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Teaching IB Chemistry should be fun
John Devonshire, my colleague for 26 years, arriving for work on a Monday morning.
Welcome to the InThinking IB Diploma Chemistry website. Whether you are a teacher new to the IB or an experienced 'old hand' this website comprehensively covers teaching the whole of the IB Chemistry Diploma Programme under clear main headings. It is designed to be used either for traditional teaching or for distance & blended learning and is updated every week - 52 weeks a year. In addition, for no extra cost, you can give your students access to "Complete course for students", which contains everything they need to support their learning of IB chemistry throughout the course. Student access also enables you to set tasks (including quizzes that are marked automatically) and monitor your students' progress.
I have used the experience and knowledge I have gained through many years of IB teaching (both students and teachers), examining, running workshops, visiting schools and writing chemistry books and research papers etc. to produce this site. My aim has been to not only provide you with all the essential chemistry you will need, together with all the necessary resources and supporting questions with worked answers, but also to encourage you and your students to think critically about chemistry and to place our subject into a global context. Please remember though that the opinions given are my own. If in doubt contact the IB directly.
I am confident that this InThinking Chemistry website will stimulate and enable you to become an even better teacher and your students become excellent learners.
Enjoy the challenge and the learning process along the way.
Before moving on to how to navigate the site, student access, and help and advice for those completely new to teaching IB chemistry, I think that even for experienced IB teachers it is worth considering what makes the IB special compared to all other educational systems. Chemistry is universal so of course there are many similarities with national and other international systems of education. However, the IB is distinctive in several ways as it aims to be much more than just an examination system. Although I’ve never seen them written down anywhere it appears to me that there are essentially five main differences to any other examination systems for the 16-19 age group.
Differences between the IB and (most) National Systems and other International Systems for 16-19 Chemistry education
Breadth
Students must study six academic subjects – three at Higher Level and three at Standard Level from a broad range of disciplines. In addition, they must integrate Theory of Knowledge (TOK) into the programme, complete a 4000 word Extended Essay in a subject of their own choosing and be actively involved in experiential learning through a range of artistic, physical and service activities known collectively as Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS).
Chemistry syllabus
The chemistry content is very similar to other systems but there is an emphasis on critical thinking and making links between the different strands of chemistry, the nature of science and international-mindedness to put chemistry into a global context.
Philosophy
The IB aims to develop the skills of lifelong learning. These are exemplified through Approaches to teaching, Approaches to learning and the Learner Profile. Emphasis is placed on students taking responsibility for their own learning. The IB Learner Profile is covered fully in the section on the IB Core.
Teacher input
IB teachers are actively encouraged to contribute to curriculum development.
Methods of examination
All Diploma students are examined in a wide variety of different ways which prepares them extremely well for further education at university and beyond. These include: Multiple Choice, Short answer questions, Essays in mother tongue, Essays in a Foreign language, Internally assessed course work in a range of disciplines, an Extended Essay, Oral examination in mother tongue, Oral examination in a foreign language, Group 4 interdisciplinary project, TOK exhibition and TOK Essay etc. etc.
These are all positive differences and are perhaps the main reason why the IB is so successful and growing rapidly.
Click on the links below (or on the left) to find out how best to navigate the site in order to get the best use of it and how you can also benefit your students greatly (and also yourself), all for no extra cost, by making use of "Student access".
How to navigate the site
Shows in detail the three main different ways in which you can navigate around the site so that you can easily find what you are looking for.
Using student access
Shows you the very real benefits of using student access, both to you and to your students. As well as describing all the benefits it covers creating student accounts, setting assignments, using qBank and managing student accounts and your mark book.
Information, help and advice for teachers new to IB teaching
This section gives you the basics you need to actually get started. It explains how chemistry fits into the overall Diploma programme, lists essential resources particularly required by all new IB teachers, and explains the aims and objectives of IB Diploma chemistry and how the objectives are assessed using the material detailed in the syllabus. It provides advice and suggestions for you to devise your teaching schedules to deliver the SL (150 hours) and/or HL (240 hours) course and information about all the deadlines you have to meet.