Learner+Profile

The following was originally published January 20, 2012 at http://blogs.swa-jkt.com/swa/markbethune/2012/01/20/living-the-learner-profile-in-a-mathematics-classroom/ "If a teacher wishes to cultivate aspects of the IB Learner Profile (LP) in students, then they must develop a course that embodies the spirit of the DP mathematics program. They must endeavour to explicitly translate the goals of the program into action. I often wonder if we all get too wrapped up in delivering content rather than giving students opportunities to demonstrate their appreciation of mathematics and it’s role in our lives. I wonder too, what stimulus we would need to provide to encourage deeper, richer, critical reflection or if children would naturally migrate to a higher level of appreciation simply through content delivery? Can we teach kids to enjoy mathematics, particularly those who have had miserable experiences with the subject in the past? Then I also wonder if we can foster LP attributes so precisely in the HL program given the burden of unrealistic expectations and a significant lack of time at this level? I believe the SL course allows us a marvelous opportunity to achieve most aims and objectives of the program thus making the LP come alive".

=Learner Profile and the aims of the SL program= The Learner Profile should be an integral part of any curriculum design model or assessment practice. It is interesting to investigate what the Learner Profile looks like in mathematics.

Key Understandings

 * How can the LP be naturally embedded into the SL course of study?
 * What do each of the attributes look like in mathematics?

should allow opportunities for students to:
 * Classroom practices**
 * be genuine inquirers (through investigation)
 * work effectively as part of a team
 * communicate
 * discuss ethical issues
 * see us model empathy, compassion and respect

should create opportunities for students to:
 * Assessment practices**
 * take intellectual risks in a supportive environment
 * use their multiple intelligences
 * identify their unique learning styles
 * reflect on tasks and what they have learned from them

Activity 1: Living the Learner Profile
How do we explicitly build the aims of the new Mathematics syllabus into our program? Is your course content driven? How often do these words appear in your program?

//enjoy, develop, confident, appreciate, elegance, power, creative, moral, social, ethical, international, multicultural, communicate, investigate, transform, …. //

Considering the 10 Learner Profile attributes and the words above, provide specific examples of how you could foster these attributes in a mathematics classroom.

media type="custom" key="19346342"


 * Activity: What does the Learner Profile look like in mathematics
 * working in pairs, choose one attribute of the and design/construct a poster which characterizes that attribute. Making it mathematically relevant is a huge bonus! A good source for pictures is flickrcc. These are all licensed under the Creative Commons.
 * [[file:mathslworkshopwiki/Learner Profile_attributes only.pdf|Learner Profile_attributes only.pdf]]
 * Example here[[file:Reflective Poster.pdf]]

Alternative Activity

 * The following problem can be solved in at least 8 ways in the last four years of high school. How can you work with this problem in the context of the Learner Profile? Source: nrich maths



In this one problem you meet many important aspects of mathematics education. Encouraging students to look for **alternative solutions** or the "best" solutions. It also brings to light the **interrelatedness** of different areas of mathematics. You may look for solutions from the following branches of mathematics: trigonometry, vectors, matrices, coordinate geometry, complex numbers and pure geometry. Students can be given the opportunity to **reflect** on and share their solutions. How does this problem relate to the aims of the Mathematics SL program? From the guide, it states that students should be able to:


 * **select** and use appropriate mathematical strategies and techniques
 * demonstrate an understanding of both the **significance** and the **reasonableness** of results
 * **recognize** patterns and structures in a variety of situations, and **make generalizations**

This problem is really only a simple case of a more general result - an Investigation perhaps! How can we design a portfolio task around it?

Solution...but only after you have found as many solutions as possible!