Some students struggle with IB requirements - and having a learner portfolio is a must for all students.  Those struggles can sometimes be alleviated when students understand the purpose behind the concept.

The following handout, to be passed out to students at the beginning of the two year course, gives students the key information about the learner portfolio without (hopefully) overwhelming them.

You can direct students to this page or you can photocopy the handout below to help your students understand the requirements, expectations, and tasks involved.  In the end, the goal is for the learner portfolio to be a transformational tool that assists students in their growth as readers, writers, and thinkers in the course.  

Learner Portfolio (A Handout for Students)

Why have one?

Because it’s fun.  It’s a pleasure and an outlet for our thinking.  Also, the learner portfolio is an IB requirement, but it’s so much more than that. This is an opportunity for you to explore your own writing and to express your ideas creatively.  It is meant for you to show your interests and passions in your own writing.

What is it?

It’s a mad lab!  It’s messy and experimental.  More concretely, it’s a blank art sketchbook or padlet or Adobe Spark page or a website or a Google Drive folder (or something else) where you collect and collate examples of your writing and the writing of others.  It is an opportunity to explore ideas, styles, and more in relation to your interests.     

How do I do this?

Read and be curious about the world around you.  Be organized with your writing and thinking.  Focus on the writing process and not solely on the final products you create.

How Often Do I Contribute to This?

As often as you want!  But, we expect you to add smaller thoughts, writings, and ideas at least twice a month and one longer piece of writing once a month.

Make sure to:

• Observe the world around you; collect ideas and thoughts; collate work that reflects a range of perspectives, genres, and interests;

• Experiment with everything you can;

• Challenge yourself in what you read, write, and consider;

• Create compelling written work that has some literary merit;  

• Articulate your understanding of the writer’s craft (your own and others);   

• Demonstrate the ability to manipulate elements of various genres;  

• Use the portfolio as a space to develop your internal and external assessment components of the course;

• Connect to the areas of exploration, concepts, and global issues when relevant;

• Track your learning and progress;

• Be independent.

In many ways, all the awesome stuff in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton: The Revolution is what we are looking for you to do.  Find a picture of it here.  

Course Connections
In your learner portfolio – when relevant – you will want to connect to the areas of exploration; concepts; global issues; and assessment components.  They are listed below to help remind you of them.

Areas of exploration

Readers, writers and texts

Time and space

Intertextuality: connecting texts

Concepts

Identity

Culture

Creativity

Communication

Perspective

Transformation

Representation

Global issues

Culture, identity and community

Beliefs, values and education

Politics, power and justice

Art, creativity and imagination

Science, technology and the environment

Assessment components

Paper 1

Paper 2

Higher level essay

Individual oral

What could you create, collect, analyze, and more in your learner portfolio? Some options and text types include:

The formal IB list of text types is on page 21 and 22 of the Language A: Language and literature guide.