July updates and notices

Dear subscribers

Greetings from a wet and stormy Hong Kong!

It's July already! Whilst November centres are yet to start tackling the new Paper 1 pre-release case study for the N23 exams, some schools in India have already embarked on teaching the new BM course (first exams M24).

The website now has content in excess of 910,000 words. To put this into context, my 762-page IBID Press 5th edition Business Management textbook is just shy of 360,000 words. The first 24 sections of the syllabus have been completed on InThinking (Units 1.1 - Units 4.2), along with the sections on the new Internal Assessment, the new key concepts, and External Assessments (Papers 1, 2, and 3). The majority of the fifteen components of the "Business Management Toolkit" have also been completed on the website. So, there is plenty up and ready to keep you and your students extremely busy. 

Some of the updates over the past month are highlighted in this month's newsletter below.

A new embedded video on Theranos, with 20 accompanying Q&A, has been included in the new Unit 1.3 which explores ethical business objectives. To access this, click the link here.

In Unit 2.2, a new video has been added from The Economist about working from home being the new norm. There are 10 accompanying questions for students  (plus answers for teachers). You can see this here.

You may have noticed that scientific and intuitive thinking/management has been added to the new syllabus (HL only). To read more about this, including a couple of ATL activities for students, take a look here.

Labour turnover has moved from Unit 2.1 to 2.4 and is now HL only with an AO4 added for good measure. See the updates for this new section of the syllabus here.

Similarly, appraisals and types of appraisals have moved from Unit 2.1 to 2.4. Updates for this section of the new syllabus are now here.

In Unit 2.4, there is advice about using the BOOSTER framework for staff appraisals, and the importance of providing positive feedback rather than focusing on mistakes (see Albert Einstein's example of this here).

When you get round to teaching Unit 2.6 (Communication), have a go at this fun activity called "Cluedo Communications Challenge" (based on the classic Cluedo Murder Mystery game) here. It's a great ATL Activity for testing and developing communication and problem solving skills. I have used this activity for 10+ years with students, and they always enjoy this; it's perfect for the new syllabus! Many thanks to Dr. Rima Puri and Tanu Chakraborty for agreeing to co-star in this activity.

I've also added a new Formal vs Informal Communication Quiz for Unit 2.6 here.

A new quiz for Unit 3.1 (revenue and capital expenditure) has been added here. You can also download a PDF copy to use with students in class.

Unit 3.2 - An updated exam practice question on the global hair wigs and extensions market has been included for the new specifications here.

Please note that the new guide has a different prescribed format for the Balance sheet and Profit & loss account. Details plus exam practice questions for the (new) balance sheet are here.

For Unit 3.4 - Types of intangible assets, I have included a "Higher or Lower Quiz" to get students engaged with understanding the market values of some very well-known brands. How many of these can you get right (before having a go at this with students in class)? Find the quiz here.

I've added a Lego activity for helping students to understand how to construct the profit and loss account, using the new IB prescribed format. I recently tried this at an IB workshop with teachers, and it went extremely well as a kinesthetic activity. To access the ATL Activity, take a look here. There are also practice exam questions plus mark schemes here.

Unit 4 content is expected to be completed in July, with the remaining Unit 5 completed in August.

Finally, you may be interested in some of the upcoming virtual training courses hosted by InThinking for the new syllabus. Additional events will be added soon. Please take a look here for some of the confirmed upskilling courses being offered in the new academic year.

Wishing you the best for the month ahead, especially those waiting for exam results coming out very soon for M22 candidates. 

Kind regards

Paul Hoang