Frequently asked questions

It is natural to feel anxious when a new syllabus is released, especially when it initially appears to require a different approach from what has come before. Every few weeks, I will collect questions I have received from teachers and answer them here, in the hope that it will help those planning their teaching for next year. Please comment at the bottom of the blog if you have further questions.

How can we organise the course?
It is left up to teachers, but the content, concepts, and contexts are not meant to be taught separately. Looking at the guide, the simplest organisation is to start the course with a unit introducing psychology and research methodology. This is then followed by the four contexts in any order you like, with the IA proposal inserted when you feel the students have sufficient knowledge of research methodology to construct a good proposal. See Course plan: Sequential for advice on preparing your two-year course.

Can the new curriculum be completed in one year at SL?
Yes, but not easily. It will require careful planning, and students will need to work independently on their IA proposal. See SL Psychology in one year for one way to do it.

Do we have to incorporate every concept into every context?
This is not necessary. It is recommended that three or four relevant concepts be selected when teaching the contexts. Each context will take several weeks, so if this makes you nervous, you can incorporate all six. The new curriculum emphasizes transfer of learning; based on their deep understanding of concepts, students should be able to apply them to various contexts.

Does the content for each approach need to be covered in every context?
No. If you read through the contexts, you will find that many of the learning objectives for the content (approaches) are already present in the contexts. For example, many sociocultural learning objectives can be found in the context of human relationships, and many cognitive ones are present in learning and cognition. You can decide where you would like to teach the others. See Integrating cognitive approach, and the material on the other approaches, for more ideas.

Should the teacher prepare a list of topics for the IA proposal?
The IA proposal should focus on a topic that interests the student and involve a population that is relevant or meaningful to them. Unlike in the previous IA, there is no benefit to be gained from teacher recommendation of topics.

Upcoming post - FAQs

The next blog post will address one of the most common concerns about the new curriculum: the fear of “missing something.” Many questions reflect a perceived need to “cover everything, everywhere,” as seen in the HL Extensions blog post and the two questions above about concepts and content. In response, we’ll explore how applying psychology across different contexts can help reinforce understanding and ensure key content is retained.