IB Learner Profile: Lived, not Laminated
There are a few points that continue to divide IB educators, again and again. Strangely, the place of The Learner Profile, and how visible/explicit in life and learning it should be, is one of them.
When an IB School Visiting Team deem the leadership structure of a school as a ‘matter to be addressed’ - fix-up, or risk losing your accreditation to offer the programme - sure, that makes sense. Sometimes tough conversations need to happen, and tough decisions made, so that people know their roles and the organisation can function.
When a teaching team disagree over assessment - what should the balance of formative and summative be, is there a place for mastery assessment etc - that also is something worth disagreeing over. En route, hopefully, to a shared understanding that can benefit all.
When a pedagogical leadership team lock horns over the place of technology - 21st century learning and innovation vs device-addiction and mindfulness research - that is a worthwhile and important debate to be having, with no easy answers.
But with the Learner Profile, it has always seemed obvious to me.
When I visit schools and see Learner Profile posters on the wall of every classroom, I must confess that my heart sinks a little.
Why such Maoist Zeal for displaying a static orthodoxy?
But perhaps a more interesting (and less rhetorical) question is this: how to live The Learner Profile?
Learner Profile celebrations have always been a highlight of the year for me in IB Leadership - with different members of the learning community celebrating one-another’s diverse learner attributes. Here the Learner Profile is a lived reality - not just some abstract ideal on a wall, or in an accreditation document. And with its place at the core of the IB Diploma alongside Theory of Knowledge (TOK), the introduction of the inaugural Learner Profile Awards at my new school piggybacked in on our first TOK Debate of the year.
We kicked things-off with this video, where in just one debate, we saw all the Learner Profile attributes amply demonstrated, in the way it really matters: in the learners themselves. And not a laminator in sight. Enjoy!
(The embedded video below won't play in some regions - watch it by clicking this link)
Education Innovator, Author of "At What Cost: Defending Adolescent Development in Fiercely Competitive Schools"
6 å¹´Nice work, Joe!
PhD Candidate at Utrecht University/ Senior Lecturer Critical Thinking & Researcher Change Management at The Hague University of Applied Sciences/ Researcher-In-Residence at Centre for Unusual Collaborations (CUCo)
6 å¹´Fair point. However I am referring to the mission statement as there might be something that is not in tune between the mission statement and the LP that causes it not to be implemented/embodied and remain laminated on the wall but we can discuss this in another moment. Cheers
PhD Candidate at Utrecht University/ Senior Lecturer Critical Thinking & Researcher Change Management at The Hague University of Applied Sciences/ Researcher-In-Residence at Centre for Unusual Collaborations (CUCo)
6 å¹´I would go a step back and first ask how the learner profile is connected to the IB mission statement. The IB says the LP is the mission statement 'in action' but what exactly does that mean??