History at IB Level: New Syllabus

From Autumn 2008 history teachers at International Baccalaureate level will be teaching a new syllabus. With IB becoming increasingly popular as an alternative to A-Level study this is therefore a good time to review what exactly IB entails: how similar it is to A-Level, its advantages and drawbacks.

At a glance, my initial idea for teaching the new syllabus, term by term, looks like this (although I am likely to juggle things around as time wears on!):

	Autumn Term (first half)	Autumn Term (second half)	Spring Term (first half)	Spring Term (first half)	Summer Term (first half)	Summer Term (second half)
Yr12	Russia HL5	Russia SL3, HL5	WW1 SL1, HL6	IntRels 1918-36 P1, HL8*	Civil Wars SL1, HL8*	[Revision , Summer Exams]
	• [Induction] • Russia 1853-1914	• Russia 1914-24 • Rise of Stalin (to 1929)	• Causes (keep brief) • Reasons for Germany's defeat • Effects	• 1920s • 1930s Studied also at IGCSE, so keep punchy	• Causes / Effects of Spanish Civil War • Compare with Chinese Civil War if time
Yr13	Stalin’s Rule (SL3, HL9)	USSR / Eastern Europe 1924-2000 (SL5, HL9)			[Revision , Summer Exams]
	Condensed version of old IB unit - Stalin no longer compulsory P1 option so less detail required	Overlap here with topics in P2. I effectively start studying it with Great Patriotic War onwards - flows neatly from previous study unit on Stalin

*The Spring Term of Year 12 could instead consist of (a) Middle East to 1945 - Paper 1 and HL7; (b) Middle East since 1945 - HL11.

How do you structure your course? I'd be very interested to compare ideas - please contact me with your suggestions and comments!

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A. Assessment in IB History

Overview
History at IB is a two-year course which, unlike the AS/A2 model, has no external assessment element midway through the course. Students choose to study History either at Standard Level or at Higher Level. All of these students produce an Internal Assessment (IA) on a topic of their choice during the course, and sit for two examination papers: Paper 1 consists of four sourcework questions, whilst Paper 2 requires students to write two essays. Higher Level students additionally have to study some extra topics for Paper 3, which involves the production of a further three essays. This means that the overall grade for Standard Level and Higher Level students is calculated differently:

1. Sourcework

Paper 1
[Student Handout: Tips for IB History Sourcework]
At the time of writing, the IB board has not made available any sample papers for the new syllabus. However, it is unlikely that they will substantially change the existing approach of each paper. With this qualification in mind, up until now Paper 1 has consisted of five accessible sources; written sources are rarely more than 200 words long, and there is usually at least one visual source such as a cartoon or photograph among these. The four questions, adding up to 25 possible points, follow a predictable format, with a clear markscheme:

1a. “Why, according to Source A,…” (3 marks);
1b. “What message is conveyed by Source B…” (2 marks);
2. “Compare and contrast the views expressed by Sources C and D…” (6 marks);
3. “With reference to their origins and purpose, assess the values and limitation of source A & D to this historian studying…” (6 marks);
4. “Using the sources and your own knowledge, explain to what extent you agree that…” (8 marks).

2. Essays

[Student Tips: IB History Essay Skills]
[Student Tips: "Challenging the assumptions of the question" in Level 7 of the mark scheme]

Paper 2
This examination paper is traditionally divided into five sections of five questions each. Students will be required to answer two questions chosen from different sections of the paper, hence the requirement that students study at least two of these topic sections in depth (see below). The five questions within each section will range from the narrowly specific (“To what extent was the rise to power of either Hitler or Mao due to personal appeal and ability?”) to the very open-ended (“Assess the importance of ideology for rulers of twentieth century single party states”). Another popular style of question in Paper 2 involves the comparison of different regions ("Analyse the foreign policy of two rulers of single-party states, each chosen from a different region."). This genuinely synoptic approach to History – chronologically, geographically and thematically – is one of the most challenging but stimulating aspects of the IB course.

Paper 3
Higher Level students only sit this paper. The IB board produces several Paper 3 examination papers, each of which tests knowledge of a different world region (for example Europe and the Middle East, the Americas). The teacher will declare in advance which of these papers his or her students will be sitting – in my case, I teach towards the European paper. The paper consists of a list of 25 essay questions covering up to 200 years from which candidates must answer 3. In contrast to Paper 2, these questions are not organised into themes, and are not particularly synoptic in nature: instead, they are in-depth questions on particular topics ("What were the main causes of the Spanish Civil War?", "Compare the roles of Trotsky and Lenin in the October Revolution and the formation of the Soviet State to 1924").

The Internal Assessment
[How should the IB History Internal Assessment be structured?]
[Sample markscheme for the IB History Internal Assessment]
The Internal Assessment at IB History level is an individual study which accounts for 20% of final mark for Higher Level students, and 25% for Standard Level students. It is a study of 1500-2000 word essay on a topic of the student's own choice. This personal study of 1500-2000 words is often the most enjoyable part of the course for many students. It is divided into very clear sections – an introduction, a summary of evidence, an evaluation of sources, an analysis and so on – each of which has a recommended word limit and its own clear mark scheme. In comparison to many A-Level personal studies, the topic theme for the Internal Assessment (IA) does not need to be confined to the period, region or themes being tested in the external examinations. Students may be working towards an exam focusing heavily on Modern European History, but could choose as their IA a question on Medieval Asian History. In the past, popular choices of study have been based around novels, films or works of art ("How useful is the art of George Grosz to the historian of Weimar Germany?") or personal interviews ("Does oral testimony substantiate the view that life in East Germany got worse following the fall of Nazism?"), but more studies based on more traditional themes ("How significant was Harriet Tubman in the American abolition movement?") are also perfectly acceptable.

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B. Syllabus for IB History

Before the introduction of the new syllabus one of the criticisms of the IB was that it only allowed for the study of Modern History. In the new syllabus, however, teachers must decide whether to follow Route 1 (Medieval / Early Modern) or Route 2 (Modern).

 

IB History Route 1 (Islamic and European History c500-1600)

Route 1 is a completely new syllabus of study that has been made available to teachers desperate to allow their students to escape from the tyranny of Modern History that dominates most GCSE courses. This option is not likely to prove popular given that the main developments (e.g. Renaissance, Reformation) have largely been ignored in favour of obscure and badly resourced topics (e.g. The Kingdom of Sicily 1130-1302!). For more details of this Route, click here.

 

IB History Route 2 (20th Century World History)

Route 2 has much in common with the old IB syllabus, being a Modern History course, although with some significant differences.

▪ Paper 1 (sourcework) requires students to have studied either Peacemaking, Peacekeeping - international relations 1918-36 or The Arab-Israeli conflict 1945-79 or Communism in crisis 1976-89.
[IB History past Questions - Peace and Co-Operation (note: based on old syllabus)]

▪ Paper 2 (two essays) requires students to study at least two of the following five topics. Within each of the two topics chosen, teachers are encouraged to focus on material taken from at least two of the four regions (Europe & Middle East, Africas, Americas, Asia & Oceania) 

1. Causes, practices and effects of wars: e.g. both World Wars, Spanish Civil War, Chinese Civil War
[IB History Past Questions - The Cold War]
[IB History Study Guide - World War One]
[IB History Study Guide - Spanish Civil War]
[IB History Study Guide: The Spanish Civil War 1936-39]
[IB History Resources - Causes of WW1, Course / Effects WW1, the Peace Treaties, Causes / Effects of Spanish Civil War, German involvement in Spanish Civil War, Causes of WW2]
2. Democratic states - challenges and responses: e.g. Nehru, Weimar Germany, Mandela.
3. Origins and development of authoritarian and single-party states: e.g. Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Castro
[IB History past Questions]
[IB History Study Guide - Tsarist / Revolutionary Russia]
[IB History Study Guide - Stalin's USSR]
[IB History Resources - Stalin's USSR]
4. Nationalist and independence movements in Africa and Asia and post-1945 Central and Eastern European states: e.g. Gandhi, Ho Chi Minh, Mugabe, Walesa, Havel.
5. The Cold War: e.g. Yalta, Potsdam, NATO and the Warsaw Pact, Cuba and Vietnam, the breakup of the Soviet Union.
[IB History past Questions - The Cold War]
[IB History Study Guide - The Cold War]
[IB History Resources - The Cold War]

▪ Paper 3 (three essays) requires students to study one of the following regional options in depth. Each option is broken down into twelve topics of which students are expected to study three.
1. Aspects of the History of Africa 1800-2000
2. Aspects of the History of the Americas 1760-2000
3. Aspects of the History of Asia and Oceania 1770-2000
4. Aspects of the History of Europe and the Middle East 1750-2000

For example, the twelve topics within the final (European) regional option listed here are as follows:
1. The French Revolution and Napoleon
[ActiveHistory Study Unit for Year 9 - use as you wish!]
2. Unification and Consolidation of Germany and Italy
[IB History Resources - Germany]
3. The Ottoman Empire
4. Western and Northern Europe 1848-1914
5. Imperial Russia, Revolutions, Emergence of Soviet State 1853-1924
[IB History Study Guide: Tsarist and Revolutionary Russia to 1924]
6. European Diplomacy and the First World War 1870-1923
[IB History Resources - Causes of WW1, Course / Effects WW1, the Peace Treaties]
7. War and Change in the Middle East 1914-49
[ActiveHistory Study Unit for Year 9 - use as you wish!]
8. Interwar Years: Conflict and Co-operation 1919-39
[IB History Resources - Course / Effects WW1, the Peace Treaties, Causes of WW2]
9. The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe 1924-2000
[IB History Study Guide: Stalin's USSR to 1953]
[IB History Study Guide: The Cold War to 1961]
10. The Second World War and Post-War Western Europe 1939-2000
11. Post-War Developments in the Middle East 1945-2000
[ActiveHistory Study Unit for Year 9 - use as you wish!]
12. Social and Economic Developments in Europe and the Middle East
[IB History Paper 3 Past Questions: European Option]

Observations on Route 2:
For most current teachers of IB, the new syllabus will require an adjustment to rather than a complete overhaul of existing schemes of work, although the opportunity now exists to bring in units of study on the Middle East. The biggest change is to Paper 1, which previously involved the study of either Stalin or Mao or the Cold War. Paper 2 has been changed less drastically: most topics studied by schools such as the World Wars, Communist and Fascist dictatorships and the Cold War still have a central place in the new examination. Nevertheless, there are some important changes here too: in particular, it is no longer possible to study international organisations such as the League of Nations and the UN in the new, narrower topic on "multiparty states", although conversely Eastern Europe has now been incorporated into the topic of "Nationalist and Independence Movements". Lenin and Mussolini have disappeared as recommended figures in the study of single-party states, and the old topic 6 ("The State and its Relationship with Minorities") has been quietly dropped – although to be fair it was never popular anyway.

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C. Structuring the IB History Course

Following the IB course offers its own particular challenges and opportunities. Firstly, the fact that there is no mid-course external assessment comparable to the AS/A2 model is something that will suit some teachers and students more than others. Secondly, IB teachers have to organise a course that acknowledges that some students within the class will be studying at Standard Level, whilst others will also be working towards the extra paper required for the Higher Level examination. Some teachers – myself included – therefore lean towards teaching Paper 3 (Higher Level) topics that are also tested in Paper 2 (Standard Level & Higher Level) in order to reduce the overall workload of the Higher Level candidates. Nevertheless some selected topics will only be relevant for Paper 2; there will also be others that are only relevant to Higher Level candidates sitting Paper 3, and on these occasions Standard Level students need to be given free study time.

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D. Suggested Weblinks

http://occ.ibo.org  - The IB Online Curriculum Center, providing past papers, a discussion forum and guidance to history teachers

www.ibhistory.net - A curriculum grid, suggested approaches and study guides for students and teachers of IB History

http://history-wiki.wikispaces.com/ - I use this wiki to provide each student at the International School of Toulouse with an area for writing their Internal Assessment and receiving feedback: it gives a clear idea of the sorts of questions that have been chosen and how the study is marked. Such wikis are free to set up and allow teachers to compare drafts quickly and efficiently as well as to keep a clear "audit trail" of the development of the study. A real timesaver!

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E. IB History Study Guides

IB History Study Guide: World War One

IB History Study Guide: Tsarist and Revolutionary Russia to 1924

IB History Study Guide: Stalin's Russia to 1953

IB History Study Guide: The Cold War to 1961

IB History Study Guide: The Spanish Civil War 1936-39

Russel Tarr is Head of History at the International School of Toulouse, author of the website www.activehistory.co.uk and author of the Third Edition of "Luther and the German Reformation" in the Access to History series.