognition. Gather your favourite quotes and save them in a nice little ribboned diary. Get ready for Quotation Station by:

Starting your Monday mornings by diving into 1 famous quote. Here are few quotes you can start with "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new - Albert Einstein", "You must be the change you want to see in the world - Mahatma Gandhi", "Stand up for what you believe in, even if it means standing alone. Never, never be afraid to do what's right - Martin Luther King, Jr", "Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting - Edmund Burke".

Encourage students to make personal connections with the learner profile attributes. Ask questions to provoke their thinking "how can you bring this to life? What action can you take?"

Dedicate a part of your display wall or a corner of the classroom as the "Quotation Station".

On Fridays, regroup and have children reflect on what they did to live the quote!

We promise your students will love this!

Best for 5 to 10 year olds

8. Kindness Ninjas

Learner Profile Attributes are the foundation for developing strong internationally minded citizens. Create opportunities for children to have real experiences with the world by implementing a "Kindness Ninjas" program.

1. Assign a core attribute for each week.

2. Children identify and recognize this attribute all across the school.

3. Like ninjas, they leave notes of appreciation for teachers and students everywhere!

To take this a step further, teachers may identify penpals for students to speak to all across the world.

Play around with these flexible strategies - you can find lots of opportunities to merge them and make magic!
PS: We made a memorable Learner Profile mnemonic to remember the attributes - "The Ridiculous Iguana Befriended Cats, Reindeers, Cobras, Koalas, Octopus, & Parrots".
Liked this resource? Here are a few more you might like to explore:

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8 Creative Strategies for IB PYP Learner Profile Attributes

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Equip yourself with 8 tried-and-tested creative strategies to make the IB PYP Learner Profile Attributes come alive in your classroom.

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We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning throughout life.

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We develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring knowledge across a range of disciplines. We engage with issues and ideas that have local and global signicance.

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We use critical and creative thinking skills to analyse and take responsible action on complex problems. We exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions

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We express ourselves condently and creatively in more than one language and in many ways. We collaborate eectively, listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups.

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We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.

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We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the experience

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We show empathy, compassion and respect. We have a commitment to service, and we act to make a positive dierence in the lives of others and in the world around us.

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We approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; we work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.

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We understand the importance of balancing dierent aspects of our lives—intellectual, physical, and emotional—to achieve well-being for ourselves and others. We recognize our interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live.

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We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experience. We work to understand our strengths and weaknesses in order to support our learning and personal development.

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be the volunteer to share ideas, help teachers

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be the volunteer to share ideas, help teachers

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I teach students how to communicate using different creative tools and how to communicate using non-verbal communication.

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reflection after formative assessment

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I establish clear class rules and essential agreement, then I lead my students to be great observers. Who is a principled young learner? And celebrate.

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learn examples from different countries and cultures

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learn examples from different countries and cultures

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I help the learners by asking thought provoking questions and also by providing them the opportunity to ask open ended questions as well

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Students are often nervous about performing - I afford flexibility so that they can build confidence over time

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care about the lower earning groups when making Economics policies

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care about the lower earning groups when making Economics policies

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I encourage my students to introduce their culture and food.

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I encourage my students to introduce their culture and food.

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respect students and encourage students to try more times of their study

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Stand up and do some simulation activities beyond siting and listening

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Stand up and do some simulation activities beyond siting and listening

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By giving some case studies and situations to be a thinker

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Give free time for hard working students

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Give free time for hard working students

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By making buddy they can grow as caring learner

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By making buddy they can grow as caring learner