Options menu
Since the options are assessed with one question per topic, it allows some flexibility in how we approach the course. This is a good way to minimize the amount of content that students have to learn as well as allow for more project-based work in your class. In addition, it is a way to consider how to allow some time out for SL candidates so that they can focus on their other coursework, or do revision work for past units to prepare for the end-of-course exams.
Below you will find the menu that is my course outline for the second year of the course. You should know that the IA is done during the months of October - December and Paper 3 is often done so that it reflects the units that we are studying.
Sample menu
The following chart shows the menu that I use with my own students in the second year of the course.
| September | October | November | December |
| Stress and health | Diagnosis | Aetiologies of disorders | Treatments of disorders |
| January | February | March | April |
| Origins of obesity | Health campaigns | Relationships | Wrap-up and revision |
The red boxes are required by all students.
The blue boxes are for HL only - and are not being prepared for IB assessment.
SL candidates will choose two more topics from the green boxes, in addition to the stress unit. They may take part in the blue topics, but these do not count as they are not being prepared for the exams.
When preparing for the final exam, SL will need to prepare a minimum of two topics. HL candidates will have to prepare a minimum of three topics. For HL, the three topics need to be from more than one option. Our options are health psychology, relationships, and abnormal psychology. For example, HL candidates cannot prepare stress, obesity, and health campaigns for the May exam. They need to be able to answer questions from two options. It would be better, for example, to prepare obesity, health campaigns, and the etiologies of disorders.
What I like about this approach is that it allows me to do more project-based work. It also allows me to do some revision with SL.
All SL candidates need to let me know by the end of the stress unit which units they are planning on studying.
During October, November, and December, SL students will report to class when we are working on the IA. In October and December, they will also have some revision work set for them which they will submit for feedback and/or assessment.
When the HL students write an assessment for etiologies, SL students will either write the assessment with them (that is if they chose this unit), or they will write a mock Paper 1a or b.
In addition, SL students will have a project based on stress research in the first half of the year. They will have a choice of what they would like to do. In the second half of the year, they will have a project based on the units that they have chosen for their end-of-year exams. These projects will be assessed and they will report to class for "check-ins" to make sure that they are marking progress.
Finally, HL will also prepare for Paper 3 throughout the year. I design the paper 3s to reflect the content that we are studying.