Advice for new teachers
They key details to get started with!
The nature of the IB diploma program around the world means that every new year there will be lots of teachers everywhere teaching this course for the first time. Sure, maths is maths, but anyone who has changed syllabi will know how much attention to detail is required to make sure you know all the key differences and subtle details so that you give students the best chance! So this page is a guide for those of you new to teaching this course, whether you are new to teaching all together or with years of experience and just switching systems! There is important advice and lots of pointers to other areas of the site where you can find the things you need!
First and foremost you need to get your head around the big picture. It is a lot, but we have done our best to distil it down to key details on this The course at a glance page. Here you can find all the key details about the syllabus, the time allocations, the assessment details, the graphical display calculator, unit planning and more. You can refer back to this page whenever you need to.
The course at a glance
We know from experience that many of you out there will be teaching this course for the first time and that it can be a little overwhelming to get your head around all the things that you need to know...
Much depends on your previous experiences and backgrounds, but one of the things it can be hardest to get used to is recognising the role we and our subject is playing in the big picture of the IB diploma. We could also have interesting debates about the pros and cons of different approaches, but the IB diploma is clearly written as a holistic and rounded education for our students. All of the documents, policies and trainings are consistent with this! As such, it is really important to see what we are doing in our classes as just a part of an all round education. It is important to know that students are studying in all these other subject groups and areas and that time, as a result, is at a premium.
The first three circles make up what is referred to as the IB Core
The IB learner Profile is essentially an aspirational list of personal attributes for students, and indeed ourselves, if we are to lead by example! This is at the center of the diagram in recognition of its central importance and priority.
Approaches to teaching and learning is as it sounds and you can read more about it on the linked page. The IB have qualified it with their documents and policies, but it is essentially putting 'thoughtful and effective education' at the core of the diagram too. Although there is always much debate about effective educational strategies, its important to note a couple of things...
- The IB diploma program promotes a largely progressive and constructivist view of education with an emphasis on concept and inquiry based approaches.
- This is mixed with many arguably more traditional elements, mostly manifest in assessment.
- Experience has taught me that there is enough freedom to employ a mix of strategies as long as they fit the over arching holistic goal.
The Theory of Knowledge course is the branch of philosophy, epistemology and is a substantial, challenging course. As a ToK teacher I may not be entirely objective, but I have come to see it as one of the most essential experiences students have as it encompasses critical thinking about what and how we know which can be applied to understanding issues the world is currently facing. In an ideal world it threads all the other elements together. This is assessed by an exhibition and a final essay.
Creativity, Activity and Service is an element that requires students to engage with extra curricular activity and service learning. This is assessed.
The Extended Essay is an individual research project students are expected to complete, resulting in a 4000 word report.
What follows are the 6 subject groups and students are required to study a subject in each of the groups (there is some 'wiggle room' there in practice). Three of these should be studied at Higher level (HL) and three at Standard Level (SL).
In practise you will learn more about all of these elements, their pros and cons, over time and through exchanging with students and colleagues. No system is perfect and so it is no surprise that there are some bumps in the road, despite good intentions!
For now, in your first year at least, I think it is enough just to be aware of this structure. Listen out for related discussions and feedback and you will get more and more comfortable with it.
From experience meeting and working with teachers everywhere, the biggest shift people have to make teaching this course is getting used to these key philosophical points.
Applications & Interpretations - This is the driving force. It is about mathematics in context. This often means that the focus of the question is in a different place to what you are used to. A favourite example to demonstrate this is quadratics. Mathematics teachers get excited about the vast fascination of teaching quadratics. We can get lost in vertices, roots, discriminants, etc etc. In this course, however, the focus is on what the roots and the vertices mean in the context of something, like a projectile, being modelled by a quadratic. In some ways, this might seem like, mathematically, the questions are easier, but trust me, interpreting for meaning in the combination of contexts and the associated language, presents a whole different challenge!
Technology and the graphical display calculator (GDC) - This is related. There are still a lot of key mathematical ideas to master, but, globally, the philosophy is that technology should be employed to get answers so that the focus is on...
a) Recognising what processes technology should be asked to do
b) Knowing how to get the techniology to do it and
c) Interpreting the result.
As such, it becomes crucial for students to know their technology (GDC) well. Don't worry if you don't know it well, it is much better if you learn it together with your students than teaching them long manual methods that they don't need and don't have time for.
Example - Students are not ever expected to calculate standard deviations manually from tables. They are expected to enter data in to their GDCs and get the calculator to do the rest. Then they are expected to interpret the result in context.
Everything you need to know about your GDCs is here
If you have followed all the links already then you are probably overwhelmed - sorry! In this section I'll try to offer some helpful steps to manage the first term!
Worry about maths first - As suggested above, there is much to learn and think about it the big picture here, but your first job is to teach this mathematics course and prepare students for the assessment. The details are all here.
Familiarise yourself with assessments - Before you teach a new topic, make sure you have a good look at how it will be assessed. Check out all our samples on this External Assessment page and see hundreds more examples with our Question bank. Your department should also have access to IB past papers. This is a huge part of understanding the course philosophy and will change the way you think about teaching the ideas.
Lean on colleagues - This is huge. I would hope that all new teachers have the benefit of experienced colleagues around them. Ideally, they will be able to offer you a scheme of work and point you towards resources. Try to have regular conversations about details of the course and how to teach it if there is time!
Get to know this site - Use the Site Guide - Maths AI to help you navigate and find what you are looking for. Each of the Topic Pages has everything you need for that topic.
Planning - Accept that you might not be able to stick to your plan, but mapping out your year and making everything fit in it is an important foundation. This will help you keep the big (course) picture in mind! See this Schemes of Work section for ideas, examples and help and even a plan you can follow entirely.
Plan for Internal Assessment (IA) - As a new teacher I think it is key that you have a plan for IA. As suggested above, hopefully this is something you can consult your colleagues on. It is important to know what timescale you are on so that you know what has to be acheived in what amount of time. Learn all about Internal Assessment here and get some dates in the calendar! It won't be easy the first time around (I have never found it easy) but I mention it here so that it doesn't get left until the last minute and make unwanted problems for you.
Good luck!
Crash Course: Mathematics Applications & Interpretation for New DP Teachers. September 17th and 18th 2024 14:00 CEST
Facilitator: Jim Noble - Length: 6 hours over 2 days
This Crash Course for the Mathematics Applications & Interpretation course will cover all the essential elements of the DP maths course including: syllabus content and organizing a 2-year teaching plan, preparing students for the external assessments and the internal assessment task (Exploration), practical teaching ideas and materials for incorporating inquiry-based approaches and problem-solving skills, and useful teaching tips and resources. See more...
The focus of this Think-In is to provide practical advice and address participants’ questions and concerns so that a teacher new to IBDP maths will be able to start teaching the Applications & Interpretation course with greater confidence, information and ideas.
The maximum number of participants is 20 and an InThinking certificate will be awarded at the end.
Four 90-minute sessions + a 15-minute break each day using Zoom over two days: 1st day: 27 September, 14:00 CEST, 2nd day: 27 September, 14:00 CEST (Paris times).
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