Approaches to Learning

  • The MYP extends IB approaches to learning (ATL) skills categories into 10 developmentally appropriate clusters. This framework provides a common ground from which schools can develop their own ATL planning based on MYP units, student needs, and local circumstances and requirements.

    ATL skills are often interconnected. Individual skills and skills clusters frequently overlap and may be relevant to more than one skill category.

    ATL skill categories:

    • Communication
    • Social
    • Self-management
    • Research
    • Thinking


    MYP ATL skill clusters:

    1. Communication
    2. Collaboration
    3. Organization
    4. Affective
    5. Reflection
    6. Information literacy
    7. Media literacy
    8. Critical thinking
    9. Creative thinking
    10. Transfer


    Some of the key questions to be answered by students with respect to ATL skills include the following:

    • What are my present skills in this area and what evidence do I have of my development?
    • What skills can I improve?
    • What new skills can I learn?
      When specific ATL skills become an explicit focus for teaching and learning, students can begin to take responsibility for their own development. Over time, students can identify themselves and their competence in any learning strategy using terms like the following.


    Novice/beginning    —students are introduced to the skill, and can watch others performing it (observation)
    Learner/developing—students copy others who use the skill and use the skill with scaffolding and guidance (emulation)
    Practitioner/using—students employ the skill confidently and effectively (demonstration)
    Expert/sharing—students can show others how to use the skill and accurately assess how effectively the skill is used (self-regulation)

    A concept-driven curriculum that uses ATL skills effectively enables all students to become stronger, more self-regulated learners.

MYP Assessment Criteria

Achievement Levels

  • Students must be assessed in the four IB subject-specific criteria aims and objectives at least twice during every year of the programme.  The final subject specific grade will be reported between a 1 - 7. This assessment process is criterion-related and this report grades progress on MYP tasks only.  To better understand the numerical meaning, please refer to the chart below.

    IB Grade Scale

    7 - Produces high quality, frequently innovative work. Communicates comprehensive, nuanced understanding of concepts and contexts. Consistently demonstrates sophisticated critical and creative thinking. Frequently transfers knowledge and skills with independence and expertise in a variety of complex classroom and real-world situations.

    6 - Produces high-quality, occasionally innovative work. Communicates extensive understanding of concepts and contexts. Demonstrates critical and creative thinking, frequently with sophistication. Uses knowledge and skills in familiar and unfamiliar classroom and real-world situations, often with independence.

    5 - Produces generally high-quality work. Communicates secure understanding of concepts and contexts. Demonstrates critical and creative thinking, sometimes with sophistication. Uses knowledges and skills in familiar classroom and real-world situations and, with support, some unfamiliar real-world situations.

    4 - Produces good-quality work. Communicates basic understanding of most concepts and contexts with few misunderstandings and minor gaps. Often demonstrates basic critical and creative thinking. Uses knowledge and skills with some flexibility in familiar classroom situations, but requires support in unfamiliar situations.

    3 - Produces work of an acceptable quality. Communicates basic understanding of many concepts and contexts, with occasionally significant misunderstandings or gaps. Begins to demonstrate some basic critical and creative thinking. Is often inflexible in the use of knowledge and skills, requiring support even in familiar classroom settings.

    2 - Produces work of limited quality. Expresses misunderstandings or significant gaps in understanding for many concepts and contexts. Infrequently demonstrates critical of creative thinking. Generally inflexible in the use of knowledge and skills, infrequently applying knowledge and skills.

    1 - Produces work of very limited quality. Conveys many significant misunderstanding or lacks understanding of most concepts and contexts. Very rarely demonstrates critical or creative thinking. Very inflexible, rarely using knowledge or skills.