Rethinking the one-year SL course
Just over a year ago, we published this blog post to support teachers delivering the new SL Psychology curriculum in one year. As we near the end of our first year, it is time to review and revise that advice.
The IB recommends 150 hours of instruction for the SL course. However, for teachers delivering the course within a single academic year, reaching that total is often unrealistic.
This post offers practical advice to help streamline your course while still meeting the core demands of the curriculum.
Less is more
Teach only three contexts. The Learning and Cognition and Human Relationships contexts should both be included, as most of the cognitive content (Table 3.2 in the guide) is covered through Learning and Cognition, while most of the sociocultural content (Table 3.3) is addressed within Human Relationships.
Either the Health and Well-being or the Human Development context may be omitted. We recommend omitting Human Development, as the biological content (Table 3.1) can be taught more effectively through the Health and Well-being context.
However, this decision does have consequences. On Paper 1C, students may have only one question they can answer instead of a choice of two.
For Paper 1B, although the questions are linked to one of the four contexts, they are based on a novel situation or scenario rather than on specific content listed in the guide under those contexts. Therefore, students are unlikely to be disadvantaged if they have not studied one of the contexts.
The same applies to Paper 2B, where students are required to apply concepts to a study that will only be loosely connected to one of the four contexts.
Integrate
I recommend not beginning the course with a separate research methods unit. Instead, start with a context and introduce research methods only when they are relevant to a class practical. The case study method and correlational studies can be briefly covered through direct instruction so that students can recognize them if they appear in Paper 2B. Since these methods are not used in class practicals or the IA, there is no need to spend significant time on them.
A good starting point is the Learning and Cognition context, as it relates closely to students’ own experiences. A teacher-led group memory experiment, with students acting as participants, provides a simple and effective introduction to both research methods and the class practical.
Concepts should not be taught as a separate unit. Instead, integrate them into each context, keeping in mind that not every concept needs to be covered in every context. Learning and Cognition is particularly well-suited to introducing the concepts of causality, measurement, and bias, which are interconnected and relatively accessible for students at the beginning of the course.
Consequences
There will be a lot of terminology to be learned in a short period of time. To clarify, the content is the material in tables 3.1-3.4 in the guide; the concepts are bias, causality, change, measurement, perspective, and responsibility; the contexts are the framework that contains these: health and well-being, human development, human relationships, and learning and cognition (tables 4.1-4.4). You can make it easier for students by not referring to the key ideas of theories as “concepts” and not referring to the learning objectives of the contexts as “content.” For those of us who taught the previous curriculum, this will be tricky, but it saves confusion.
Simplify the practicals
Make sure all class practicals focus on the same general topic. We have provided some suggestions here. The IB has clarified that class practicals do not need to be linked one-to-one with each context, so it is possible to conduct two within the same context.
Students could complete both the survey/questionnaire and the interview practicals within the Human Relationships context. Since these practicals can be conducted collaboratively, one effective approach is to divide the class into two groups: one group designs a Likert-scale questionnaire, while the other creates a semi-structured interview schedule. The groups then critique each other’s questions so that all students end up with polished versions of both instruments.
Finally, the group that designed the questionnaire and revised the interview schedule conducts the interviews, while the other group administers the survey on the same topic. Both practicals can then be written up as homework.
The observation practical can be conducted within any of the contexts, but it should take place in a public setting, such as a school library, cafeteria, or local shopping centre. If the observation is conducted outside the school environment, students should avoid observing children, as obtaining the necessary permissions can be time-consuming.
Consequences
Students will need to do a lot of this work independently. It is impossible to take the 30 class hours recommended in the guide, and aiming for 10 class hours is more realistic to fit within your one-year deadline.
Minimize class time
You can save a lot of class time with the IA proposal. This may be introduced as soon as the students have done three class practicals – experiment, survey, and interview. Observation may be left till last, and do not allow this as a method for the IA. Insist that the students use only an experiment, survey, or interview method.
Class time can be spent on helping students choose an appropriate problem, checking their research is relevant and from peer-reviewed psychology journals, and helping them decide the best way to investigate this issue.
Writing can be done at home. We provide a template and a timeline here. You should provide feedback on each section as it is completed. See this blog post for some ideas regarding topic choice.
Consequences
There may be challenges from students at the beginning, but hold firm and insist on a real-life problem, some ideas for its solution, and a clear population of interest. This will make everyone's life a lot easier later.
Timeline
Suggested timings for a school starting in mid-August
| Early to mid-October | Context 1 and class practical 1 completed |
| Mid-December | Context 2 and class practicals 2 and 3 completed IA introduced, to allow for research over winter break |
| End of January | IA completed |
| Mid-March | Context 3 and class practical 4 completed. Mock exams |
| April | Revision for May exams |
The students will need to be highly motivated, independent learners, and you will need to be organized and forward-planning. Good luck!