ATL Priority Descriptors

IB Class of 2025
ATL Priority Descriptor

Communication ● Give and receive meaningful feedback

● Read critically and for comprehension

Social ● Practise empathy.

● Take responsibility for one’s own actions.

Self-Management ● Set goals that are challenging and realistic.

● Practice “failing well”.

Research ● Locate, organize, analyse, evaluate, synthesize and

ethically use information for varying resources and
media (including digital social media and online
networks)
● Compare, contrast, and draw connections among
(multi) media resources

Thinking ● Consider ideas from multiple perspectives.

● Practice flexible thinking-develop multiple opposing
contradictory and complementary arguments.

Proficiency-development framework (Dreyfus and Dreyfus 2000)

One possible way to embed ATL into school life is to consider requiring students to regularly
self-assess their progress in developing these skills, for example, as part of the school’s reporting
procedures. Student selfassessment has been shown to improve both self-confidence and
self-motivation (Dweck 1999). Using this technique, students are relied upon to accurately judge their
own competence or proficiency improvements in specified skills against generalized skills-proficiency
measures.

Level 1 Novice Level 2 Learner Level 3 Level 4 Expert

Observation Emulation Practitioner Self-regulation
Demonstration

Observes others Copies others’ Can demonstrate Can teach others

performing tasks performance of the the skill on demand. the skill.No teacher
and using the skill. skill.Medium level of Minimal teacher scaffolding required.
High levels of scaffolding needed. scaffolding required.
scaffolding from
teacher needed.