Approaches to Learning (ATL) - Course Description - Benton

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca

Approaches to Learning (ATL) with Mr. Benton builds core academic skills that support the pre-DP and IB curriculum. The course develops five interrelated ATL areas—self-management, thinking, social, research, and communication—through practice, reflection, and application, aiming for greater student independence. It outlines expectations for academic honesty, collaboration rules, classroom participation, inquiry-based teaching, and how to handle absences and late work, including grading limits and makeup responsibilities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Course Description

Academic Honesty

Classroom Policies

Expectations

Approach

Absences & Late Work

Necessary Supplies

Teacher: Mr. Roddy Benton Approaches to Learning 1 Course Description Welcome to Approaches to Learning (ATL) with Mr. Benton! This course is designed to support the rest of the pre-DP and IB curriculum by providing students with a solid base of academic skills. These include time management, organization, study strategies, research methods, test preparation, communication, collaboration, memory, metacognition, ethical decision-making, and stress management. Through practice, reflection, and application, students will develop the five interrelated ATL skill areas and the attributes of the IB Learner Profile. The goal is for students to become increasingly independent learners who can recognize useful strategies, adjust when something isn ’t working, and apply what they learn here in their other courses. While they do overlap, things are broken up into five units: 1. Self-Management Skills: organization, time management, goal-setting, study and note-taking strategies, test preparation, memory, motivation, and stress management 2. Thinking Skills: critical and creative thinking, metacognition, reflection, problem solving, and decision-making 3. Social Skills: collaboration, teamwork, interpersonal skills, perspective-taking, and conflict management 4. Research Skills: finding, evaluating, organizing, using, and documenting information; academic honesty and responsible use of sources 5. Communication Skills: written, verbal, visual, and digital communication; listening, discussion, and presenting Academic Honesty I expect all my students to complete individual assignments without the assistance of others unless I explicitly provide permission for collaboration or outside assistance on a specific assignment. Your work on such independent assignments should reflect your own personal thinking. Sharing such work with another student; discussing assessment questions when doing so has not been permitted; using another person’s work for reference; including uncited evidence; making use of un-cited analyses, claims, evidence, or other material from generative AI; or using any other human’s or AI’s words or concepts without accurately citing the source will result in a grade of 0% on the assignment and a referral to administration for cheating. ATL very often involves regular collaboration, groupwork , discussion, and shared presentations. When I’ve designed an assignment to be inherently collaborative, working with classmates is not only permitted but expected. So—when collaborating—share ideas, divide responsibilities, give each other feedback, rehearse together, and otherwise contribute to the success of the group as directed. Just stay honest in baking your piece of the pie so as not to poison dinner. If you’re in a bind, always ask for help instead of resorting to academic dishonesty. I reserve the right to challenge the authenticity of student-generated work; inconsistencies in style, voice, process, or demonstrated ability may require investigation to determine whether or not plagiarism occurred. Teacher: Mr. Roddy Benton Classroom Policies Expectations Please bring completed assignments and all ofthe necessary materials to class everyday. You’ll also want to be mentally prepared: this means contributing to class activities, actively listening to others, practicing unfamiliar skills, working productively with others, and taking intellectual risks on the daily. I’ll ask you, as my ATL student, to reflect actively and—after some practice—to notice patterns, ask questions, identify what worked and what did not, and consider what to do differently next time. Reflection isn’t performative: the goal is to leave a trail of your thinking about your own learning. Likewise, class discussions and collaborative work should be honest, respectful, and mature. Students may disagree, but effective communication requires both expressing yourself clearly and listening carefully to others. Approach My teaching in t

FAQs

What is the purpose of the Approaches to Learning (ATL) course?

The course provides a foundation of academic skills—such as study strategies, research methods, communication, collaboration, and stress management—to support the pre-DP and IB curriculum. It helps students recognize useful strategies, adjust when they are not working, and apply learning across other courses.

What are the academic honesty expectations for independent assignments?

Students must complete individual assignments without assistance unless specific permission is given for collaboration or outside help. Submitting others’ work, uncited evidence, or using un-cited material or generative AI words or concepts without accurate citation results in a 0% grade and a referral.

How does the course handle absences and late work?

If absent, students must obtain materials and information delivered during the absence and remain responsible for missed work unless arrangements were made in advance. Late projects can earn up to 89% for one school day late and up to 79% for two school days late, while work submitted more than two school days late receives no grade.

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca