ATL & Skill Development
We at aLphabet international are completely aligned to the IB philosophy where all our learners are transitioned to the path of regulated self-learning focusing on applying the learning to real time applications by building a framework of skills:
Communication
- Focus on international-mindedness
Social
- Collaboration
Self Management skill
- Organization
- Affective
- Reflection
Research
- Information literacy
- Media literacy
Thinking
- Critical thinking
- Creative thinking
- Transfer
These skills are used in meeting the objectives of the eight MYP subject groups throughout the MYP years 1-5. Students learn to use these skills in their everyday life and devote enough time to putting them in practice. The application of these subject groups is driven through the Community & Personal projects where our learners select and identify an issue of concern, put together a proposal, implement and record it, and finally present it. We encourage and mandate that our students demonstrate action.
Projects
MYP projects are student-centered and age-appropriate, and they enable students to engage in practical explorations through a cycle of inquiry, action and reflection. These projects help students to develop the attributes of the IB learner profile, provide students with an essential opportunity to demonstrate ATL skills developed through the MYP, and foster the development of independent, lifelong learners.
Students will commence a Community Project in MYP Year 1 (Grade VI) which will be carried through till Year 4 (Grade IX). These selected projects are globally scalable and extended; they can be direct voluntary services, indirect service, advocacy & research. The issues they choose are at a local level but also aligned to the MYP six global concepts. As a school, we inspire learners to consider the idea of possibilities of making a difference and benefiting the society.
The community project gives students an opportunity to develop awareness of needs in various communities and address those needs through service learning. As a consolidation of learning, the community project engages in a sustained, in-depth inquiry leading to service as action in the community. The community project may be completed individually or by groups of a maximum of three students.
In Year 4, students will engage in a Personal Project which is to be completed and submitted in Year 5 (Grade 10) for assessment to the IB board. The personal project encourages students to practice and strengthen their ATL skills, to consolidate prior and subject-specific learning, and to develop an area of personal interest. The personal project provides an excellent opportunity for students to produce a truly personal and often creative product/outcome and to demonstrate a consolidation of their learning in the MYP.
Examples:
In context of Individuals and Societies: Students of Grade VII successfully engaged in individual secondary research where each student established their position about the foundations of modern nations (as we know them today) being laid in the past. They crafted their debate framework including credible evidence and presented the same to an audience followed by an intense Q&A session involving counter arguments. They experienced first-hand how they can gain a better understanding of international cultural, social, economic and political dynamics linking contemporary situations to the past and how international relations need to be addressed going forward into the future!
In context of Language & Literature: Students of Grade VI successfully worked on showcasing genres of writing –narrative and descriptive with the aim of learning the skill to engage an audience and leave a lasting impression in the minds of the audience by the sheer power and beauty of the written word! They experienced first-hand how a grasp of language and literature will help them mobilize public opinion!
In context of Unit of Inquiry: Students of Grade VII successfully rolled out a SWOT analysis for each individual student, created teams with role allocations, engaged in primary research, data collation, data interpretation, extracting conclusions and defining a way forward including a communication strategy and feasible redressal solution based on hard data- the aim being to deliver to a Group project representing the ‘Live and let Live’ philosophy in context of ‘Humans and other species’ (in this case – Minibeasts!)