Group Four - The Sciences

What will I learn if I take Biology?

If you take IB Biology, you will study a comprehensive syllabus with a wide focus on biological subjects. The two year curriculum ranges from ecology, ecosystems and evolution, to cell biology, animal physiology, and biotechnology. A student can choose between Higher Level (HL) and Standard Level (SL) where the difference is the amount of time you spend on each subject. The HL student go more into depth in the different subjects, but also enjoy unique topics like plant anatomy.

How do we learn?

Lectures, lab exercises, and student assignments give you a robust academical foundation for further studies in biology. In an exercise named the “individual investigation”, you perform an independently designed experiment, which is a good preparation for scientific assignments at the university. You decide yourself what you investigate, how to collect and analyze data, and how to draw and present the conclusion in a scientific report

How are we assesed?

All students take their final exams in May, two years after enrollment. In addition to the exam, the individual investigation will count 20% of the grade in biology. You will, however, continuously get feedback during the years, in the form of topic tests, feedback on practicals, and a mock exam in the final year.

You will get plenty of lab hours, and a more independent learning experience than in the traditional Norwegian system.

What is the workload?

The workload depends on the level chosen. SL is typically easier than the corresponding Bi1 and Bi2 in Norway, while HL is a bit tougher since it goes more into depth. It must also be said that the individual investigation is more demanding than the lab reports in the Norwegian system.There are plenty of IB-learning resources online, and you will study the same curriculum as thousands of students world-wide.

To conlude, IB biology gives significant advantage if you want to study biology at the university level, compared with a norwegian VGS student. Especially helpful is the individual investigation, which teaches you to perform scentific work independently.