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DP1 - What are my Subjects?
What makes an interdiscplinary essay different from an EE in just one subjects?
What makes an interdiscplinary essay different from an EE in just one subjects?
An Interdisciplinary Extended Essay (IDEE), meaning that it draws upon the methods, understandings, and perspectives of more than one subject.
The IDEE is also a thematic (專題) essay; research questions, and the way that you use the knowledge, concepts, and methods of two DP subjects are all directed towards exploring an issue that interests you as part of a larger, global theme. Those themes are explained below.
IDEEs have their own set of rules and requirements; it does not follow the rules and requirements outlined in the other subjects, and that brings its own set of positives and negatives. There are topics that many of you have right now that are better addressed looking at things from multiple perspectives than just forcing it into one. And the way for you to see that is to have
Common Misconceptions
Common Misconceptions
Interdisciplinary are not just a blend of two DP subjects. It has its own subject-specific guidance and interpretation of the rubric. The specific requirements of individual EE subjects do not apply to them. You are not writing an essay that is half of two subjects - the goal is to expand upon your initial topic and successfully integrate them into one idea.
It is not a good option for someone who just doesn't know what to do. Like the other EE subjects, there are requirements and expectations that need to be met.
Not all subject combinations are viable -- they have to be subjects that line up nicely with the theme you select, the subject of the essay. You cannot just pick two DP subjects out of a hat and expect it to work, nor should you think of this as righting two smaller essays and combining them together into one.
Interdisciplinary learning means that both disciplines/subjects are necessary to understanding the issue. The ideal WSEE does not evaluate a problem from two different, separate perspectives -- the goal is to evaluate that problem from an interdisciplinary perspective, where both subjects add to the other's understanding. You should not treat the two disciplines separately, but integrate them.
You do not need to be balanced when using your subjects - the goal is not to make a 50/50 essay. The essay should be using different parts of each subject to get the best answer.
Your Frameworks
Your Frameworks
From the IB:
"The five frameworks shown in figure 6 are intended to help you position and shape your ideas for an interdisciplinary extended essay topic. These frameworks allow for inclusion of a broad, diverse range of ideas that could arise from your personal interests. They are designed to help you choose an appropriate context for the topic you wish to explore with an interdisciplinary approach.
The frameworks are depicted as overlapping in figure 6 because, while your topic should broadly fit within one framework, it could include aspects that relate to another one or more.
It should be noted that a topic does not need to connect with all the words that describe a framework. For example, in the framework “culture, identity, expression”, the focus might be on “identity” but not “culture” or “expression”.
The same topic could even be placed in an alternative framework, depending on the emphasis of the research question.
While the official registration with the IB of your interdisciplinary extended essay must place it in one of the frameworks, the connection with the framework is not directly assessed. The main purpose of the frameworks is to provide you with initial guidance for the inquiry process, but they will also assist the IB with coordinating the assessment of interdisciplinary essays."
Movement, Time, Space
Movement, Time, Space
How do you want to see time and space? Can this be related to the movement of people around the globe, or our own evolution on how we see our own existence?
This can be connected to several different subjects - Language A, Math, Visual Arts can be very useful here.
Culture, Identity, Expression
Culture, Identity, Expression
A key idea here is often "identity." Look at the sample topics for this theme and you'll see that there is no requirement to focus on language -- these themes are BROAD on purpose. It is about trying to see how you or others see themselves in this world, and how can we express those ideas into being.
Language A, History and Global Politics, and Visual Arts can be very useful here.
Sustainability, Development, Change
Sustainability, Development, Change
How are we going to survive in our modern world? What is the best way to move forward? How can we make sure that everyone can get ahead?
Almost all of the Group 3 and 4 subjects can be useful here.
Power, Equality, Justice
Power, Equality, Justice
When you look at the world today, what is going to make things better. Where do we see these gaps in the traditional power structures of our society?
Language A, Global Politics, Math(!), can be useful here.
Evidence, Measurement, Innovation
Evidence, Measurement, Innovation
How do we know that the things we want to happen will happen? Where is the world going to be in the near future? And what can we go to make sure it gets there?
Group 4, 5, and 6 are very useful here.
How to approach a IDEE?
How to approach a IDEE?
IB recommends the following process - if you have a good broad topic that can be helped by using two subjects, great! The goal here is not to force an interdisciplinary topic - only choose it if you feel like your topic would benefit from doing it (or possibly, cannot work in just one.) Then, think about what kind of framework you essay would fit under - they are supposed to guide you and help organize your own thoughts. And of course, before anything is finalized, make sure you have conversations with potential supervisors on if they think the idea is interesting as well!
Task 4: World Studies Example.
This task is not just the first time many of you would be looking at a full Extended Essay, but we will be looking at a previous MDID student's work - which hopefully should give you the idea that you, too, are capable of writing something like this. Students have done it before, and you can do it again.
Your task is to read the extended essay and trying to answer a series of questions about it - more specifically, about how it is able to use the themes of the Extended Essay to their advantage. In the end, after reading this, I want you to think about if you want to do an Interdisciplinary EE - there are usually 3-5 every year.
Now this is an essay written for the old EE format - which means that their framework is not exactly like the ones you will be doing. But the main idea is still the same - taking an interesting topic that would be better analyzed with two subjects than one.
Questions:
How does the student explain why they are choosing this example as a relevant and important example for a local case study?
How does the student justify using their two DP subjects for this topic?
How does the student use the skills and ideas they gained from their DP subject in their discussion and analysis?
How does the student use multiple sources to help justify their analysis?
What do you think of the student's amount of citations and their use of citations and quotes inside their essay?
In the end, how effective was the student in answering their research question? And do you agree with it?
MDID Student Example - World Studies Equality and Inequality (GloPo & Econ) .pdfBelow here are some examples from the IB on how you can take a topic, come up with a good RQ and see what subjects best fit for its analysis.
Below here are some examples from the IB on how you can take a topic, come up with a good RQ and see what subjects best fit for its analysis.
extended-essay-guide-en_8b8eb59f-c1df-45ab-8620-0b30fb1d6fa3-36-39.pdfPage updated
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