IB Group 3 subjects


The Group 3: Individuals and societies subjects of the IB Diploma Programme consist of nine courses offered at both the Standard level and Higher level : Business Management, Economics, Geography, History, Information technology in a global society, Philosophy, Psychology, Social and cultural anthropology, and World religions. There is also a transdisciplinary course, Environmental systems and societies, that satisfies Diploma requirements for Groups 3 and 4, and a pilot course for Global politics that is currently offered at schools participating in the pilot program.

History

History is the process of recording, reconstructing and interpreting the past through investigation of sources. IB DP History teaches candidates to interpret and critically evaluate these sources and allows them to understand and appreciate the culture and context of those living in other periods of time.

SL/HL core

All candidates must study one prescribed subject and two topics for 150 hours.

Prescribed subjects (40 hours)

The Paper 1 Prescribed subjects are two case studies and lead to the source-based Paper 1 examination.
All candidates must study two World history topics
Topics
HL candidates must study one option from the following for 90 hours. Each option has twelve sections. Candidates must study three sections.
The remaining 20 hours for both SL and HL candidates comes from the internal assessment component, making a total of 150 teaching hours for SL and 240 hours for HL.

Assessment

There are three assessment components at SL and four at HL.

External assessment

External assessment accounts for 75% of the course grade at SL and 80% at HL.

Internal assessment

Internal assessment accounts for the remaining 25% of the course grade at SL and 20% at HL.

Economics SL & HL

The syllabus of the Economics course is divided into four sections – microeconomics, macroeconomics, international economics, and development economics – all of which receive approximately equal weight. All sections must be studied by all candidates, and questions of all will be posed in examinations. The Diploma programme Economics course is noted for focusing more on development than any other economics course at a pre-university level, and this is all part of the IB programmes' international perspective.
The final exams consist of three papers for HL and two for SL. Paper 1 has consisted of multiple choice questions but has now been changed to answering one question from microeconomics and one question from macroeconomics, for each section one question is worth 10 marks and the other is worth 15 marks. Paper 2 involves answering two data response questions, one from international economics and the other from development economics, each data response question is worth 20 marks. Paper 3 involves calculations. Internal assessment includes three commentaries of current news items involving the use of economic concepts and terminology. The time allowed for each exam is a strict limit of 90 minutes each for Paper 1 and Paper 2 and 1 hour for Paper 3.

Psychology SL & HL

The focus of this course is the systematic study of behavior and mental process. The program studies three main perspectives as influences on human behavior: the biological, the cognitive and the sociocultural. It includes the examination of optional topics that include health psychology, abnormal psychology, developmental psychology, sports psychology and psychology of human relationships. Finally all students have to carry out their own experimental study as an internal assessment. Students at higher level study two options whereas standard level students study only one.
Each of the perspectives should be explored using the following four compulsory topics:
The aims of the psychology course at HL and at SL are to:
First, students must choose an experiment to replicate. When conducting the experiment, the IB demands that certain ethical guidelines be followed. After the experiment has been completed, a written report must be produced detailing the experiment. The students are required to The external assessment, which is administered in May or November; the second year of the course is specially focused to the development of this assessment where the students are introduced to a variety of studies and the student is expected to draw connections between them. The test is divided into two parts, which are referred to as "papers". Using the internal and external assessment, IB calculates a grade value of one through seven.

Philosophy SL & HL

Philosophy is offered both as a standard and higher level Group 3 subject. It consists of both internal assignment and 2 externally assessed exam papers on core and optional topics.

Syllabus

SL/HL core: Being Human

All students study the core theme which consists of six key concepts:
SL students are required to study one theme from the following list.
HL students are required to study two themes from the following list.
All students are required to study one text from the “IB list of prescribed philosophical texts” shown below:

Internal assessment

The IB Diploma Programme information technology in a global society course is the study and evaluation of the impacts of information technology on individuals and society. It explores the advantages and disadvantages of the access and use of digitized information at the local and global level. ITGS provides a framework for the student to make informed judgments and decisions about the use of IT within social contexts.
Requirements for SL :
Requirements for HL:
Practical computer work is conducted while researching for the project at Standard Level. As of exams starting in 2012 both HL and Sl students will take the Project.

Geography (2011-2017)

Geography involves the study and investigation of human relationships with the environment.

Syllabus

SL candidates study three themes - the core theme and two optional themes, while HL candidates study five themes - the core theme, three optional themes and the HL extension.

SL/HL core

All candidates must study this theme.
Theme: Patterns and change
SL candidates must study two of the following seven themes, while HL candidates must study three. Teachers may teach more themes than prescribed so that the candidates have a greater freedom of choice in Paper 2, since all options are set on the same paper.
HL candidates must study this theme.
Theme: Global interactions
There are three assessment components at SL and four at HL.

External assessment

External assessment accounts for 75% of the grade for the entire course at SL, and 80% of that at HL.

Internal assessment

Internal assessment accounts for the remaining 25% of the grade at SL and 20% at HL.

Anticipated subjects

In some cases, Standard level subjects can be studied in one year, as opposed to the two years for Higher level subjects. This gives students more study time in their final year of school, as well as the option to spend more hours on their higher level subjects. All anticipated subjects are studied at standard level.

Availability

Business and Management SL, Economics SL, Economics HL, ITGS SL, ITGS HL, Psychology SL and Philosophy SL are offered online to students enrolled in the IB Diploma Programme.

Footnotes