This site will soon cover both the 2014 and 2023 Guides

Next month, all being well, the new 2023 IBDP Chemistry Guide will be available on My IB for teachers to download in time for the first face-to-face Subject Specific Seminars in Chemistry in Buenos Aires, Athens and Mumbai during the second half of February. The new programme has been a long time coming. The first examinations were originally scheduled to be in May 2023 but mainly because of the pandemic teaching is now due to begin in August/September this year with the first exams in May 2025. Some of the aspects of the new programme have already been outlined by the IB (see my blog Initial-reflections-on-the-new-programme) but the 2023 Guide will contain the detailed syllabus and assessment etc. set within the IB Diploma Programme framework.

The Guide is confidential until it is published but shortly after publication this site will effectively become two sites in one. When you go on the site you will first need to choose between the two new top headings - either 2014 DP Chemistry (Last exams November 2024) or 2023 DP Chemistry (First exams May 2025). This is because students who have already started their IB Diploma will be following the current 2014 syllabus whereas the teaching and assessment of students who start their two year diploma course later this year will be based on the new 2023 Guide. Once you select the correct top heading the launch pad will direct you to all the main headings.

Some of the content of the 2023 programme is the same or similar to the current 2014 programme but some will be new and much of the basic chemistry will be classified under different headings. For example, BrØnsted-Lowry acids and bases' will be found under 'Proton transfer reactions'  whereas 'Lewis acids and bases' will be located under 'Electron-pair sharing reactions'. During this overlap period many teachers will actually be teaching both programmes so I have tried to make the site as user-friendly as possible for both teachers and students, Rather than having to navigate between a combination of the old and new syllabuses, I have completely separated the two programmes so that they will operate as two independent sites with all the internal links taking you only to pages on the same programme. This means that all the quizzes, multiple choice tests and sub-topic questions are also completely separate including those in qBank. A new feature is that all the multiple choice tests (as well as the quizzes and short-answer questions) now also come with worked answers. The 'Complete course for students' will now be completely stand-alone for the new programme with all the pages written to address students rather than teachers although you still have control over when you give your students access to all the questions, quizzes, and worked answers. This means that students will not now have access to any of the rest of the 2023 site which is for teachers only. The launch pad will take you, the teacher (but not your students), to the main headings 'Start here', 'Teaching, learning and resources', 'Delivering the programme', 'Experimental programme & IA', 'External assessment', 'IB core' and 'Fast track to test and questions'. There will be a separate top heading for 'Complete course for students (First exams - May 2025)' which of course you as well as your students can also access.

The new site aims to provide both teachers and their students with everything they need to cover the whole of the new 2023 Chemistry Diploma programme comprehensively.

There are just a few more weeks to go - Watch this space!