Each month we will feature an article written by senior leaders or faculty which will delve deeper into aspects of education that all schools are dealing with or are fundamental to their success. These articles will give our community a better understanding of the teaching and learning process as well as the value of the SUIS Gubei experience.
每月，我们都会刊登一篇由协和古北高层领导或教师撰写的文章，深入探讨各类学校普遍面临的教育议题，或是关乎学校发展的核心教育理念。这些文章将帮助我们更深入地理解教与学的过程，以及上海协和高级中学（协和古北）求学体验的独特价值。
This month, Mr. Spadafora, our Academic Principal, shares his thoughts about the transformative power of the IB Approaches to Learning (ATLs) and how they set up students for success beyond subject content or examinations.
本月，学术校长 Spadafora 先生将分享他的见解，为您阐述国际文凭课程（IB）学习方法技能（ATLs）的赋能价值，以及该技能如何助力学生超越学科知识与考试本身，为长远发展奠定坚实基础。
“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.”
“教育从来不是死记硬背，而是培养懂得深度思考的大脑。”
— Albert Einstein 阿尔伯特・爱因斯坦
It used to be that when a parent was asked what they want their child to be when they grow into adulthood, many parents replied that they wanted their children to be ‘happy’. If I were to ask that question today, the answers would be as diverse as they would be confusing.
过去，当家长被问及希望孩子长大后成为什么样的人时，很多人会回答：希望孩子快乐。如果今天再问这个问题，答案会五花八门，甚至令人困惑。
Regardless, ‘happiness’ is not an attainable state for most people. The media, especially self-help gurus, loves to sell us the idea of living a ‘happy’ life but it’s a vague sales pitch that no one can truly grasp even if they do stumble upon it accidentally.
但事实上，对大多数人而言，“快乐”并非一种可以长久维持的状态。媒体，尤其是各类励志导师，总在向我们兜售 “幸福人生”的理念，但这只是一个模糊的宣传话术，即便有人偶然触及，也无法真正把握。
I much prefer young people to grow up and lead a ‘flourishing’ life.
我更希望年轻人成长后，能拥有丰盈的人生。
Happiness entails pleasure or feeling good, which we all know is very fleeting. There in a minute, gone the next. In short, it’s out of your control. Flourishing, on the other hand, means to live well and according to our nature or reason, something we most certainly do have in our control.
快乐意味着愉悦或感觉良好，而我们都知道，这种感觉转瞬即逝，片刻存在，转眼消失。简而言之，它不受我们掌控。而丰盈的人生，恰恰是顺应本性与理性、好好生活，这是我们完全可以掌控的。
One reason I have always been a very staunch advocate of an IB education is its emphasis on the approaches to learning (ATLs) at the center of all 4 of their programmes – PYP, MYP, DP and CP.
我一直非常坚定地支持IB教育的一个原因是：它的四大项目 —— PYP、MYP、DP、CP—— 全都以学习方法（ATLs）为核心。
The ATLs are the skills that set one up for success in life, regardless of which educational pathway or business endeavor you pursue. The ATLs are comprised of five categories of skills: Communication, Research, Critical Thinking, Social, and Self-Management. Within these are clusters which are then broken down into a list of specific skills.
学习方法（ATLs）是为人生成功打下基础的能力，无论你选择哪条教育路径或投身何种事业。它包含五大类技能：沟通、研究、批判性思维、社交、自我管理。每大类之下又包含若干技能簇，进而细化为具体技能清单。
It is the responsibility of IB schools to address these in their own unique ways to ensure that students have a continuum of skill building over the course of any programme (PYP, MYP, DP, CP).
IB学校有责任以各自独特的方式落实这些技能，确保学生在任一项目（PYP、MYP、DP、CP）的学习过程中实现连贯的能力培养。
These are not assessed or evaluated by the IB in terms of pass or fail high stakes evaluations.
IB组织不会对这些技能进行及格/不及格式的硬性考核，而是将诠释与实施的空间留给学校。
Rather they are left for schools to interpret. Many schools handle this poorly, seeing them as an inconsequential, abstract set of skills that don’t have any tangible intended outcome. Others take great pride in showcasing them, through thorough documentation and applied implementation with follow up reflection and evaluation. It is these schools that recognize the longevity and sustainability of these skills in the lives of young people who graduate from our schools.
许多学校对此落实不佳，仅将其视为无关紧要、抽象空洞的技能，认为没有可落地的实际目标。
另一些学校则高度重视，通过完整的记录、落地实践、后续反思与评估，充分彰显这些技能的价值。正是这类学校，真正理解这些技能对毕业生人生的长久价值与可持续意义。
The ATLs set students up for success in whatever they may encounter in their academic, professional and personal lives as they are transferable to any context.
ATL技能具有极强的可迁移性，能够帮助学生在学业、职业与个人生活的各种场景中从容应对、走向成功。
For example, having a strong set of self-management skills affects academic success as much as it determines success in the relationships we make with others. The ability to communicate with confidence, clarity and conviction opens up possibilities in all aspects of life. These are not facts or content that can be studied from a textbook or applied in a paper exam format. Rather, they require constant awareness, practice, more practice and daily application.
例如，出色的自我管理能力既影响学业表现，也决定人际关系的成败。自信、清晰、坚定的表达与沟通能力，更能为人生的各个维度打开机遇之门。这些并非可以从课本中背诵、或在笔试中套用的知识内容，而是需要不断觉察、反复练习、日复一日在生活中运用的核心能力。
https://sjtylr.net/2018/06/27/isteatl/
At SUIS Gubei, we are starting to put more focus and emphasis on the ATLs for all our students.
在协和古北，我们正开始为全体学生更聚焦、更系统地落地ATL学习方法。
All subject departments are now required to address at least one ATL cluster and a sub-skill that will be made into an explicit activity during a given lesson or lessons. The objective would be that each department address all 5 ATL categories each year and in each grade – horizontal and vertical articulation. These skills would be progressively more challenging as a child moves up the school. These requirements will be in place at the start of next academic year. It is hoped that our students will have a clear understanding of the ATLs by the time they graduate, acknowledging their strengths and accepting their shortcomings as a starting point for improvement.
目前要求所有学科组，在指定课程中明确落实至少一个ATL技能簇及一项子技能，并设计为显性教学活动。我们的目标是：每个学科组在每学年、每个年级都覆盖全部五大ATL类别，实现横向与纵向的连贯衔接。随着学生年级升高，这些技能的挑战度会逐步提升。相关要求将于下一学年开始正式实施。我们希望学生毕业时，能清晰理解ATL技能，认清自己的优势与不足，并以此为起点持续成长。
One area of real interest for me is in Self-Management. I believe that this is the cornerstone of success in so many aspects of student life and beyond.
我一直格外关注学生的自我管理能力。我坚信，这不仅是他们在校取得好成绩的基础，更是未来人生走得稳、走得远的关键。
And, it all starts in Grade 9 where these skills need to be explicitly taught and reinforced. We welcome students from many different schools and many of them have different ways of organizing their notes, calendars, managing time, etc. Our intention will be to really help our Grade 9 students realize and utilize the power of self-management to ensure they are off to a solid start to high school life. It means going back to basics and not assuming that all students have the tacit knowledge required.
而这一切，关键始于九年级—— 这些技能必须被明确教授并反复强化。我们的学生来自不同学校，笔记整理、日程规划、时间管理等习惯各不相同。我们的目标是：切实帮助九年级学生认识并运用自我管理的力量，为高中生活打下扎实基础。这意味着要回归基础，不默认所有学生都已具备相关隐性知识。
For example, many students entering high school do not know how to take proper notes. Yes, they know how to copy from a board but they are usually less adept at following along what the teacher is saying, summarizing and writing it down in their own words, organizing thoughts and ideas into something comprehensible and distinguishing what is important and what is not. Even something like writing out a title and a date does not come naturally to many students. They need to be taught how to do this and then regularly monitored by their teachers through the Learner Portfolios all students are issued with.
例如，很多刚升入高中的学生并不懂得如何正确记笔记。他们会抄黑板内容，却不太擅长边听老师讲解、边用自己的话总结记录、整理思路、区分重点与非重点。即便像写上标题与日期这样的小事，对很多学生来说也并非自然而然。他们需要被教授方法，并由老师通过每位学生都有的学习档案持续跟踪指导。
Writing out homework and deadlines either in their planners or via an online calendar, breaking down large tasks into smaller chunks, and constructing a study timetable are all skills that need to be taught and reinforced so that it becomes automatic the further they move up the school. This is something I will be stressing with all teachers as they face their new Grade 9 students at end of August. In fact, we will devise an orientation schedule for our Grade 9s that will address some of these ATLs from the start.
把作业与截止日期写在计划本或在线日历中、把大任务拆解成小步骤、制定学习时间表 —— 这些技能都需要被教授与强化，直到内化为习惯。今年八月底迎接新一届九年级学生时，我会向全体老师强调这一点。事实上，我们将为九年级专门设计衔接课程，从一开始就落地部分ATL技能。
In addition, we want our students – and our teachers – to be reflective.
此外，我们希望学生，也希望老师——学会反思。
There’s no point in jumping from one topic, one unit, one assessment to the next without stopping to reflect what was learned. Students need to build in time to reflect on their successes or areas of a subject they feel secure in and then focus on areas they need to develop or improve.
如果只是从一个主题、一个单元、一项评估跳到下一个，却不停下来反思学到了什么，便毫无意义。学生需要留出时间反思：哪些是成功之处、哪些学科已掌握扎实，再聚焦需要提升的地方。
Without this, it’s difficult to move forward and know clearly which direction one needs to head in.
没有反思，就很难前进，也难以明确方向。
We are asking all of our teachers to collaborate with team members in writing real time reflections at the end of each unit. They will indicate which lessons, activities or assessments of the unit were successful and could be repeated in future and which require more refinement or even cancellation. This will help sharpen our units to ensure they are fit for purpose and maximize the learning potential of our students.
我们要求所有教师在每个单元结束后，与团队共同完成实时反思：说明单元中哪些课程、活动或评估是成功的、可复用的，哪些需要优化甚至取消。这将帮助我们打磨课程，确保贴合目标，最大化学生的学习潜力。
Achieving top academic results and subsequent academic success is crucial for all our students and is at the core of what we do.Alongside this, however, we need to teach the skills and dispositions that will make them confident, collaborative, communicative learners and young adults as they move forward. They need the skills and the mindset to be successful in all their endeavours.
取得优异学业成绩并实现长远学术成功，对我们所有学生都至关重要，也是我们工作的核心。但与此同时，我们必须教授那些能让他们成长为自信、善于合作、高效沟通的学习者与青年的能力与素养。他们需要具备在所有追求中获得成功的技能与心态。
The Approaches to Learning (ATLs) are one way to ensure this and that is why we as a school are becoming more intentional and deliberate about them.
学习方法（ATLs）正是实现这一目标的重要路径。这也是协和古北正更加有意识、有计划、系统性地推进ATL教育的原因。
▲ Written by
Rick Spadafora, Academic Principal