Teaching sequences
Considerations
There are lots of factors to consider when planning a teaching sequence for a new Guide.
- Although you are likely to be teaching roughly the recommended 240 hours for HL and 150 weeks for SL, where do these fall? Are your weeks similar throughout the two years, or does your school have time for projects and mock exams?
- When do you typically carry out the IA? What topics do you want your students to have studied by then? Back-tracking from this, it would be wise for students to have knowledge about Kinematics (A.1), Forces (A.2) and Energy (A.3) to draw upon, and skills that include experimental design and data analysis.
- Do you have a period in which students can choose between HL and SL? Another advantage to commencing with Mechanics content is that schools may have a window in which students can decide between their Higher and Standard Level subjects; this content is common to both courses.
- If your school has many year groups, what is the availability of equipment each month?
- Why is it that the IB has grouped things as they have? Perhaps it makes things more manageable, shows how similar models are used in different examples, makes understanding easier, or is because people like making lists!
- But there are other possible groupings too. For example, collecting ideas of repeated motion (like Circular Motion and Oscillations) together may be beneficial.
- What concepts does a student need to be familiar with before the next? For example, you might like students to learn about Electric Fields (D.2) before Current Electricity (B.5).
Possible sequences
The headline is that teachers probably shouldn't teach in the same order that the guide is presented. This is how we are likely to organise things next year.
The IB's recommended hours per topic sum to 110 for SL and 180 for HL. The sequence below is based loosely on the idea of there being roughly 3 hours of SL classes or 5 hours of HL classes in a week, with space provided for explorations, investigations and skills development.
Combined HL and SL classes
Start with all students together. We are intentionally keeping this time concise because we know that sometimes SL students can't attend all classes. During their 'extra' time, HL students could be working on additional problems, carrying out additional experiments, exploring through research how many of the laws came to be accepted, and perhaps reading ahead to HL-only topics:
- Kinematics (A.1) - 9 hours all
- Forces and momentum (A.2) - 10 hours all
- Energy (A.3) - 8 hours all
- Thermal energy transfers (B.1) - 6 hours all
From this point, you will be in a position to facilitate the IA, although strategically students may have stronger experimental skills after the first 6 months.
| Month | Topic(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| September | Kinematics | Assuming 9 hours of SL availability this month Introduce experimental techniques |
| October | Newton's laws, free-body diagrams and types of forces Types of forces and circular motion | Assuming 10 hours of SL availability this month Introduce technology |
| November | Work and energy Momentum and power | Assuming 14 hours of SL availability this month |
| December | Thermal energy transfers | Assuming 6 hours of SL availability this month Possibility of mini-IA |
Then have a blended period in which students are sometimes together and sometimes with release opportunities for SL students:
- Simple harmonic motion (C.1) - 3 hours all plus 4 hours HL
- Wave model (C.2) - 3 hours all
- Greenhouse effect (B.2) - 6 hours all
- Gas laws (B.3) - 6 hours all
- Gravitational fields (D.1) - 5 hours all plus 7 hours HL
- Structure of the atom (E.1) - 6 hours all plus 3 hours HL
- Electric and magnetic fields (D.2) - 8 hours all plus 6 hours HL
- Current and circuits (B.5) - 6 hours all
- Motion in electromagnetic fields (D.3) - 6 hours all
- Wave phenomena (C.3) - 5 hours all plus 6 hours HL
- Standing waves and resonance (C.4) - 4 hours all
- Doppler effect (C.5) - 2 hours all plus 2 hours HL
- Radioactive decay (E.3) - 7 hours all plus 5 hours HL
- Fission (E.4) - 4 hours all
- Fusion and stars (E.5) - 6 hours all
This might be a nice time to do the Collaborative Sciences Project. A brief moment to relax with all students together after the busiest period of the Diploma Programme.
| Month | Topic(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| January | Simple harmonic motion Wave model | Assuming 6 hours of SL availability and 4 hours of additional HL availability this month Introduce inquiry process |
| February | Greenhouse effect Gas laws | Assuming 12 hours of SL availability this month |
| March | Gravitational fields Structure of the atom Electric forces | Assuming 13 hours of SL availability and 10 hours of additional HL availability this month |
| April | Electric fields and magnetic fields Current and circuits | Assuming 12 hours of SL availability and 6 hours of additional HL availability this month |
| May | DP1 internal exams IA | |
| June | Motion in electromagnetic fields | Assuming 6 hours of SL availability this month |
| July and August | Opportunity to 'get ahead' or 'catch up' | |
| September | Wave phenomena Standing waves and resonance | Assuming 9 hours of SL availability and 6 hours of additional HL availability this month TOK discussion on scope, methods and tools, perspectives and ethical considerations in physics |
| October | Doppler effect Radioactive decay | Assuming 9 hours of SL availability and 7 hours of additional HL availability this month |
| November | Fission Fusion and stars | Assuming 10 hours of SL availability this month Possibility of collaborative sciences project |
| December | Opportunity for consolidation in mathematics skills |
Conclude in the final portion with HL students only:
- Quantum physics (E.2) - 8 hours HL
- Thermodynamics (B.4) - 8 hours HL
- Induction (D.4) - 6 hours HL
- Rigid body mechanics (A.4) - 7 hours HL
- Galilean and special relativity (A.5) - 8 hours HL
Students will then prepare for the examinations.
| Month | Topic(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| January | Quantum physics | Assuming 8 hours of HL availability |
| February | Thermodynamics | Assuming 8 hours of HL availability Mock exams |
| March | Induction Rigid body mechanics Galilean and special relativity | Assuming 21 hours of HL availability |
| April | Examination preparation |
Separate HL and SL classes
It is, of course, more straightforward to structure the teaching in classes that are exclusively HL or SL. The reality is that this doesn't make differentiation any easier; the best physicist in the cohort might take physics at SL, and you might have HL students on course for grades below 4.
You can follow the calendar above as your programme for these two separate class types, perhaps accelerating a little more at the beginning if HL-only or relaxing overall with SL to allow some topics to spill into the final term.
- Kinematics (A.1) - 9 hours
- Forces and momentum (A.2) - 10 hours
- Energy (A.3) - 8 hours
- Thermal energy transfers (B.1) - 6 hours
- Simple harmonic motion (C.1) - 3 hours
- Wave model (C.2) - 3 hours
- Greenhouse effect (B.2) - 6 hours
- Gas laws (B.3) - 6 hours
- Gravitational fields (D.1) - 5 hours
- Structure of the atom (E.1) - 6 hours
- Electric and magnetic fields (D.2) - 8 hours
- Current and circuits (B.5) - 6 hours
- Motion in electromagnetic fields (D.3) - 6 hours
- Wave phenomena (C.3) - 5 hours
- Standing waves and resonance (C.4) - 4 hours
- Doppler effect (C.5) - 2 hours
- Radioactive decay (E.3) - 7 hours
- Fission (E.4) - 4 hours
- Fusion and stars (E.5) - 6 hours
- Kinematics (A.1) - 9 hours
- Forces and momentum (A.2) - 10 hours
- Energy (A.3) - 8 hours
- Thermal energy transfers (B.1) - 6 hours
- Simple harmonic motion (C.1) - 7 hours
- Wave model (C.2) - 3 hours
- Greenhouse effect (B.2) - 6 hours
- Gas laws (B.3) - 6 hours
- Gravitational fields (D.1) - 12 hours
- Structure of the atom (E.1) - 9 hours
- Electric and magnetic fields (D.2) - 14 hours
- Current and circuits (B.5) - 6 hours
- Motion in electromagnetic fields (D.3) - 6 hours
- Wave phenomena (C.3) - 11 hours
- Standing waves and resonance (C.4) - 4 hours
- Doppler effect (C.5) - 4 hours
- Radioactive decay (E.3) - 12 hours
- Fission (E.4) - 4 hours all
- Fusion and stars (E.5) - 6 hours
- Quantum physics (E.2) - 8 hours
- Thermodynamics (B.4) - 8 hours
- Induction (D.4) - 6 hours
- Rigid body mechanics (A.4) - 7 hours
- Galilean and special relativity (A.5) - 8 hours