Welcome to IB (in general)

What to expect in IB?

• A lot of individual work
• Rigorous deadlines
• Complete work to a high standard
• Some degree of stress at certain times
• You will need to develop your study technique
• Acquire critical thinking skills: deep thinking required!

What NOT to expect in IB?

• Spoon feeding
• Being handheld
• Teachers giving you all the answers and mark schemes
• All resources given to you: it's your time to become resourceful

General advice

• Be well disciplined
• Time yourself and plan your revision sessions
• Eat well and maintain some balance
• Read the syllabus of all your subjects
• Get ahead of the game: CAS hours as soon as possible

Conceptual, factual and applicational learning

Opening Questions

At the beginning of every lesson a question will be posted and every student is expected to answer to the best of his/her ability. Using a notebook to answer the opening questions throughout the IB course is highly recommended.

Quizzes

Every few weeks student learning will be assessed by class quizzes. Quizzes are always formative and often take between 10 and 20 minutes.

Tests

At the end of every topic there will be a summative assessment. These assessments are cumulative throughout the course, in preparation for the final IB exam.

Final exam

At the end of the first year (en of 11th Grade) there will be a final exam that will evaluate the learning of all the topics covered during the school year.

IB mock exams

A few months before the IB final exam (external examination) the school runs a large examination session for all IB students, simulating the conditions of the final IB exams. Mock exams are compulsory to all students taking one or more IB final exam.

Development of experimental skills

Labs and experiments in class

We do two different types of labs in the HL Bio course.

• Skill-building labs are designed for experimental learning and have reflection questions that have to be submitted through Google Classroom. IA prep labs are designed not only to practice lab skills but also to practice la report writing skills.
• IA prep labs are completed in IA templates provided by me and are assessed using the IA rubric. These labs receive plenty of specific feedback to improve the student report writing skills, in preparation for the IA. IA prep labs must be submitted through TurnItIn. Only IA-Prep labs may be assessed summatively.

Internal Assessment

The internal assessment of IB Biology is an integral part of the course and it is compulsory for all students. The IA is completed during the first semester of the senior year. More information about the Biology IA can be found here.