In both the “old” and “new” IB Psychology syllabi, students have to be able to discuss the use of research methods (and brain imaging techniques). Before we see how to do this, it’s important to make one clarification first: the IB considers the following to be research methods: Experiments (including true, natural, quasi and field experiments) Case studies Correlational studies Interviews …
Lesson/Revision Idea: The Two Minute Drill
How it works… Put two minutes on a timer (I use a trusty kitchen timer) Project a possible exam question, maybe one for a topic that you’ve been working on or revising Students have two minutes to outline a plan of how they’d answer that question A4 pieces of paper cut in half are good to use Collect all answers …
10 Example Exam Answers!
CRACK THE IB CODE WITH OUR EXAM PREP PACKS These example answers will show you how surprisingly simple it is to get a 7! These ten example answers (+ 2 bonus answers) demonstrate how to write excellent answers by following a very simple structure. They also include examiner-style commentaries that explain what is required to get top marks. UPDATE: WE ARE WORKING ON EXAMPLES FOR THE NEW SYLLABUS …
Quizlets: Enculturation and Acculturation
The following Quizlets will help students revise key terms and studies for the enculturation and acculturation topics covered in IB Psychology: A Student’s Guide. Enculturation/Acculturation Key Terms Quizlet (Link) Enculturation/Acculturation Key Studies Quizlet (Link) A link to these have been included in the unit plan in the Social Influence Teacher Support Pack (Part I). Travis DixonTravis Dixon is an IB Psychology …
So you want to assess population validity?
If you’re reading this it might be because you’ve written something like this in your answer and tried to fob it off as critical thinking: “One of the limitations of this study was that it has a small sample size and so lacks population validity.” The thing to remember when trying to show critical thinking is that it takes …
T.E.A.C.U.P…and why I don’t use it.
Yesterday I posted about how to evaluate psychological theories in three simple steps. I mentioned John Crane’s popular acronym T.E.A.C.U.P, which stands for: testable, evidence, applications, construct validity, unbiased and predictive validity. (It can be found on John’s website, too). This is an alternative to my “Let’s make a DEAL” framework for evaluating theories. You can see that my DEAL framework …
Let’s make a D.E.A.L – evaluating theories in three simple steps
I teach my students to look for three things when evaluating theories: Evidence Applications Limitations Let’s make a D.E.A.L Most students are capable of independently explaining these three things. When teaching essay writing on theories I teach students to use my own “Let’s make a D.E.A.L” strategy and not TEACUP. D.E.A.L Describe the theory Explain the Evidence Applications of the theory …
It’s so easy to get a 7 in Paper One…
….or at least, it should be. Note: This is for the old syllabus, exams 2011 – 2018 Let’s crunch some numbers… 70% is the mark to get a 7 (approximately). 4% of IB Psych’ students get 7s. 46 marks are available in Paper One. 32/46 will get you 70%. So by looking at the above numbers, let’s see one possible …
Exam Tip: How to explain an etiology of a disorder…
Explaining an etiology of a disorder can be quite tricky for some students because they focus on the disorder in general. But in order to have a really effective explanation you’re better to focus on specific symptoms. A three step approach to explaining an etiology When learning an etiology or planning an exam answer, you can follow these three simple …
How does testosterone influence aggression?
Understanding how testosterone can influence aggression can be a little tricky, so this post is designed to provide extra help. This post is designed to support the materials in Topic 2.4 of our textbook, IB Psychology: A Student’s Guide. Common Errors Here is what an over-simplified (and incorrect) explanation for testosterone and aggression might look like: So in writing, this …
5 Types of Exam Questions in IB Psychology
There are 5 types of exam questions in IB Psychology, Papers One and Two. While the general structures that we recommend for exam answers can be applied to all of these types of questions, they do have their own sets of pitfalls that students should be aware of. And as with anything, there are some exceptions and special cases of …
The Top Ten Most Valuable Studies from the Criminology Unit
Personally, I think the most useful studies to know in-depth in order of appearance are: Bechara et al.’s study on the vmPFC, Iowa Gambling task and decision making (2.2)(link) Feinstein et al.’s case study on SM (2.3)(workbook) Radke et al.’s experiment on testosterone and the brain (2.4)(textbook) Cohen’s culture of honor experiments (2.5)(in workbook) Passamonti et al’s experiment on serotonin …
Quizlet: Love and Marriage Review (Chapter 5)
Along with other fun review activities like Jeopardies and Kahoots, making Quizlet class sets is a quick and easy way to build a resource that students can use to study with, either in class or in their own time. Love and Marriage Quizlet: Chapter Five Review – Available HERE! If your students enjoy Kahoots, they might also like quizlet-live, which …
Quizlet: Intro to Psych’ Review (Chapter One)
I could have sworn I posted this already, but I can’t find it so here it is again. If I did, please let me know! Along with other fun review activities like Jeopardies and Kahoots, making Quizlet class sets is a quick and easy way to build a resource that students can use to study with, either in class or …
3 things all essays should have…
I’m a simple man. This is why I love the motto: “keep it simple, stupid!” I especially love keeping it simple when it comes to exam preparation. The more complex, intricate and nuanced we make our instructions on how to do well in exams, the less time there is to spend on developing the skills necessary for success in the …
Lesson Idea: Reviewing Studies
I came up with this basic idea yesterday as I was putting together my student workbook for the Love and Marriage unit. In this entire unit (Chapter 5 of the student’s guide) there are four key studies applicable to the following topics: Hormones and behaviour (Bio) Evolution and behaviour (Bio) Methods and Ethics (Evolution – Bio) Methods and Ethics (Hormones …
Experiment Results: Is an evaluation distinguishable from a discussion?
After writing and sharing a recent post, I got some questions regarding the validity of my claim that a good evaluation and discussion are indistinguishable. So I decided to put it to the test by writing an example essay following the essay structure I advise for students and seeing if it was obvious which command term was being used. I gathered …
Top 5 Tips for IB Psych’ Success
As a short review activity to begin my first Grade 12 (Year Two) class for the year I asked my students to come up with “5 Tips for IB Psych’ Success” that I could then share with the Grade 11 (Year One) students. I thought their list was pretty spot-on, so I thought I’d share it here. #1. Ask Questions …
Lesson Idea: Introduction to Psychology JEOPARDY
The content of this jeopardy is based on Chapter One of “IB Psychology: A Student’s Guide” At the end of a unit or after a few topics where there’s lots of content to review, I LOVE making a Jeopardy game for students to play in small groups. In my experience jeopardylabs has the easiest and most effective software to use. Here’s …
How to learn anything in three simple steps!
I devised this three-step approach to learning for my students last year during exam revision. Find what you need to know Find your knowledge gaps Fill your knowledge gaps This approach helps me articulate to my students the process of learning, which also helps me discuss their progress during assigned revision times. The language of this post is how I would …
There’s no difference between “evaluate” and “discuss.”
Before I explain why an evaluation and a discussion in a student’s IB Psychology exam answer would look exactly the same, I should first mention that Christos Halkiopoulos was aware of this long before I was and has been saying this for quite some time. It was only recently when I gave this some more thought that I realized I …
Teaching Tip: Research Methods
When I first started teaching IB Psychology I followed the syllabus pretty much as it was laid out in the guide, beginning with the biological level of analysis. I even taught the LOs as they appear as well. But after a couple of years I realized that teaching the ethics, principles and research methods first in a unit (as they …
5 reasons why I think “depth” is better than “breadth” in IB Psychology.
When planning to teach (or study) individual topics in the new IB Psychology course, you might find yourself faced with the question: do I go for depth or breadth? For example, should you teach (or learn) three effects of hormones on behaviour, or just one? The new course has supposedly been designed to allow the choice of either approach. However, in …
Example Essay: Technological Techniques
I’ve been playing around a bit with scaffolding for essay writing, and from what I’ve found, a general guideline for essay structure is as follows: Introduction Core argument Supporting evidence (min. 2 x studies). Counter argument Conclusion Of course, this is just a template and sometimes the structure varies. For example, you might have one study supporting the core argument …
Sample SAQs: Memory Reliability
Here are two versions of the same sample answer from this year’s (May, 2017) IB Psychology exam. The question was: Describe one study investigating memory reliability. The annotated short answer response (SAQ) shows you the answer, plus my comments as to why I think this is a mediocre response. Then we have this second excellent annotated example SAQ, which does a better …