IB Geography SL & HL

Nature of the Study:

The aims of the Geography course at SL and HL are to enable students to:

• Develop an understanding of the dynamic inter-reationships between people, places, spaces and the environment at different scales

• Develop a critical awareness and consider complexity thinking in the context of the nexus of geographic issues.

The Geography course conceptually and contextually embodies international and global awareness in several distinctive approaches. It examines key world issues, such as the nexus of sustainable environmental, societal and economic development, and climate change. It considers examples and case studies at a variety of scales, from local to regional, national, international and global.

An important characteristic of the Geography course is that students examine spatial interactions, possibilities and change in a contextual way.

Higher and Standard Level:

Core –  Geographic Perspectives: Global Change 

All students study the core topics, which include:

• Population distribution – Changing Population 

• Global climate – vulnerability and resilience

• Global resource consumption and security.

Options – Geographic Perspectives: Global Interactions 

Higher Level students study three, and Standard Level students study two, from this selection:

• Freshwater drainage basics 

• Oceans and their Coastal Margins

• Extreme Environments

• Geophysical hazards

• Leisure, tourism and sport

• Food and Health

• Urban Environments.

Higher Level Extension

Higher Level students study the following topics:

• Power, Places and Networks

• Human Development and Diversity

• Global Risks and Resilience.