The skill of learning doesn’t necessarily come naturally — to put it simply, students have to learn how to learn. That’s where Approaches To Learning enters the picture. Commonly referred to as ATL, it is a set of skills that students can develop and apply across all subject areas and disciplines. These transferable skills play a critical role in their academic success and can also be relied upon in the future.
At OWIS Digital Campus, we are excited to launch the IB Diploma Programme in August 2025. ATL skills will be developed organically and strategically within our holistic learning environment. These skills play a pivotal role within the IBDP, making them an essential part of the learning experience at our school.
Understanding Approaches to Learning
ATL, which is loosely defined as the skills students need to learn effectively, plays a critical role within the IB Diploma Programme. Students who are enrolled in the IBDP are expected to have a well-developed set of ATL skills, as they will need to use these skills to succeed in their courses.
Some of the ATL skills that are emphasised within the IBDP include:
- Critical Thinking: Defined as the ability to evaluate and analyse a situation before reaching a conclusion, critical thinking plays an important role within the inquiry-led, discussion-based IBDP curriculum.
- Communication: Students are able to effectively communicate when they know how to identify the most relevant information and use the necessary communication tools to share that information efficiently.
- Self-Management: Through self-management, students learn to identify their emotions and regulate their reactions accordingly. By the time students reach the IBDP, they should be able to take responsibility and be accountable for their feelings and subsequent actions.
- Research Skills: Within the IBDP, students complete several self-directed research projects, so they learn how to use reliable sources to uncover accurate and factual information that can be used to support their claims.
- Collaboration: Being able to engage with peers and work together toward a common goal is necessary for students in the IBDP, but collaboration will continue to play an important role in their lives, as the global economy is highly dependent upon professionals who know how to work together to develop innovative solutions to complex problems.
- Self-Reflection: Rather than emphasising the importance of academic accomplishments and earning high marks, self-reflection empowers students to look back on the learning process, identify mistakes and evaluate information.
The Role of Critical Thinking in IBDP
Designed to provide students with a deep and lasting learning experience, the IBDP relies heavily on critical thinking skills within its coursework. Compared to traditional teaching methods, which for far too long relied upon knowledge acquisition, memorisation and reiteration, the IB Diploma Programme provides students with opportunities to evaluate and analyse information, and then think critically about it before coming to a conclusion.
Teachers rely on specific teaching methods to promote the development of critical thinking skills. Within a literature course, for example, teachers will not provide students with detailed information about a text or ask leading questions to test if the students have read the material. Rather, they will ask open-ended questions and encourage lively discussion among classmates. They may ask students to enact particular scenes from the book or to complete an analytical essay after reading a section of the text.
Critical thinking is embedded within the curriculum, requiring students to have refined creative and analytical skills before enrolling in the IB Diploma Programme.
Enhancing Communication Skills
Effective communication skills are one of the most in-demand skills in the 21st century, and fortunately, the IBDP organically enhances students’ communication skills. Students who communicate clearly and concisely will be able to share their ideas more effectively and better engage in discussions in the classroom. Their ability to present organised arguments backed by facts will give them an advantage in the professional world, regardless of which field they choose to pursue.
Students who are hoping to improve their verbal and written communication can do so by:
- Preparing in advance, particularly when they are going to be presenting in class or in front of a large group. Practising, refining and adjusting their presentation will help students feel more comfortable and confident while speaking.
- Learning how to actively listen to others, particularly during a discussion. Active listening allows students to better retain new information and collaborate effectively with others.
- Soliciting feedback from peers and instructors. This is particularly important with written communication, such as essays. Asking others to read their work and accepting their constructive criticism will improve their writing significantly.
- Becoming more emotionally and culturally aware, and paying attention to nonverbal cues. Emotional intelligence will allow students to become perceptive communicators who can express themselves clearly and effectively.
Time Management and Self-Management Skills
To prepare students for university and beyond, the IBDP lets young learners take responsibility and accountability for their academic progress. In most courses, students are given a syllabus with important dates and deadlines, and then they can direct their learning from there. Therefore, students in the IB Diploma Programme must have expert time management and self-management skills.
When it comes to time management and self-management, practice makes perfect. Students can build upon their existing time management skills by:
- Creating a consistent schedule that allows them to balance school work, extracurricular activities, socialising and the rest.
- Learning how to prioritise the most important tasks.
- Spending time doing what they enjoy. Students will be more agile and receptive learners when they make time to do things they enjoy, such as exercise, reading, gaming or listening to music.
Research Skills and Information Literacy
Research skills and digital literacy skills play an important role in the IBDP. The Extended Essay helps students truly become comfortable with these skills. The Extended Essay is a mandatory component of the IB Diploma Programme, and it requires students to draft an essay that is at least 4,000 words.
The goal of the Extended Essay is to prepare students for the level of research they will need to do at the university level, and to enable them to learn more about a subject they are passionate about. By completing the Extended Essay, as well as other projects, students learn how to:
- Use technology to research effectively.
- Evaluate sources and determine which types of sources are best for research.
- Cite information properly within their essay.
Collaborative Learning and Teamwork
While individualised learning is vital — and students need to become independent, confident thinkers — collaborative learning still plays a critical role within the IBDP. Collaboration is a vital 21st-century competency, and the IBDP supports collaborative learning and teamwork by focusing on a discussion-based approach to learning.
The classrooms are designed to facilitate discussion, and much of the coursework focuses on group projects that give students a chance to work with a wide range of people.
Students who want to become better collaborators during their time in the IB Diploma Programme can also:
- Prioritise active listening. This communication skill requires students to intentionally listen to others and show interest by using non-verbal cues, such as eye contact.
- Contribute to the discussion. Students may initially feel apprehensive, particularly if they are worried about the response they will receive, but actively contributing will help them become more confident and better at collaborating.
- Learning how to resolve conflict. No one is going to get along all the time, and being able to engage in conflict and work through it makes students more effective collaborators in the long term.
Reflection and Self-Assessment
To truly retain knowledge and create lasting connections with the material, students reflect on their work and perform regular self-assessments.
Within the IBDP, several styles of self-reflection are used, such as:
- Visual Reflection — In this form of self-reflection, students may complete flow charts to evaluate learning and identify the skills learned.
- Kinesthetic Reflection — Students complete presentations or discuss their work to get feedback.
- Auditory Reflection — This is a discussion-based approach to reflection in which students engage in conversation about their learning experiences.
Regardless of which method of reflection and self-assessment is used, students learn how to track their progress, identify learning patterns and learning gaps, provide instructors with feedback about their learning style and effectively analyse learning experiences in the future.
Real-World Applications of ATL Skills
The ATL skills that students hone and develop throughout the IBDP will be used throughout their lives. These are a few ways that ATL skills are applied in the real world:
- Marketing professionals who are required to pitch a campaign must be able to communicate the goals of the campaign and provide actionable data about deliverables.
- Software app developers on a deadline have to be able to effectively manage their time to launch the product on time.
- Educators who are working to improve an online learning environment will need to collaborate to develop the best practices for remote learning, depending on the age group of their students.
Modern learners will have to develop advanced ATL skills to succeed professionally, which is why ATL skill growth and development is so important in the IB Diploma Programme.
Practical Tips for Students to Enhance ATL Skills
Students can enhance their ATL skills by:
- Engaging in meaningful discussion and encouraging others to contribute to the the range of perspectives that are included in the conversation.
- Learning how to prioritise more effectively by setting short-term and long-term goals and then developing a schedule to execute them.
- Developing a growth mindset that allows them to become more emotionally aware and more resilient, ultimately giving them the courage to take risks, make mistakes and persevere.
Learn More About the IB Diploma Programme at OWIS Digital Campus
At our international school in Singapore, we begin working with students and helping them develop critical ATL skills in primary school and throughout the middle years. As a result, they are ready to implement these skills when they begin the IB Diploma Programme, giving them an advantage when they begin the rigorous coursework. Not only does this help them succeed academically within the IBDP, but it also uniquely prepares them for higher education and future professional endeavours, giving them an advanced, transferable skill set that they can rely upon for life.
Schedule your OWIS Digital Campus tour to learn more about the development of ATL skills at our international school in Singapore.
