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Back to Approaches To Learning (ATL)

WEF Education 4.0 Taxonomy & IB ATL

Approaches to Learning Place Mat

Podcast: Interview Sonya Terborg About the Approaches to Learning (ATLs)

Angeline Aow interviews Sonya Terborg about the Approaches to Learning (ATLs). Sonya has been a PYP educator since 2003 when she began working with 2nd Grade students at Bonn International School and has since worked as an art teacher, homeroom teacher, and technology integrator. Sonya is currently teaching MYP Design at Nanjing International School. Sonya is a PYP workshop leader and has worked with the IB on developing the PYP Blog and on several projects in relation to the PYP Enhancements. Her interest lies in challenging ideas and seeking understanding in how we can best “do school”. To find out more about Sonya and her work, you can follow her on Twitter or check out her website .

PYP Early Years ATL Learning Card Example

Five Ways to Deepen Student Comprehension

ATL Thinking Sub-Skills Check List

Importance of Teaching Empathy as an ATL

Prior to the Enhanced PYP empathy was an "PYP Attitude" attribute. In the Enhanced PYP, it has been subsumed into the Learner Profile under "Caring". Since empathy needs to be explicitly taught, I encourage PYP teachers to consider teaching empathy as an ATL skill under "Social Skills" (as it is in the MYP). Learn more about the importance of teaching Empathy.

Developing and Implementing High-Quality Success Criteria

The importance of differentiating instruction & assessment .

It is critical to incorporate differentiation and assessment strategies during collaborative planning and teaching for implicit and explicit opportunities for all students to develop ATL skills both inside and outside the programme of inquiry. Learn more about Differentiating Instruction and Assessment.

What Is The 3-2-1 Strategy And How Can It Be Used For Critical Thinking?

What’s the 3-2-1 strategy? The 3-2-1 strategy is simply a format that can frame–well, really anything. Great for stimulating critical thinking and ATL understanding.

Examples Of The 3-2-1 Strategy

It doesn’t even have to be about about teaching and learning. You might ask someone to name…

3 of your favourite genres of music, 2 of your favourite songs, and 1 pattern you noticed making that list of genres and songs

3 cities you’ve visited, 2 of your favourite memories of those 3 cities, and 1 place you’d like to go next

3 causes of pollution, 2 solutions that could help address those causes, and 1 thing a person can do every day to help immediately/have an immediate effect

3-2-1 is a tried-and-true way to frame anything from a pair-share or journal entry (e.g., ask students to write 3 things they think they know, 2 things they know they don’t know, and one thing they’re certain of about a topic) pre-assessment to a post-assessment (e.g., list three ways your project or learned skill reflected mastery of skill X, two ways skill Y still needs improving, and one way you can make your presentation stronger in the next five minutes) to a reflection of the post-assessment.”

The most common use of 3-2-1 is in response to a reading or lesson–usually 3 things you learned, 2 things that made you curious or confused, and 1 most important thing you learned or should do with what you’ve learned.

Using The 3-2-1 Learning Strategy For Critical Thinking

Note that these are just rough examples of using the 3-2-1 for learning. Feel free to take any of these and improve them or create your own based on an idea you get reading them.

Also note, the use of vague or imprecise words like ‘thing’ and ‘name’ and ‘could have’ and ‘might have.’ This is done to make it general enough to be plainly useful to a range of grade levels of content areas. The ‘thing’ can be anything from fractions or the water cycle to a discussion about Shakespearean sonnets.

Analytical/Conceptual

3 differences between metaphors and symbolism, 2 things they have in common, and 1 general effect on a text that they each have

3 underlying assumptions of democracy, 2 common misunderstandings of democracy, 1 reason democracies have endured as a form of modern government

You could also have asked students to name 3 strengths of democracy, 2 forms of democracy, and 1 way it might have to evolve to maintain relevance in a changing world (misinformation, deep fakes, propaganda, partisanship, etc.)

Write 3 questions at the recall or understanding level, 2 questions at the ‘apply’ level, and 1 question at the evaluate level

Discussion/Listening/Debate

3 ways you agree, 2 ways you disagree, and 1 thing you learned (or that surprised you) during your conversation

3 things they said, 2 points they made, 1 thing you’d like to know more about

Metacognitive

3 things I know (generally) about mindset, 2 examples of the effect of mindset (generally), 1 thing I’ve noticed about my mindset today/before or during this lesson/recently, etc. (specifically)

3 ways my thinking occurs easily or naturally for me, 2 ways my thinking requires focus or effort on my part, 1 adjustment I can make in response

3 things I remember thinking during the lesson, 2 things I remember doing during the lesson, and 1 thing I could’ve done but didn’t

Spend 3 minutes summarizing, 2 minutes clarifying, and 1 minute writing one sentence that concisely summarizes the ‘thing’

3 things I could do with what I’ve learned, 2 things that other people do with this kind of knowledge or skill, 1 thing I am going to do with what I’ve learned

3 similarities, 2 differences, 1 question-to-guide-future-learning

3 things I learned, 2 things that were a bit confusing, 1 ‘big idea’ that sums up the relevance of it all

3 open-ended questions, 2 closed questions, 1 deepening question

3 clarifying questions, 2 probing questions, 1 contextualizing question

Reading Response Prompt Examples

Non-fiction text/simple: Name 3 things you remember or learned from the reading, 2 things that made you confused or surprised, and 1 thing you’d like to learn more about

Non-fiction text/less simple: Name 3 examples of text structure, analyze 2 ways that structure affected its meaning, and name 1 claim that the text seemed to make that was or was not well-supported

Fiction: Describe 3 ways the author developed the protagonist over the course of the book, describe 2 ways that development affected the plot’s development, and identify and explain 1 change the author could’ve made in that development and how that change would have affected the meaning of the text/your enjoyment of the text, etc.

Using 3-2-1 To Guide Inquiry Examples

Identify 3 places your inquiry could ‘start,’ identify 2 pros and cons of each, then create 1 driving question to guide your inquiry

Write 1 question, 2 answers, and 3 follow-up questions

Write 1 question, 2 revisions of the question, and 3 effects of those revisions

Write 3 questions, 2 possible answers each, and 1 implicit idea in either

2 sources for every (1) claim

3 sources, 2 media forms, 1 recent study

3 sources published within the last 5 years, 2 sources published between 5 and 20 years ago, 1 source published 20+ years ago

Lesson Planning

What are three ways I have designed with enough flexibility to meet the needs of a range of learners? What are two questions or challenges I anticipate? If they can only learn one thing from this lesson, what do I want it to be (ideally in one sentence)?

Curriculum Planning

What are three most important ‘big ideas’ in this curriculum? (Obviously, this could be any number–six, ten, etc.) How can they unify the ‘less important’ or less broad ideas? What are curriculum planning strategies I can use to promote enduring understanding (or critical thinking, transfer, etc.)? What is one change I can make to this curriculum to make it more flexible for all learners?

Characteristics of Critical Thinking Classroom

Critical Thinking Strategy for Note-Taking

OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030 Project

The OECD Learning Compass 2030 , a product of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Future of Education and Skills 2030 project, is an evolving learning framework that sets out an aspirational vision for the future of education with a focus on individual and collective well-being. The compass framework connects well to IB PYP standards and practices through its offering of a broad vision of the types of competencies students will need to thrive in 2030 and beyond.

These include core foundations , knowledge , skills , attitudes and values , transformative competencies , well-being and a cycle of anticipation, action and reflection (AAR) . The concept of learner agency and co-agency are also central to the Learning Compass.

For example, The OECD Learning Compass 2030 distinguishes between three different types of skills : cognitive and metacognitive skills which include critical thinking, creative thinking, learning-to-learn and self-regulation (PYP ATL Thinking & Research Skills); social and emotional skills – which include empathy, self-efficacy, responsibility and collaboration and the ability to communicate, (PYP ATL Social & Communication Skills); and physical and practical (PYP ATL Self-Management Skills) –which include using new information and communication technology devices, daily manual tasks, such as feeding and clothing oneself, but also with the arts.