As learning is at the heart of every school in the wider IB ecosystem, learning environments are expected to be considered first in strategic planning and resourcing.
“If the school community is an ecosystem, the learning environment is the key part to check its health. “
The International Baccalaureate’s (IB) Programme standards and practices defines two types of environments.
- School environments indirectly support learning. School environments include physical and virtual facilities, human and fiscal resources, and the organizational structure and operations of the school.
- Learning environments directly support learning. Learning environments should include safe spaces that foster well-being and intellectual development, thoughtful learning support and a school environment that supports the learning that takes place.
If the school community is an ecosystem, the learning environment is the key part to check its health. The learner, the learning environment and the school environment are interdependent, but the learning environment is the most obvious expression of how the school environment is utilized and transformed to facilitate learning and teaching.
As learning is at the heart of every school in the wider IB ecosystem, learning environments are expected to be considered first in strategic planning and resourcing.
Learning environments consist of:
- people, that is learners and teachers
- spaces, both physical and digital
- resources, that is the content, supplies and infrastructure needed to keep the environment healthy
- policies, that is the rules and agreements of the school community that support learning and teaching
“Engaging learning environments inspire the imagination and creativity of learners, and encourage the process of inquiry, action and reflection.”
The best evidence of successful learning environments in schools in the IB ecosystem comes from learners.
Engaging learning environments inspire the imagination and creativity of learners and encourage the process of inquiry, action and reflection. These environments provide opportunities for emerging inquiries; students may take their learning in new and unexpected directions, developing and demonstrating the attributes of the IB learner profile.
To explore how to use learning environments within the wide IB ecosystem for strategic planning and resourcing within daily practices, please attend one of our new webinars in Developing as a lifelong learner: Inquiry into an IB education series. Find out more details about each individual webinar, including dates and times here.
This post created by Zachary Fernebok, Product Marketing Manager for the Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme at the International Baccalaureate, and one of the hosts of IB Voices. For more information about developing learning environments and educator resources click here
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