International mindedness has always been the center of teaching and learning in the IB. In the IB’s Learning Community, the path to developing international-mindedness begins with defining our own understanding. In the IB’s educational framework, special focus is given to “reaching in” to identify our personal traits in relation to others, and “reaching out” to see our greater impact on the various communities to which we belong.
With these ideas in mind, Cindy Blackburn and Charlotte Hewlett decided to dig deeper into their personal definition of each attribute of the learner profile. Using the personal, local, and global framework, they developed the Learner Profile Continuum Posters for reaching both inward and outward to build the attributes of international mindedness.
How to use the posters:
- Have your staff create their own personal, local, and global descriptors and compare them to ours.
- Use the posters as a tool to start strong discussions with parents and students about what it truly means to exemplify these attributes.
- Place the posters around the room and prompt learners to reflect on the attributes they showcase and want to develop.
- Use the posters as a reflection or goal-setting tool. Students could create weekly goals using ‘I can’ statements and then reflect on their progress.
- Use the posters as a tool for promoting student action. How could we show open-mindedness personally, locally, or globally?
- Use the posters to promote self-regulation by giving students the language tto identify their areas of strength.
