The document outlines the structure and content of an Approaches to Learning (ATL) course. It discusses four main strands: thinking skills, intercultural understanding, communication skills, and personal skills. Within each strand are subtopics like ethical thinking, problem solving, language and culture, presentation skills, and emotional intelligence. The goal is to help students develop life skills that can be applied in various contexts through activities, discussions, and applying skills in real-world scenarios. The course emphasizes developing international-mindedness and intercultural awareness.
2. Intercultural understandingTeacher Activity:Student ActivityFeedback and assessmenta.Your culture and other cultures(7hrs).The teacher would be asking the students to group according to similar culture and also at some point the students from different culture would be grouped together and then the teacher conducts activities.The students of similar culture would be asked to make a website/PowerPoint presentation based on their culture.The next lesson, they have to bring their traditional food, clothes, etc anything related to their culture in the class . The students of different culture are grouped together and they are asked to make a presentation on the differences and similarities between their cultures.The students present their work in front of the class and the teacher checks the work of the students and writes written comments on it.The students present the various aspects of their culture to the class and the teacher gives oral feedback to them.The students present their work in front of the class and the teacher checks the work and gives comments on their work.b.Language and culture(7hrs).(Language department would be responsible for this section and could be adapted to some of the topics taught in the English department).The teacher asks the students questions related to their language , other languages and about languages in general. The teacher would be using the website given below for the lessons.(http://anthro.palomar.edu/language/)Use of semiotic systems: The teacher explains about the semiotic system and to help the students understand full, the teacher would Consider wildlife documentaries, clips from popular films dealing with certain issues, in order to enable students to see semiotic systems in action. The students would also be asked to reflect on their own semiotic systems.The students would also be explained how language can be used to persuade others .They would be shown advertisements where persuasion is the main tool to attract the customers.The students would also be explained how metaphors are used in languages and they are given activities to do on finding metaphors in a particular article, the activities could include making a list of metaphors, that we use in our life..Students are involved in discussion as a class.. Students are asked to look at film clips and told to write down what are the semiotic systems that they could see in the films..Students are asked individually to show some of the semiotic systems used n their language and the student making the presentation has to ask the students in the class if the system used in their language is the same as that used in the language of the presenter. Students are to look at persuasive advertisements and they would be divided into groups where they have to give an example of persuasive language through a DramaStudents are given articles where they have to find the metaphors in the article. (Individual)The students do pair work where they have to make a list of 10 metaphors .Oral answers given by students.Students’ works is assessed by the teacher and comments are given.Students works is assessed by the teacher by giving oral feedback.Peer assessment is usedTeacher assess the work and gives comments on it.c.Intercultural engagement(7hrs)(Note :in this section the teacher would be grouping students from different culture together).The teacher shows a video related to this subject from the following website: (http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/movies/god-grew-tired/cultural-differences-ggtu.html)The teacher explains different questions on culture some of the examples are as follows such as :1. What is popular culture?2. What are ‘third culture kids’ and what problems do they face?3. What is ‘culture shock’ and what is Schumann’s theory of acculturation?4. In what sense is cultural intelligence different to cultural awareness?5. Howard Gardner coined the term ‘multiple intelligences’. What are his categories of multiple intelligences and who would be some famous people closely aligned with each of the categories?6. Identify three of Gardner’s multiple intelligences that you believe are important elements of cultural intelligence. Why did you choose these three?7. What are the dangers of ‘ethnocentrism’ and ‘ethnorelativism’ as extremes of our views on cultural differences?The teacher would be doing many activities with the student form the following website: http://www.eslflow.com/interculturalcommunication.htmlOther activities to be included are :Role play – students are asked to perform a role play of an intercultural situation from the perspective of their own culture or another cultureSimulation games – designed to simulate ‘culture shock’ where students experience cross-cultural problems arising from new and unfamiliar situationsGuest speakers – people from different cultures are invited into the classroom to talk about their intercultural experiencesStudents would be doing different activities given by the teacher Assessment would be oral/written, done by teacher or sometimes by the students themselves.
3. Communication Teacher Activity:Student ActivityFeedback and assessmenta.Interpersonal communication skills(7hrs).(The debate society in the school could be adapted for this section, because by participating in debates the students develop good interpersonal communication skills)The teacher would be discussing in the class about different aspects of interpersonal communication skills, such as the importance of team work, body language, solving conflicts etc.The students would give verbal feedback.One of the student activity is that the student would be told to do a small skit based on the different emotions of human beings such as anger, jealousy, humour, greed etc..Students would also be told to participate in the debate society in the school for some hours and would be encouraged to do debates on different topics.The teacher gives assessment in writing and comments on the drama.The oral feedback given by the teacher on the debate is to be used.b.Formal writing skills(4 hrs-).(At the beginning of the reflective project the teacher would be giving guidance on the different aspects of formal writing and this section could be included when the information on the essay for reflective project is being given)The teacher has to explain certain terms before they start with this section such as what is an abstract, references, citations, end notes, foot notes etc.The teacher then gives many examples of abstract , references, citations, end notes, foot notes etc. to read as a group .The final activity would be to give some idea of an abstract for the reflective project that the students have undertaken.The students in different groups explain to the class the meanings of the terms in their own words.Students tell the class what will be their abstract for the essay.Oral feedback by the teacher.Oral feedback by the teacher.c.Presentation skills4 hours (Note: If students have joined the debate society then they would not have to do the speech activity from this section. As debating is a way to improve the public speaking skills.)The teacher would be talking to them about how to do good presentation , the website : http://www.presentationmagazine.com/Essential_Presentation_skills.htm, is a very good resource.The teacher would also be showing videos on public speaking such as:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1H5m0S-sdQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmGh3MvLCps.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNtXE_auuRw&feature=relatedIndividual students are told to give a 6 minute speech on any topic of their choice.The students are told to work in groups of 4 and they have to do a PowerPoint presentation on any topic of their choice. They have to remember that everyone is given a chance to speak in front of the class.The teacher gives oral feedbackd.IT skills(6hrs)Class discussion: How do you think internet can be used in an appropriate way in the educational context.The teacher would be explaining about e-learning and m-learning and how it is useful in terms of learning and sometimes disadvantageous for the studentsThe students would be told to activities on: word processing, spreadsheets, power point presentation, email, databases .The teacher gives written feedback.The students would be told to build a portfolio of all the IT skills they possess and do a presentation on how these skills can be applied in the workplace. The teacher gives written feedback on the work.Students are involved in class discussion. The students would be listening and answering questions if any and they would also be asking the teacher questions on the topic.Students would be doing the activities. and.The students do the portfolio and do the presentation.oral comments give n by teacher wherever necessarythe work would be checked by the teacher and written comments would be givenWritten feedback given by the teacher.
4. Personal skillsTeacher Activity:Student ActivityFeedback and assessmenta.Emotional intelligence(4hrs)The teacher would be explaining mainly the following topics: What is emotional intelligence? Importance of emotional intelligence How is the EQ different to the IQ? score in the EQ that is considered desirable The teacher would be using the website http://www.emotionalliteracyeducation.com/index.shtml,For delivery of the lessonClass discussion- How meaningful and important are the IQ and EQ scores?The students can participate in the emotional intelligence test in order to know their E-IQ score.The following websites are very useful:http://www.helpself.com/iq-test.htm.http://quiz.ivillage.co.uk/uk_work/tests/eqtest.htmThe students would be listening and answering questions if any and they would also be asking the teacher questions on the topic.Students are involved in class discussion. The students would undergo E-IQ test to determine what their score is and this will give them some insight on their emotional and intelligent side.oral comments given by teacher wherever necessary.b.Domains of emotional intelligence3hours -The teacher would be explaining mainly the following topics: Daniel Goleman’s four domains of emotional intelligence and his nineteen categories of emotional intelligenceThe following website would be useful for delivery of the lesson:http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_goleman_emotional_intelligence.html.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligenceCan domains of emotional intelligence be acquired and developed over time.? This will involve class discussion.The students would be listening and answering questions if any and they would also be asking the teacher questions on the topic.Students are involved in class discussion. Oral comments given by teacher wherever necessary.c.Process skills4hrsClass discussion: The teacher asks the students about the changes that have taken place in their lives and in the society as a wholeThe teacher would then explain about the change curve and the stages of change.The following website would be used to deliver the lessonhttp://www.internalcommshub.com/open/change/toolkit/curve.shtml.http://www.addictioninfo.org/articles/11/1/Stages-of-Change-Model/Page1.html.http://www.timlebon.com/stagesofchangemodelprochaska.htmlThe website- http://www.businessballs.com would be used for different acti vities to be done with the students, related to organizational skills, better time management, greater commitment, more decisive decision-making, self-appraisal, which will help in the personal development of the individual.Students are involved in class discussion. The students would be listening and answering questions if any and they would also be asking the teacher questions on the topic.Students are involved in different activities.Oral comments given by teacher wherever necessary.The teacher may either give oral/written feedback.IB learners strive to be:<br />IB Learners GoalsMeaning of the IB learners` goalHave you achieved the particular goal (Yes/no)Write/mention the activity which helped you fulfil the particular goal.InquirersThey develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conductinquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoylearning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.KnowledgeableThey explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance.In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understandingacross a broad and balanced range of disciplines.ThinkersThey exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively torecognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethicaldecisions.CommunicatorsThey understand and express ideas and information confidently and creativelyin more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. Theywork effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.PrincipledThey act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice andrespect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They takeresponsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompanythem.Open-mindedThey understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, andare open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals andcommunities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of pointsof view, and are willing to grow from the experience.CaringThey show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings ofothers. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positivedifference to the lives of others and to the environment.Risk-takersThey approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage andforethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideasand strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.Balanced They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balanceto achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.Reflective.They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. Theyare able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order tosupport their learning and personal development<br />Co-ordinator`s signature:_____________________________________________________<br />Student’s signature:___________________________________________________<br />