March 2023 Updates & Notices

Welcome to the March 2023 updates and notices for InThinking Business Management users. I'm delighted to share a couple more milestones with you during the past month:

• Our 1,750th teacher joined the InThinking Business Management community from Bergen County Academies in the USA. At the time of writing, we have 1,759 registered teachers across 112 countries who use InThinking Business Management.

• We also welcomed our 17,000th student from Westbourne College, Australia. As of 1st March 2023, there are 17,169 registered students with free access to the website.

If you don't already do so, please consider activating Student Access from your account to give all your students FREE access to the website. There is no additional cost for doing this. Furthermore, you have control over which pages your students can see at any time.

Many thanks for your ongoing support; it is highly appreciated.

Updates to the InThinking Business Management website

The main updates this month have focused on the new pre-seen Paper 1 case study. There are now 15 different ATL Activities to keep your students (very) busy and engaged with the SVT case study. These activities include a Google Slides presentation, quizzes, a time line, embedded videos and worksheets, posters, Tridominoes task, and an interactive multiple choice task. ATL Activity 16 will be added soon and contain exam practice questions and answers.

To access these resources, please click the link here.

To see the dates and timings of the Paper 1 exam, please use the link here.

Other updates to the website include:

• For Unit 3.4, IB educator Maria Pardo has created and shared these amazing posters that can be used to support students. They also make great classroom displays. Maria teaches at American School of Valencia, Spain. Many thanks for your generosity, Maria!

• For Unit 3.7, a new "Cash Flow Hexagons" activity has been added here to support students in learning the prescribed format in the new syllabus.

• For Unit 4.2, IB educator Enrique Soto has shared a great ATL Activity that involves students creating their own position maps using online software. Take a look at ATL Activity 7 here for further details.

• For BMT 11 (Hofstede's cultural dimensions), a new multiple choice quiz has been added to test students' understanding of this tool. It can be accessed here.

• With the May 2023 exams not far away now (actually Paper 1 exam is scheduled on Friday 28th April 2023), the Exams sections on the website have been updated. For example, direct your students to this webpage with updated and additional top tips for the external assessments.

In recognition and celebration of International Women's Day, I will be adding a new case study and full Paper 2, Section B exam practice question on The Female Company here. If you have not heard of this relatively new Germany start-up company, it's well worth a read and shows how creativity and entrepreneurship can go hand in hand. There will also be an accompanying full mark scheme posted to the Paper 2 exams section in time for 8th March 2023.

Here's a sneak peek about The Female Company:

It's IA season for many teachers and students following the new syllabus.

A new ATL Activity to help students to consider how to integrate the chosen key concept in the contents of the syllabus as well as thinking about how to connect this to the new Internal Assessment can be found here.

I have also updated the list of suitable IA research questions for the new course. There are now more than 50 RQs that would work for the new IA. These can be accessed here.

Following the first round of the IB's Category 3 Workshops with a specific focus on the new IA, InThinking will be hosting two IA Think-Ins in March to support teachers with the changes (see below).

All the best to DP2 students completing the administrative parts of their Internal Assessment for final upload to the IB!

Details of upcoming teacher training events are listed below, in case you might be interesting in attending any of these.

• The new IA in DP Business Management - This Think-In is dedicated to unpacking new Internal Assessment (first assessment 2024). There are two events for this with the first course on 3rd March 2023 and repeated on 10th March 2023.

• Keys to Success: Paper 1 in the DP Business Management (pre-release case study) for May 2023 exams. There are two separate events for this - on Wednesday 8th March and repeated on Wednesday 15th March.

• Focus on: Quantitative Techniques in the new DP BM course - There are two separate dates for this course - on Monday 20th March and repeated on Wednesday 29th March.

• Keys to Success: Extended Essay in Business Management on 28th March 2023. Although the training is designed for those relatively new to the EE and/or IB Business Management, the workshop is open to anyone who may be interested.

Finally, please be reminded that both Paper 1 and Paper 2 examinations will go back to pre-COVID conditions. This will mean that:

• HL candidates will have a compulsory Section C extended response question in Paper 1 for the SVT case study. This is a 20-mark extended response question based on stimulus material that will be given in the actual exam.

• Both SL HL candidates will have a Section C in Paper 2 (the CUEGIS conceptual essay). Students will need to choose one essay from three, with any combination of the six key concepts being examined.

Summary of DP Business Management examination papers in May 2023

Wishing you all a productive month ahead.