Group Three The Humanities

About the subject

ln History you will learn about different epochs, wars and prominent historical figures. The subject is divided into SL and HL. Where SL has three hours a week while HL has five hours.

What do we learn?

The best way to learn about where a country is going is by learning about its past. In this subject, you learn about why society and politics are what they are today.

History is described by the IB (in the 2020 guide) as: “...a rigorous intellectual discipline, focused around key historical concepts such as change, causation and significance”. This means that IB History, like other fellow IB subjects, is a challenging experience focused around concepts that are important when it comes to history. This subject is therefore very centred around the critical thinking involved when analysing and observing history. What we learn depends on the prescribed topics, which are linked to the Papers we are going to answer on the exams. Paper 1 deals with the interpretation of historical documents and methods in history. It is linked to a prescribed subject, at the moment “rights and protest” (case study 1: Apartheid in South Africa 1948-1964, case study 2: The civil rights movement in the USA 1954-1964). For Paper 2 (SL and HL) we study two prescribed subjects (at the moment Authoritarian States and the Cold War), while Paper 3 is for the HL students only, and is a study of three chosen topics from the European region. Both Paper 2 and Paper 3 are about writing essays, based on so called essay questions (two for Paper 2, 3 for Paper 3).

How do we learn?

In history, you learn through different methods. Most of what you’ll learn is in the books and a lot of the learning involves reading and discussing the content.

SL students taking history focus on the core of the subject, while HL students go deeper into certain topics. In HL history we also dive deeper into a specific continent’s background with the teacher of your subject choosing one out of the four regional options. For us this usually means the European option

How are we assessed in this subject?

In IB history, you are assessed in two ways: the IA (Internal Assessment) and the final exam (an external assessment). The internal assessment is a historical study with a very specific research question and a limited word-count based on a historical topic of the student’s choice. The final exam is based on 2 papers or 3 if the student takes HL History. The time limit given to the students during the final exam is very restricting- so practicing on some essay questions and knowing your history well is extremely important for a student that takes IB History.

What is the workload in this subject?

The workload in history is substantial and a lot of it takes time after school. Standard level students have three hours a week and a total of 150 over the two years. While higher level has five hours a week and 240 hours over the two years. You’ll sometimes get a lot of homework as reading an entire chapter while other times the workload is less.

What does a student say about History?

"I love the discussions we have in class about History and how it changes depending on your perspective and sources"

What does the teacher say about History?

"History is a demanding subject, and the students are right that if you shall do well, you must use quite a lot of time. The IB system is based on exams that will be similar all over the world, and as such is not the same as the Norwegian system. In history we dig deep in a restricted number of topics, and the essay writing give you very important skills that are useful when you are going to university or similar academic institutions, including Norwegian institutions. The same is true to the Historical Investigation the students must undertake for their Internal Assessment (IA). The history program is very different from the way it is taught in the Norwegian system. Students study fewer topics, but they go far deeper into the learning of method and interpretation of documents, and in the study of different topics. They learn to be methodical and hopefully become both analytical and critical in their academic approach. "